Lessons from a restaurant manager...

A long time ago when I was in college, I worked as a waitress in a couple of different restaurants. I remember one of the managers, a tall thin guy, telling me about how he had been feeling really bad. Walking up the stairs felt arduous and he was generally just weak and lacking in energy all of the time. He finally went to the doctor, who ordered some lab work. The doctor told him that his blood work looked like he was malnourished and living in a third world country. When he thought about it, he realized his main diet was grazing on french fries from the kitchen and other random low-nutrient foods. After that, he made a concerted effort to change his diet and he began to feel better over time.

There are a lot of lessons in that story. One is that you can not determine health by the size of a person. He was thin, but not frail. He appeared to be a “healthy” size. Just because you take in an appropriate amount of calories to maintain an “acceptable” body weight does not mean that you are eating foods that support your health. Striving for a particular number on the scale will not solve all of your problems or make you feel great. We are all far better off to focus on taking in nutrient dense foods, making choices that support our health, and getting the right amount of exercise than to focus on a number that only tells a small part of the story.

Consider person A who is ten pounds overweight, lifts weights, and is strong. Person A runs or bikes six times each week and is very physically fit. He or she has a low resting heart right, perfect blood pressure, energy to take on the day, and sleeps well each night. Person B is a “perfect” weight by medical standards, but is extremely sedentary with a desk job and no planned exercise. Person B has poor bone density, high resting heart rate, lacks flexibility and muscular strength, often feels tired and sluggish, and misses important events due to fatigue. Which one would you rather be?

Now, let’s talk a little bit about nutrient dense foods. Your body will be okay if you don’t have a great diet one day, or even one weekend. However, your body will notice the lacking nutrients eventually. Those vitamins, phytochemicals, and minerals are super important. At some point you will suffer from a diet that does not include adequate amounts of nutrients. Consuming fruits and vegetables not only lowers your risk for heart disease, cancer, and other diseases, but they also provide nutrients that are essential for brain function, immune function, converting macronutrients into energy, repairing cellular damage, strengthening bones, and hundreds of other jobs.

Remember, you can’t determine your health by a number on the scale and nutrient dense foods matter!