Bridget Bites : Calories, Nuts and Food

Q :

Hi Bridget. You should know I love you so much and I follow you along time. how many calories are you taking daily? walnuts almonds do you eat? How many meals a day do you eat? What's your favorite food? Sorry for english I'm italian)

A :

Hi there! I get a lot of questions like this in a day, and thought I would address this theme 😀

I have been trying to embrace eating instinctively. In the past I have gotten extremely caught up on following numbers and macros, and it burned me out hugely. Food is there to be enjoyed, and meal times are a fantastic time to be with people you love. You don’t want to be stressing out about numbers and ratios. I found that my weight became the most consistent when I began focusing on the quality of my foods, not the amounts. So I stopped counting calories, and began to focus on eating whole foods, plant-based diet. Whilst I would never sit here and preach veganism on people who aren’t interested; it is the lifestyle that makes the most sense for me. I have no idea how many calories I take in, nor do I care to find out.

I love nuts, and I aim to eat a serving daily. Walnuts sometimes make me feel a bit sick, but almonds I could eat all day every day! I will never be able to comprehend a serving size of nuts, but I try to stick to half a palm size as a serving. Fat is your skin, hair and nails best friend.

Sometimes I eat three meals a day, sometimes I eat six meals a day, and sometimes I eat one meal a day (to be fair, this doesn’t occur often). I eat according to my body’s cues – if we stop to listen to what is really going on in our stomachs, we find that maybe we are not as hungry as we think we are. Usually I want to eat when I am exhausted; ignoring the fact that going to sleep would be much more beneficial. Paying attention to my body has taught me how to look at the larger picture and see what I am really feeling. If it is actual hunger, then I go for it! We are wired to know when we need to eat, but through eating processed fake food, the wires have gotten crossed a little.

Finally my favorite food… Tough question. I love my grandma’s apple pie, my dad’s eggplant pasta, sweet potato fries and a margarita with friends. I also love cherry season, and I eat cherry tomatoes like they are about to be wiped off the earth!… By me.

Don’t stress the numbers when it comes to food, it will just drive you insane. Take it from me! Just embrace eating as the awesome social event it is, and focus on your personal hunger cues, and the quality of the food you are eating.

Love,

Bridget