Food is our bodies fuel | Elin Härkönens blogg

Food is our body’s fuel ~ Just like petrol is the fuel for a car....

Food keeps us going, it keeps us on the right track, it keeps us alive.

"Food is our body’s fuel. What we put in our system decides how we will feel and perform in every situation through life. If we feed it "wrong", it will eventually show. Lack of energy, weight gain or weight loss, depression, concentration problems, sleeping issues, irritation, headache are just some of the signs and symptoms that poor diet is causing.

Imagine your body as a car. A car needs energy (petrol) to function, and so does our body. But instead of petrol the energy is food .

If you don’t fill up your car, it will eventually stop. If you don’t eat, your body will stop. If you fill your car with wrong fuel, or forget to put oil in it.. it will break down. Same with your body.

Choose food with good quality that nourish your body and keep it going. "

So what do I want to say with this?

First of all I want to say something that is extremely important for me... and that is that food and eating should be enjoyable. What's also important is to know that what YOU choose to put in your body will affect you and the life you are living.

Everyone knows that we have to eat to stay alive.... but during my years as a coach and now as a personal trainer I have realized that SO many people are lacking the knowledge of what type of food to eat...

I get questions like:

"Why am I not loosing weight? I only eat twice a day? Why do I need to eat all different macro-and micronutrients every day? (macro=carbs, protein and fats and micro= vitamins and minerals) Why is dinner at McDonalds EVERY day not a great choice? Why don't you recommend me to eat blueberry-muffins for breakfast every morning, it is fruit in it?" You must be super-proud, I have JUST been drinking 1 litre CocaCola today........?

Yes questions like this are common for me to respond at.... which have made the nutrition side an important part in my job, to inform and advice my clients. (I am not saying I am a full degreed dietitian, but recomendations am I still able to give after all of my nutrition courses)

I want you and my clients to be aware of that there're good and less good options of food. There're food out there which are good for us and which our bodies need and require to function. and then we have the types of food which are NOT giving us the optimal energy and all the nutrients our body needs and also the type of food that are actually causing serious harm (IF CONSUMING TOO MUCH): increasing risk of heart dieseases, high cholesterol, blood pressure, depression)

It is not getting any easier with all the information and all the different options we have out there today, I get that.

For someone without any knowledge about nutrition, this is a djungle.

BUT there's help to get. SO please take it.

If you don't know how to train to get/stay strong and be able to live a long and healthy life, take help from a Personal trainer. ( send me a message ... ;) ) If you don't know how to eat to fuel your body the best way possible, ASK for help.

I believe the KEY is to find a BALANCE, a balance that works for YOU and your body.

I am not a fan of strict diets, I think it is too stressful and causes more harm than good for most people. I believe in that happiness comes with balance and that means that you should be able to eat your pieces of chocolate on a Saturday night when you really really want it. It means that you can go out for dinner with your friends and order whatever you want on the meny. It means that you are able to listen to what makes you, your body, your mind and your soul happy. BUT to be able to do this, you have to find your BALANCE first...you have to learn what is good for your body and what is not so good. You need to learn how the food you choose to put in your machine, affects you and you also have to learn how much exercise your body needs to be feeling good.

(btw. I still respect the athletes who compete and understand that they need to follow strict diets.... but that is their choice)

How do you choose to fuel your body? Remember: it is your body who will take you through your entire life, so why not have a strong, happy and healthy one?

Take my advice, ask for help if you need it.

elin.harkonen@outlook.com

# breakitandyouwillmakeit