In this week’s episode of Making It Real, Meal Garden Professional & Nutritionist Tyra Houle shares why all foods fit, the crucial role macronutrients play in our daily performance, and why balance is key to fighting food fear!  

Click below to listen along or just read the story below.

Obstacle course racing + nutrition

Tyra started obstacle course racing in 2015. And back then, not only does she admit to not knowing how to eat for training, but neither how to properly prepare nutritionally for a race. And then to know what to consume post-race for optimal recovery. It was definitely a learned experience for Tyra - as she began researching, trialing & testing methods on herself.

How macronutrients impact performance

Before Tyra gets into the nutrition details of what really helped her - and today, what kind of nutrition structure best supports her athlete clients, she clarifies that

there shouldn't be any negative stigmas towards any of the macronutrients because they all play their own crucial role in how your body functions day to day. ~ Tyra

First, with carbohydrates, it's all about maintaining healthy glycogen levels and keeping those stored, because that is what our bodies use for physical performance.

Tyra mentions oats, rice, pasta, even the carbohydrate-heavy fruits like bananas and apples, - “Those are going to fuel our performance immediately, we're gonna blow through those first!”

Next, our bodies go to the fats, which we hold on to and use as a secondary source. Of course, there are great and not-so-great sources of these fats. The not so ideal fats include the ones that are coming from fast foods, and heavily processed butters for example.  

And then your healthy fats are foods like nuts, seeds, nut butters, avocados, etc. Tyra doesn’t “ban” any foods (including not-so-great fats!) but more so explains that it’s important to, “just kind of balance it out”.

Thirdly, there are proteins - whether it’s from beans, legumes, chicken, healthy red meats, etc - they are all going to play a role in how your body performs, day to day.

Overcoming food fear

Tyra likes to teach a sustainable lifestyle - and that means: all foods fit.

“When I'm meal planning for a client, whether it's weight loss, weight gain, or a competitive athlete for OCR, you're going to get foods in your meal plan that you're looking forward to.

You're going to get foods in your meal plan that are easy to make, they're easy to prep, they're easy to bring to work and heat up, or easy to eat cold. And you're going to have your little snack. You're going to have your favorite protein bar, you're going to have the weekend where you get to make muffins, and eat waffles with your family.”

Tyra’s most powerful advice is to switch over the clients into a mindset of: it's not that I can't have it - it's just when can I have it, when can it fit.

Using Meal Garden

So how does Tyra create these easy to use, and enjoyable to live by, meal plans? She swears by Meal Garden.

“Honestly, the ease of use - it's just so easy to use!” Tyra goes on to share real-life client examples of why she relies on the platform, sharing that in the case of those suffering with Hashimotos for instance, who cannot have nightshades. Tyra can go in there and easily omit those items from a standard plan, and easily tweak the plan to suit individual needs.

In fact, Tyra even takes advantage of Meal Garden for her own needs, admitting, “Even myself, meal planning every week, there are 1000s of recipes out there. And it's really easy to get lost.”

While fitting nutrient & caloric needs are one thing, she stresses the importance of actually enjoying the recipes and the plan itself.

Tyra is all about keeping things that clients love - and modifying when or if necessary - and ultimately building a game plan for food that is supportive as it is joyful.

Tyra’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ocr.blondie/

Tyra’s LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/tyrahoule

Learn more about Meal Garden here.

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