STICK TO THE OUTER ISLES OF THE GROCERY STORE:
Most grocery stores are set up the same way. The produce, meats, dairies, and fresh baked breads are in the outer isles and refrigerated isles. The inner isles should only be used sparingly. These are the foods that are highly processed and contain a lot of chemicals to help keep them fresh. All of the vitamins and minerals that your body needs can be found in the fresh food you find in the outer isles of the store.
Healthy Tip: A good rule to follow is, if the food does not expire/go bad within two to three weeks, you should not be buying it. The extra chemicals that are keeping the food from going bad will make it hard for your body to digest.
TRY TO STICK AWAY FROM THE SO CALLED "HEALTHY" FOODS:
The foods that get labelled as "healthy" or "diet" foods are usually very processed. They must usually be chemically altered to remove things like fats and sugars that naturally occur in most foods. These synthetic sugars and fats can be very difficult to digest making you feel bloated or swollen. Also, just because it says words like "low fat" often does not mean that it is in fact low in fat. Words like "lite" and "low" do not have a specific number they must be labelled as "low." An example would be a "lite" brownie only needs to have less calories and/or fat than a normal brownie. So, if a brownie normally has 250 calories a 230 calorie brownie can be labelled as "lite." This tricks you into thinking you are eating something that has a lot less calories than it really has. You need to eat fat in your diet. Fats are essential to our body. They are used to make cell membranes that hold a cell together and are also used to make certain hormones in our body.
Healthy Tip: Read the nutrition labels. The nutrition labels cannot lie to you like the label on the front can. You should opt for foods that are low in saturated and trans-fats instead of avoiding fats all together. Also, avoid foods with words like partially hydrogenated. You should opt to eat diets with full fats foods, just eat less of the food.
EAT FOODS THAT ARE DIFFERENT COLORS:
Most of the chemical reactions that happen in our body leave chemicals that aren't stable (the aren't happy). Thus, they continue to look for other chemicals to react with to make them happy. These chemicals are called free radicals. Free radicals are thought to play important roles in diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancer and are thought to make us age and possibly become inflamed causing us to hold on to weight. In order to combat these free radicals we must eat foods high in anti-oxidants. This is where the foods colors come in to play. There are many different kinds of anti-oxidants and the different anti-oxidants are found in different colors of food. This means, the more colors of food you eat the more anti-oxidants (and different types) you are getting in your diet.
Healthy Tip: Each meal of the day should contain foods with at least five different colors. What I mean is eat a food that is red, with a food that is green, one that is brown, one that is orange and one that is white. This will give you a meal that is very high in anti-oxidants. This means you are eating healthy and can lose weight faster. (Note: Foods that are colored with food dye DO NOT COUNT as eating foods with different colors. Sorry Skittles fans, you are not eating an anti-oxidant diet because there are five different colors of the candy.)
DON'T DRINK YOUR CALORIES:
When you are counting calories and trying to lose weight, every calorie counts. Drinking beverages like soda, juice, wine and beer are all loaded with simple and refined sugars. These sugars are weight loss killers as they are loaded with empty calories (meaning they have calories but little to no nutritional value.)
Healthy Tip: Stick to good old water when you are eating. Water helps to keep your organs lubricated allowing digestion to be easier for your body. If you need something with flavor, try adding lemon, cucumber, or another fruit to your water to give it a twist. If that still isn't enough stick to green tea or black tea sweetened with a touch of honey.
Always remember: DON'T GO ON DIETS. Diets are meant to be short term solutions. If you want to lose weight and KEEP IT OFF, you have to make lifestyle changes, not just go on a temporary diet. Buying the right foods from the grocery store and eating them will go a long way into helping you lose your desired weight.
Disclaimer: The above information is intended for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended to be used as medical advise. Always, see your physician to be properly diagnosed before trying any course of treatment.
