Self-Care Tips: The Importance of Good Nutrition as an Entrepreneur

As part of our self-care series, I’m really excited to have guest blogger, Sarah Allison, join us to share the importance of good nutrition as an entrepreneur!

If you’ve been following along on Instagram or our weekly coffee dates, you know I’ve been struggling to maintain a good healthy balance while working full time and getting my business off the ground.

Most nights my dinners consist of cereal or pasta (sorry mom and dad, I know that’s not what you want to hear!), and my gym habits started to slip because my “free” time became consumed working on my side-hustle. The journey to full-time is not for the faint of heart.

As I mentioned in the Self-Care Tips for Millennial Entrepreneurs, you cannot pour from an empty cup – you must take care of yourself first.

This includes focusing on your nutritional intake and having a good diet.

Entrepreneurial Eats
by Sarah Allison

Food: any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for an organism.

Funny that now more than ever, this definition of food holds more truth for us than it would have for our ancestors.

ANY substance? Seems like it is. We process and package it, then add chemicals and preservatives transforming what was once maybe a corn kernel into Fritos and call it a snack. Is this a substance? Sure. Is it food to provide nutritional support? I guess that depends on how you view nutrition.

As a dietitian, food is much more than just a substance that I shove in my mouth three times a day. Food is something I cook, I share, I gather around and it is what I evaluate daily when it comes to nutrient content and heal the impact on my body.

Nutrition to me is the quality of the food that use as fuel for my tank. It is what provides energy to my cells and what has a direct impact on my blood sugar and overall health. To me, food is much more than just ANY substance. Food is what keeps me alive, nutrition is what keeps me healthy.

The world we live in today is overwhelming. We have an overabundance of information available at our fingertips, yet the lack of education is staggering. We think we know what to eat but really, we don’t. Even as an RD I hear it all the time, gluten-free, cottage-cheese, liver cleanse, low FODMAP, HCG … Don’t you think that if we all just ate a variety of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and fish and low carb that we wouldn’t need all these fads?

Don’t get me wrong there is a place for gluten-free foods, but I think we all can agree that it always becomes a little extreme.

So, tell me, how does a busy business owner or entrepreneur become successful?

Well duh, Sarah; they work hard, they plan, and are financially responsible. And that is true. But for how long do you think someone can go working non-stop as many entrepreneurs do, living day to day with little sleep, high stress, low-quality food, and no exercise?

Who wants to sign up for that experiment?

I tell you what, me with less than 7-8 hours of sleep and low-quality food is a recipe for a dragon lady that no one wants to be around. If this sounds like you, I urge you to seize this moment, analyze your lifestyle and food choices and think about what you can improve on. Not just for your health, but for your career as well.

It is so simple.

Sleep, water, fresh air and nutrient dense food are the foundations for lasting health, wellness and success- without these critical elements our stamina, mental and physical health will falter.

As we approach or continue our successful paths, I ask you … what will you do today to ensure longevity in your health that will, in turn, support the longevity of your business?

“Health is the new wealth”- unk

Nothing worthwhile ever came easy, but here are some tips to help along the way:

For Hydration:

Avoid sodas (duh)
Fruit Juice is not Fruit
Scope out flavored water for additives and chemicals (yum)
Seltzer is okay
Better yet, dilute the fruit juice with seltzer and have yourself a good time!

For Restful Sleep:

Turn everything off one hour before
Put phone on silent (not vibrate) … and away from the pillow
Do not underestimate the power of a 10 min meditation/stretch or breathing exercise. It can be more helpful than you think. I like to use the MoveWith app for meditation.

For Exercise

You don’t have to join Crossfit … or any gym for that matter
Start with 30 – 45 mins a day
Walk outside, get fresh air, jog around the block anything to get that heart rate up for a tad and get those endorphins flowin’.

Nutrient Dense Though?

If it has more than five ingredients drop it and don’t look back.
Eat the rainbow (not skittles), a variety of fruits and dark cruciferous vegetables.
There are other grains and side options besides pasta i.e quinoa, lentils, brown (or black) rice, or even just a heaping side of veggies!

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Sarah Allison RDN/LD is a Registered Dietitian and owner of TheSavvyStrawberry Nutrition&Wellness a nutrition blog for which she emphasizes a balanced, nutritious and active lifestyle. Sarah holds licensure in the state of Florida and has been working professionally since graduating in 2012 with her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and Nutrition. Her professional affiliations include the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness dietetic practice group. Her areas of focus include diabetes management, vitamin and mineral supplementation and food sensitivities. As a Type1 Diabetic herself, Sarah emphasizes that living with diabetes is not a death sentence and it is possible to eat amazing food, be fit and have fun!

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I certainly don’t have my nutrition and wellness completely balanced out, but I decided to challenge myself to 30 days of activity this month! So far, I’ve only missed two days – I mean, I have to start somewhere. Since starting my 30-day challenge of getting in some sort of physical activity (my main three are running, yoga, and a quick 30-minute full body workout), my eating habits have been a *bit* better! Well, at least it’s progress. #gracenotperfection

If you’re struggling to balance a healthy lifestyle and running you biz, let me know, I would love an accountability buddy 🙂

xo,

Sianne

Self-Care Tips: The Importance of Good Nutrition as an Entrepreneur