My niece is on a health journey, and as a result, she looks and feels amazing! Naturally, I had to ask what she’s doing to get such great results, and here’s the lowdown:
She’s cut way back on sugar throughout the week and is eating less processed food in general. Instead, she’s focusing on protein and fiber—aiming for about 30g of protein per meal (which isn’t easy, but she makes it work). She sneaks in chia, flax, and other nutrient-packed seeds wherever she can. Her strategy? Fill up on nutritious food so she doesn’t need constant snacks. But when she does snack, she brings a piece of fruit or some veggies to work.
The thing that really struck me? She doesn’t count calories. At all. She eats full, balanced meals, which keep her satisfied and naturally curbs overeating. She used to carry snacks around “just in case,” but now? She doesn’t feel the need.
Mind. Blown.
Eat nourishing meals, and your body stops begging for extras? What a concept.
It got me thinking about my own habits. I’ve always been the type to eat a super light breakfast so I don’t “waste” too many calories early in the day. My go-to? A 170-calorie yogurt.
But… what if eating a tiny breakfast is actually working against me? What if I’m under-fueling and that’s why I end up craving more food all day?
So, I did a little experiment. I added a banana and a couple of tablespoons of hemp seeds to my yogurt. Boom—now it’s 388 calories with 8 extra grams of protein. And you know what? It actually keeps me full.
One of my goals is to regulate my eating so I can better recognize my hunger cues. I don’t usually feel hungry, which makes it hard to tell when my body actually needs food. Hopefully, eating more nutritious and filling meals on a consistent schedule will help with that.
I’ve also been playing around with different ways to incorporate more seeds into my diet (because, let’s be real, they’re little nutritional powerhouses). Sunflower seeds don’t always agree with me, but I accidentally bought a mix that includes them, so I’m getting creative:
- Blending them into my eggs for scrambled eggs (since I already add in and blend cottage cheese, this was a no-brainer).
- Blending them with the water in my rice cooker when making quinoa.
- Sprinkling them onto my Royo bagel with cream cheese—like an everything bagel but with the good stuff on the inside.
- Skipping the blending altogether for hemp seeds because they’re basically invisible in anything.
Right now, I’m still logging my food to get a sense of how much protein I’m actually eating, but eventually, I want to move away from that. One thing I’ve already noticed? I’m often satisfied after dinner, but I sometimes eat more just because I have extra calories left in the day. And honestly… that seems kind of unnecessary. Today I might not feel a need to eat all of my “allotted” calories, and tomorrow I might feel a need to eat more of them. I’m told that “regular” people are not the same amount of hungry every day!
So, here’s the takeaway: Listen to your body. Fuel it with real, nutritious, satisfying food. And maybe—just maybe—you’ll find you don’t need all those extra snacks after all.
Who knew my niece would be the one inspiring me to rethink my whole approach to eating? Here’s to learning, adjusting, and feeling our best!
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