This week, we are bringing you a guest blog post from one of our favorite LIFE app users and food bloggers. Nicole Brown is the co-founder (along with her husband, Chris) and CEO of the climbing and fitness brands LEF Climbing and Mosaic Climbing. Her favorite healthspan practices including rock climbing, hiking, intermittent fasting and eating a veritable smörgåsbord of fruits and vegetables. She also loves to travel, remodel homes and experiment in the kitchen.

Nicole Brown. Photo by Chris Shotwell.

Nicole began Perpetual Projecting a few months ago as a creative outlet and motivational tool, predominantly in the realms of design, cooking, and wellness. We were inspired by her mouthwatering Instagram posts and blog food recipes and by her background in biomedical sciences, so we asked her to tell us more about how she fits so many life-extending vegetables and fruits into her diet.

Nicole has food allergies that force her to give up her once-favorite carbohydrate sources, including most breads, pasta and ice cream. However, she has used this as an opportunity to learn how to cook with more low-carb plant-based ingredients.

Guest blog post by Nicole Brown

Ah, the carbohydrate controversy… It rings a lot like similar controversies over the “food enemies of the moment,” whether fat, alcohol, coffee or sugar. If you caught LifeOmic’s Medium article titled “The Scientific Low-Down on Low-Carb” posted last week, you’re well ahead of the curve in your understanding of carbohydrates, when they are good and when they are not so good. Hopefully you’ve realized that none of the “food enemies” listed above are “bad” as long as they are consumed in moderation. I’m here to share a handful of ways you can do just that with carbs, by getting creative with your cooking ingredients.

The best way to eat healthy is the way that works for you (ok, and that also ideally includes a mix of fruits and vegetables). We are not all mirror images of one another, and that’s a good thing. The fact that a particular diet works for one of your your family members or a Facebook friend is not a guarantee that it’ll also work when transposed onto you. All of us have to experiment with various formulas to discover that equilibrium where we feel satiated and energetic, are meeting our health-related goals, and are able to sustain these new habits long term.

Intermittent fasting can throw a monkey wrench into your fine-tuned nutrition regimen. I was a perpetual snacker before I started practicing IF. I had been happy with a certain rhythm of eating for several years and I wasn’t keen on upending my eating schedule. It has taken me about a year of trial and error to find the right balance of avoiding foods I’m allergic to and fasting on a schedule that meets my energy needs and weight goals.

Based on my eating style, my body has a preference for a high-volume diet that incorporates a veritable ton of healthy fats and fiber, a reasonable portion of carbohydrates from whole-food sources, and a small amount of meat. This combination usually results in a more consistent energy pattern for me, along with better sleep, fewer cravings and a healthy weight range. Daily 16 to 18 hour fasts are now a sustainable habit for me. Hunger now has less control over my emotions. I suspect intermittent fasting and I will be lifelong friends.

Regardless of whether your goal is to lose weight, sneak in more vegetables, or follow a healthy low-carb diet, I’ve listed a few of my own tricks below for adding more fiber into your meals. As always, work with your healthcare team to tailor a diet that suits your health and wellness goals and is one that you can stick with long term. Happy cooking!

Please shoot me a note if you try any of these tips! You can catch me over at perpetualprojecting.com or via Instagram @perpetualprojecting. Eat well and enjoy!