If you thought healthy eating was simply too hard to do, there are ways to make it far easier. It may start by simply cutting out food with added sugar. While that sounds easy and makes sense, people often struggle because they’re addicted to sugar. It triggers the same receptors as opioids and creates a bit of a withdrawal. It’s also in most the processed products on the grocery shelves. To complicate the matter, manufacturers use several names for sugar. If you see high fructose corn syrup on the list, put down the product and quickly walk away.
If reading labels is more than you can tolerate after a long day at work, choose a different option.
Switch to more whole foods. These are foods that are less processed and have no additives. Spend your time at the produce section and shop for lean cuts of meat and poultry. Include fresh fish in your diet once a week, but don’t fry it. If you choose peanut butter, find one that has only peanuts in it and nothing else. When choosing fresh fruits and vegetables, include a rainbow of colors. Each phytochemical that creates the color provides a different benefit for the body.
Focus on what you drink, too.
You may be drinking tons of calories and artificial additives that make your body less healthy, plus pack on the pounds. Don’t be fooled by zero calorie or diet drinks, either. Studies show that people who drink diet drinks often have a larger mid-section circumference. Stick with drinks naturally low in calories, such as herbal or green tea and especially water.
Make it super easy.
Choose one of our nutrition plans and use the menus and shopping list provided. You can even save money, since the recipes are designed to use ingredients several ways throughout the week. Cook all the food on the weekend and then just heat and serve throughout the week. It takes the guesswork out of menus and what to eat, while teaching you new recipes and techniques to eat healthier.
- Always have healthy snacks available. Cube a melon and have it ready in the refrigerator or slice up the celery and have dip ready. When you have healthy snacks ready, you’ll be more likely to eat them.
- Don’t be fooled by products labeled low fat. It doesn’t mean it’s necessarily healthy. Manufacturers often add sugar to make low fat products more palatable. You also need to eat healthy fat to burn fat.
- Learning to eat healthier is all about making smarter decisions. For instance, you can substitute brown rice for white rice and save calories. Using Greek yogurt instead of sour cream for potatoes is another calorie savings.
- Focus on how you cook, too. Steaming, broiling and grilling food is far healthier than frying it. Wipe out all deep-fried foods from your diet. Not only do they pack on the pounds, they’re unhealthy.
For more information, contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training