Over the past couple of years, I have read a lot of health and fitness blogs. I figure they already have things figured out, so I make observations about what they eat and how they exercise. One thing that they all have in common is how much
real food that they eat - especially vegetables.
When you are trying to lose weight, it's so easy to fall into the trap of stocking up on Reduced-Fat Wheat Thins, Low Fat granola bars, Light flavored yogurts, Lean Cuisines, Baked Lays, Diet Coke and the like. We think that we need less fat and carbs and fewer calories and that's all that matters.
However,
it's not just the quantity of food that matters, it's the quality. When you buy these diet foods, you are more than likely ingesting a lot of synthetic ingredients, sugar, and artificial sweeteners. All of this "junk" negatively impacts the way your body functions and sets you up to be at a higher risk for diabetes, hearth disease, and being overweight or obese.
We have to become stringent when assessing food labels because the food companies are trying to trick us into thinking that we are making good choices, when we may not. You need to first look at the ingredients in each food you are buying, not just the information in the nutrition box.
Here is a breakdown on various "health foods"...
RF Wheat Thins:
Click here.
Chobani Greek Yogurt:
Click here.
Ocean Spray Cran-Pomegranate Juice:
Click here.
Special K Bars:
Click here.
Morning Star Riblets:
Click here.
What themes do you see?
All of these foods have some form of sugar or artificial that is highly addicting and will keep us coming back for more. They are all lacking in real forms of nutrients.
Ex. Motts regular applesauce contains high fructose corn syrup. Is this really necessary? No!
So what should you eat?
You can never go wrong with the foods above. (If you are pre-diabetic or diabetic, you will need to limit foods that have a high glycemic index). Your focus should be on vegetables and then fruits.
I really like this Great Plate illustration from University of Michigan on what types of foods should be filling your plate. You can download the PDF,
here.
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| The Great Plate |
Luckily, Shakeology contains a ton of super foods, fruits, and vegetables and none of this "junk". For your other 2 meals during the day, you should try to make vegetables the highlight of your meal. You want to feed your body foods high in nutrients so you can feel great and truly be healthy!
What if I don't like vegetables?
I promise that if you continuously try to include veggies in your diet, your palate will start to change. I used to hate asparagus, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach, etc but I enjoy all of them now. Sometimes you just need to change the way that they are prepared. I prefer my vegetables to be roasted, and not steamed. You can season them with your favorite herbs. You can sneak them into sauces by pureeing them first. I have even added grated summer squash to ground beef when making tacos. Lilly didn't even notice!
Try different kinds. Who says you can only eat carrots and broccoli??
40 Unexpected Ways to Add Veggies to a Meal
**Notice that potatoes count as starches and not vegetables.**
Homework - Look at your food diary. Write down the foods that you thought were healthy, that really aren't. Next to each food, write down what you can replace it with at your next grocery trip.
My list will include exchanging my non-fat plain greek yogurt with 2% plain greek yogurt.
