Nourishment
When I was in Health Coaching School at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, the concept of primary vs. secondary food was introduced to me.
At first, I didn’t get it. After I gave it some thought, I realized how much it resonated with me and that primary food is the true Nourishment.
What if we ate “perfectly” but our lives were a mess? Is that healthy?
Then, I learned that if we are under chronic stress, the nutrients couldn’t even be absorbed.
Now sit with that one for a minute.
I’ll wait
Still with me?
Ok cool
If we aren’t getting enough sleep or are out of alignment with our values, having the ideal Macros will not matter.
Primary food are the things that nourish our soul, while secondary food nourish our body. We need both.
If we only have one, we will not be nourished.
Primary foods consist of things such as love, acceptance, laughter and joy. Secondary foods are broccoli, chia seeds, wasabi and coconut milk.
If we only have one, we will not be nourished.
Primary food is loving ourselves enough to say no to running ourselves ragged, to saying yes to taking self care and a solid maybe to adding additional responsibilities. Secondary foods are broccoli rabe, tehani, beets and salmon.
If we only have one, we will not be nourished.
Primary food is making the time to meal prep, get activity every day and get enough sleep. Secondary foods are kohlrabi, spaghetti squash, ginger, tuna and peaches.
If we only have one, we will not be nourished.
We do not need to pick. We truly don’t, but it can feel that way. How can you get more primary food in your life? Does your secondary food need an upgrade as well?
“If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.”
Hippocrates
Tomorrow, eating for optimal performance
Photo by Stacey Natal
Erin Wathen
As a Holistic Health Coach, it is Erin’s big hairy audacious goal is to change the dialogue around how we look at weight loss. It is not a matter of being it Ketosis or Food Swaps but the feelings we have that we are avoiding by overeating. Why are so many of us not tackling the real issues we have? It is easier and safer to obsess over the latest diet fad. Whether it be with our job, or our Mom, boyfriend, politics… until we address how we manage our feelings in the world, we are not going to.
