Whilst doing the Precision Nutrition (PN) course they defined a coach as being “like a tour guide to a place where you already live”, which is something that we definitely believe at Motus. This is why Darren and I decided that the PN course was the right one to do as not only are known for their nutrition knowledge, but also because their principles are aligned with ours.
Some of our main principles at Motus are to work step-by-step, focus on long-term behaviour change, provide tailored advice and also to act as guides; helping you translate knowledge into action. You already probably know quite a lot of what you need to do to benefit your health, but our role as your coach is to help you utilise this knowledge and resources at your disposal.
Here are three main takeaways from the course that I've found to have huge benefits to clients:
1. Hand-based portion control
As your hand is proportionate to your body, it never changes, it's always with you, this makes it the perfect tool for measuring food and nutrients - and reduces the emphasis on calorie counting. You can use this method to build a plate of food:
Males - 2 palms of protein, 2 fists of vegetables, 2 cups of carbohydrates and 2 thumbs of fats
Females - 1 palm of protein, 1 fist of vegetables, 1 cup of carbohydrates and 1 thumb of fats
Of course this is completely customisable based on your personal needs and goals. For example if you might need more food if you're larger in stature, aren't feeling satisfied after meals and are very active. Also you might need less food if you are smaller in stature, are not very active or feeling too full after meals. This a rough guide to start you off and the main key is to pay attention to your results and adjust as necessary.
2. To focus on a long-term plan, as well as your immediate short-term plan
If you have a specific goal every task you do should be focused on helping you reach that goal. I had already done a lot of work previously on getting clients to focus on the process instead of the outcome, and this course gave me some new ideas on how to do this. One potential way suggested was this:
I encourage you to think about your goals in this way, to strip them back so you can focus on what is immediately in front of you. This will help you see that there are many things you have control over day to day that can influence you reaching your long-term goal.
If you focus on what you're doing today instead of the end goal it will make you feel more positive as you can have daily achievements instead of waiting to reach a goal that seems a long way away.
3. It's all about the basics, done consistently
This aligns perfectly with the Motus methodology: keeping things as simple as possible. This course again reinforced for me that simple is almost always best. Often clients come in with complex nutrition tactics/plans that they want to try when actually it's the ‘boring' stuff that works best.
Good nutrition isn't sexy, it's simple. We want it to feel as easy as possible. Once the fundamentals are done consistently well, then - and only then - is it time to try and add something extra if required.
Some of these fundamentals include: eating minimally processed, whole foods, drinking more water, eating slowly, engaging with your hunger cues, being aware of appropriate portion sizes, building consistent exercise habits and sleeping 7-9 hours per night.
Starting with these has helped my clients and those around me look, feel and perform their best.
