Balanced eating, what does it actually mean?
Balance is a term that is used pretty loosely when it comes to health and nutrition and holds a different meaning depending on who you ask.
For some people “balanced eating” is a purely technical term that describes the composition of foods they consume, and for others, it’s more of a holistic approach that speaks to their lifestyle choices. I often hear that “balanced eating” is seen as a bit intangible and is sometimes dismissed as marketing speak, but in practice, balanced eating certainly can be achieved and has two fundamental aspects:
Including a variety of whole foods from each of the food groups in your meals, so you’re fueling your body with what it needs to function properly.
And
Finding a happy medium between eating for function and eating for enjoyment so that your habits remain for the long-term.
This approach happens to be the cornerstone of how I practice nutrition...why? Because balanced eating is perhaps the most sustainable approach to building whole-body health as it speaks not only to our physiological makeup but our behavioural and emotional needs too.
Let’s take a look at these two aspects and why they are so important.
1. Including a variety of whole foods from each of the food groups
At its core, food is made up of a combination of macronutrients (fat, protein, and carbohydrates) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). All of these nutrients have individual roles in our bodies but also work synergistically with each other.
Diet culture would have us believe that some macronutrients aren't needed or are even “bad” for us. It seems to be either fat or carbohydrates that fall out of favour with the diet gurus on rotation - carbs are currently having their moment (keto anyone?). But contrary to popular belief, our bodies require all of the macronutrients to function properly and thrive. No matter what they tell you, our bodies are wired to consume and utilise carbohydrates, protein, and fat and we need all three. Having good proportions of each of these is also what supplies our bodies with the wide range of vitamins and minerals in the correct amounts as well.
When we start looking at “balancing” these nutrients, it’s quite highly dependent on the individual. As a nutritionist, I would take into consideration your age, sex, lifestyle, environment, and life stage to make specific recommendations for you, but as a general guideline your macronutrient balance (the amount of energy you get from your food) should fall between these ranges (1):
Protein: 15-25%
Carbohydrates: 45-65%
Fat: 20-35%
Maintaining this balance can have a profound effect on your health and is known to prevent the development of many lifestyle diseases (1). But beyond that, supplying your body with a wide variety of minimally processed whole foods and the nutrients they provide, influences many of your bodies systems such as hormone balance, gut health, immunity, sleep cycle, physical performance, and cognitive health which all have a flow-on effect to how you feel in your day-to-day life.
2. Finding a happy medium between eating for function and eating for enjoyment
What I’ve described above is essentially eating for function, or in other words, optimising the diet for health. But the second fundamental aspect of balanced eating ensures that functional eating like this remains sustainable for the long term.
Where most diets fail is that they either don’t meet nutritional needs or they are too rigid to keep up for any significant amount of time. We know that to have an impact on health, habits need to be kept up consistently for long periods (months and years) rather than just a few short weeks. The way to do this is to build in flexibility and room for enjoyment without guilt, as this plays to our emotional needs and fosters balance from a more behavioural perspective.
Again, this will look different to each individual depending on their lifestyle, personality, and specific goals but I always like to approach this by ensuring a large majority of the diet is focused on optimisation and then to a lesser extent food enjoyment or foods that may not fall into your nutritional requirements per se. This may look like 80% of the time the more nutritious option is chosen, allowing 20% flexibility for social eating, favourite foods, when you're time poor or simply don’t have many options on hand.
This also combats all-or-nothing thinking, which in itself can foster a negative relationship with your food or body and often lead to failure. Simply put, with a balanced approach we are not striving for perfection, in fact, the lack of perfection is what makes balanced eating sustainable and therefore has a greater opportunity to impact your health in the long term.
What benefits can you expect from practicing balanced eating?
When it comes to health, balancing your meals (and overall diet) can help with healthy weight maintenance and managing blood sugar levels. It can boost energy, improve sleep, support fertility and allow all of your body systems to function properly thus supporting overall health. Including a wide variety of whole foods in particular, also encourages a diverse gut microbiota which we now know to be instrumental in almost all aspects of our health. But beyond the functional aspect, balanced eating also supports a healthy relationship with food and your body, and can alleviate uncontrollable cravings, disordered eating, stress, and improve overall mental health and wellbeing too.
If the balanced eating approach resonates with you and you’re looking to improve your health, then the my personalised nutrition coaching program might be right for you. This is a 12-week one-on-one coaching program that helps you find balance with real food so you can build whole-body health. This program is for you if you want to feel good in your own skin and develop lifelong healthy habits without restriction.
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PERSONALISED NUTRITION COACHING
References
1. National Health and Medical Research Council. (2014, April 2). Chronic Disease [Macronutrient Balance]. https://www.nrv.gov.au/chronic-disease/macronutrient-balance