Motivation
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Last week I dove into the specifics of healthy eating; what to eat, when to eat, and why. Did you find you could identify with one of the stages? Do you see why the process can take so long? Even though at the most basic level losing weight requires a calorie deficit, usually there is a transformation that must occur on the inside to make this happen.
To further complicate the process, there is an avalanche of information being thrown at us constantly about what to eat, what is healthy, what will help us lose weight. I find it can be so overwhelming and confusing to read article after article of food advice. There are a few things I try to keep in mind.
First, I try to remember that food companies are trying to make money and they do not care about my health and fitness as long as I am buying their product. So just because an ad claims something, doesn't mean I believe it. There is no thirty pounds in thirty days. There is no shortcut. There is no secret.
There is only eating fresh whole foods and working hard. If you keep looking for the magic pill or diet that will allow you to eat junk (food that contains more calories than nutrition), you are wasting time that could be spent on things that matter.
Second, I try to remember to think in terms of health and fitness, not scales and weight loss. Can I live on Lean Cuisines and Weight Watchers desserts and lose weight? Sure, for awhile. Will my overall health suffer? Yes it will. There is not enough nutrition in these products to optimize my overall health and fitness.
What I find happens when I focus on nutrition is that I am rewarded with a metabolism boost. I also do not feel at the mercy of cravings. There were many times that I would eat my Lean Cuisine only to wander to the snack machine an hour later and eat a package of M&M's, which have more calories than the lunch did. But when I eat a whole foods lunch of lean protein and complex carbs plus water, I send the signal to my brain that what I needed has been received. No more food needed. Free to move on to other things.
Third, I try to remember that all foods are not created equal. Fruit is a great example. How many of us are confused about fruit! Can I eat it? Should I eat it? What about the sugar? Here's how I think about fruit. Fruit is awesome in its whole, natural form. The combination of fiber, fructose, vitamins and water is just what our body needs. But what happens when we strip the fiber out and just drink the juice? The body reacts differently.
According to the science, you will get a higher insulin response when you have fruit juice as opposed to whole fruit. Then there is dried fruit with added sugars, canned fruit with added syrup, fruit flavored Kool Aid, and Fruit Roll Ups. We can't make the mistake of thinking these are all equal. Whole, natural fruit is best. Add some natural peanut butter to your apple slices with the skin on and now you have the optimal combination (fiber + natural sugar + protein).
Chicken is another good example. Is chicken good for you? I believe natural chicken breast without hormones or antibiotics is good for you. I dislike that they inject chicken with 15% salt solution to plump it up for sale. Then once you start to bread it, fry it, add cheese and bacon to it, it gets away from being good for you.
So how can we simplify all the information and choices available to us? Repeat it again and again. Fresh, whole foods. Fresh, whole foods. Remember the advice- stick to the perimeter of the grocery store. Don't fall for the commercials. If it comes in a box or a bottle, it was probably messed with enough to diminish its nutritional value for the sake of profit and marketability. Read the labels.
Or just fill up your cart with apples, bananas, cantaloupe, beans, nuts, peppers, squash, cucumber, fish, chicken, lettuce, eggs, avocados, onions, sweet potatoes, and all those wonderful things the Earth has managed to provide all this time without Stouffers, Weight Watchers, Nabisco, or Kraft.
Now get moving!
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