How doing this one simple trick will let you eat the foods that you love and skip the “Diet Foods!”
Being a trainer I inevitably get asked questions like: “What do you eat?” “What are the best diet foods?” Or something along the lines of “You’re a vegetarian right?” Not…even…close! And every time I get asked this I know what they are thinking. They think I am going to tell them I eat diet foods, e.g., cottage cheese, chicken breast, veggies and protein drinks, all day long. My digestive system is annoyed just thinking about that. But the funny thing is that when I first “got in shape” after playing football, that’s kind of how I ate. That and an enormous amount of working out helped me lose 65 pounds or so in three to four months. But it wasn’t sustainable and was definitely not right for my body.
So when I tell people I don’t eat diet foods, that I eat French toast, pancakes, eggs, bacon (yummm!), lasagna, steaks, burgers (OK, I’m getting a little out of control), they look at me like I’m crazy, or they think my being in shape “just comes naturally.” I work really hard on my exercise program and I put just as much effort into what I eat—especially where it comes from.
How eating quality foods will allow you to skip diet foods
There is the trick if you didn’t catch it: eating “quality foods” means you do not have to eat diet foods. Where you get your food really matters! As long as I am eating for my metabolic type and not overeating or indulging, healthy foods keep me healthy and I am not overweight. The easiest way to do this is to eat organic, grass-fed, pasture-raised, wild-caught, nonprocessed, pesticide- and herbicide-free food. If you do that, you are on the right track.
Our body does not know what processed food is. It gets confused. And when it gets confused it doesn’t process it as well. This leads to bloating and inflammation, which leads to feeling and looking like crap. So if you are buying and eating food that Monsanto “grew” (used really loosely), having a burger that was fed corn and by-products, or a chicken that “lived” (again, used loosely) in an overcrowded coop, that is what you are turning your body into. You are what you eat. Imagine that you were only allowed to eat junk food and had to stay in your room. How healthy do you think you would be? Well, when we eat conventional food, that is what we are ingesting.
This is overwhelming!
No, it’s not. It’s an easy fix. Start going to establishments and to farmers markets where they grow and support real food. Ask the managers, or better yet the farmers at the market, “Do you practice organic farming?” A lot of farmers do but are unable to purchase the organic title because it is so expensive and red-tape driven.
Also, start to track your food, and more important, how you feel when you eat. No need to calorie-track; it doesn’t work. Just start to realize what foods work for you and make them part of your diet. You will know when they are right because your weight will normalize (as long as you are exercising properly and enough), you will have more energy, your body will be less achy, and you will be more clearheaded.
There are many reasons to support and eat organically grown foods. And if for no other reason, do it to take care of yourself. Happy eating!
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