Like all good things, it started one beautiful night in Raleigh over pizza and a beer. My husband, Joe, our friend, Matt, and I were discussing how we could make money without having to work (don’t worry; this blog was not our million dollar idea. Stay tuned.)
Somehow the conversation turned to Matt’s eating habits. His 24-hour recall included pop-tarts, a Philly cheesesteak, and the calzone he was about to eat.
I was confused.
Joe and Matt are both engineers. As far as I was concerned, engineers were all type-A, numbers people. Nutrition and fitness are full of numbers. Have they ever looked at a food label or used a Garmin? They should be healthy, despite their sedentary careers.
I was wrong.
I learned that, as cool as data can be, they want things to get done as easily as possible. They do the bare minimum needed to accomplish their goal*. As a recovering perfectionist and notorious planner, this blew my mind. They do not need or want to meal prep every Sunday. They don’t care about getting 100% of their daily values every day. They don’t want to order salads and steamed vegetables at restaurants.
They don’t need to be perfectly healthy; they just want to be healthy enough. And they can’t be the only ones.
Everyday I see family, friends, and patients trying to make sense of this nutrition “science”. Given that it is a science, it is subject to change. We learn more every day. This sounds like it sets the stage for confusion. My goal is to keep it as simple as possible.
Yes, a side salad is good enough, it provides nutrients and antioxidants, and it is not a waste of calories.
No, you should never feel guilty for eating chocolate cake (unless you stole it from someone).
Eating food does not make you a good or bad person.
And a person’s weight is not a sole determinant of health.
If this approach resonates with you, head on over and join my mailing list or read the blog!
*Note: This may not be representative of all engineers. There are many types of people out there, including engineers. I am basing my generalizations on a sample size of 2 and I recognize the limitations in doing so.