Guest Post: 3 Steps to Better Health

 

Molly Bruchez, MS RD is a registered dietitian with a passion for helping others improve their health through REAL FOOD.  She specializes in weight loss, blood sugar control, inflammation, and gut health. Molly’s approach helps individuals to establish a healthy relationship with food without dieting or counting calories. 

Her philosophy reflects a blend of her nutrition degrees, her professional experience, and her ongoing training in functional medicine. Molly translates complicated, research-based information into simple, practical concepts that are easy to implement. 

She received a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and a Master’s degree in Nutrition from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. As a dietitian, Molly has worked with individuals of all ages and in many different settings—including schools and universities, nonprofit healthcare centers, and hospitals. 

Molly is both personally and professionally committed to optimal health. 

In her free time, she enjoys running, biking, yoga, and experimenting with new recipes. She lives on a ranch in the beautiful mountains of Colorado with her husband and their two dogs. 

Are you interested in improving your health? Maybe you want to lose weight, boost your energy, control diabetes or high blood pressure. Maybe you simply want to feel better. Get started on your journey to optimal health by following these 3 simple steps.

Step 1:  Embrace Lifestyle Change

The major difference between a “diet” and “lifestyle change” is the approach. If you begin your journey to better health with the mindset that “I only have to do this for X weeks,” you are setting yourself up for failure. The MAIN reason most diets fail is because they are, by definition, temporary. Sure, you may see results while you are following the diet, but what’s more important is whether the results are long-lasting. 

If your goal is better health, the changes you make must be lifelong. In my experience, individuals who start with just one or two changes and continue to build on this are most successful long-term.

Start TODAY. Choose one or two things you’re willing and able to change. Maybe this means starting the day with a balanced breakfast. Or perhaps you decide to kick your soda habit and drink more water. EVERY change counts—no matter how big or small. 

Step 2: Keep Your Blood Sugar Balanced

Not diabetic? DON’T skip this step! Blood sugar control is important for EVERYONE interested in better health, not just for those with diabetes. 

Are you always hungry? Do you feel sluggish after a meal? Do you skip breakfast and overeat later in the day? Is the “eating less, exercising more” method not working for you? These are all signs that you may be riding the destructive, and al- too-common, Blood Sugar Rollercoaster. It’s not just WHAT you eat that counts, it’s also important to consider WHEN you eat. 

Skipping meals, over-consuming carbohydrates, stress and illness are a few factors that can feed this vicious cycle. Our bodies function best when blood sugar remains within a certain range.  While it’s normal for blood sugar to fluctuate before and after a meal, it's best to prevent major spikes and crashes.

Over time, this rollercoaster creates a stressful environment for your body. It can leave you with constant cravings, low energy, unstable moods, and it can make it difficult to lose weight even if you’re eating very little. 

To keep your blood sugar stable, eat balanced meals (containing protein-fat-carbohydrate) that are evenly distributed throughout the day (this means no skipping meals!). 

 Step 3:  Keep It Simple with Real Foods

Get back to the basics of eating mostly real, whole foods. Regardless of what your health goals might be, cleaning up your diet by cutting back on processed foods is one of the most important steps you can take. 

The majority of foods you eat should contain only one ingredient or NOT have an ingredient list at all. No ingredient list?!? What’s left to eat, you ask? Stick primarily to whole foods like meat, fish/seafood, eggs, fruits, vegetables, healthy fats and whole, intact grains and legumes (if properly prepared and well-tolerated). 

Be SKEPTICAL of food products that contain health claims. Don’t fall for sneaky marketing traps.  “Fat-free” and “made with whole-grains” do NOT equal healthy. 

It’s not necessary (or realistic) to avoid ALL foods with an ingredients list. Just be SMART about it. Use the following tips to make better food choices. 

• If it has an ingredient list, the shorter, the better—if you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. 
• Key ingredients to avoid: high fructose corn syrup, trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils), monosodium glutamate (MSG), preservatives, artificial colors and sweeteners. 

Embrace lifestyle change, balance your blood sugar, and keep it simple. Use these simple steps to get started on your journey to better health TODAY!

"Wellness is not a medical fix but a way of living—a lifestyle sensitive and responsive to all the dimensions of body, mind, and spirit, an approach to life we each design to achieve our highest potential for well-being now and forever." —Greg Anderson

To contact Molly, please send an email to mollybruchez@gmail.com