Building blocks of a healthy diet — thinking about time frames

I tend to divide what I eat into four time frames. This helps me to plan and maintain a nutritionally-balanced diet over the long term. Remember, consistency is key here. Expecting perfection in every timeframe will inevitably be impossible to maintain.

INDIVIDUAL MEALS — In general I try to get at least some protein, healthy fats and either fruit or vegetables at every meal.

THE WHOLE DAY — Over the course of a whole day, at least when I am able to, I like to make sure that I have got at least my basic foundations covered — things like getting enough protein, fresh fruit, vegetables, water, healthy fats, etc, so that if one meal is a little thin on the ground nutritionally speaking, I will make a bit of an effort to boost my other meals that day. I have developed a tool called the positive nutrition pyramid to help me achieve this (see the next section).

A WEEK — I use my ‘rule of 2s’: I like to make sure I am getting two portions of fish, ideally, no more than two portions of red meats and smoked/processed meats or fish per week. Simple!

A YEAR — Overall health, energy levels, digestive function, skin, hair, nails and mood are some of the best feedback mechanisms there are to let us know if our dietary changes are working or not, and these things take a little while to adapt. I am a great believer in eating with seasons, not only because the food is often higher in nutrients but because it is often tastier, more ecologically friendly and brings more variety to my plate.