The Benefits of Eating Real Food
The Benefits of Eating Real Food
Real food is food that is as close to its natural state as possible. Think “Food your grandmother would recognize!” An organic chicken you have to cook yourself is more real than chicken nuggets or chicken from a can.
The benefits of eating real food include minimizing the chemical additives that are linked to disease and obesity. These include artificial food coloring, preservatives and artificial flavours. Real food has less sugar, sodium and added fat and is rich in nutrients your body can benefit from.
How to Optimize Your Benefits
1. Make a List. Once a week (ex. Saturdays) choose your meals for the week. Now scan the recipes to create your list to shop from. This will save you time, money and set you up for healthier meals options throughout the week. Keep your list on paper, your phone or an App. like “Yummly”.
2. Shop the perimeter (the outer section) first where fruits, vegetables, natural meats, eggs and fish are.
3. Avoid the center aisles (junk food) and foods targeted for children. You will eat them if you have them at home.
4. Avoid foods that contain more than five ingredients, artificial ingredients, or ingredients you can’t pronounce. If you are not sure about an ingredient, a quick search on the web with your smart phone will give you the answer.
5. Drink: water is your best choice. Then stick with herbal tea or fresh-pressed juice.
6. Make fruits and vegetables your go-to snacks. Keep a bowl of fresh fruit on the counter. Wash and chop veggies into sticks and pack them into baggies for easy grab-n-go.
7. Quit fast food. Make extra portions of your main dinner to pack for lunch the next day. This easy habit will save you from eating processed meals when you find yourself starving in
front of a local fast food joint.
8. Exercise – move your body 3-4 times a week at your local gym, do a fun class or go for a run.
9. Do not deprive yourself. It does not work. You’ll starve your body of essential nutrients and end up binging on junk food.
10. Instead of focusing on what you cannot eat, think about how great you’re going to look and feel at the end of your program. Set a target like: when you go shopping for a pair of jeans that are a size smaller or when you participate in a marathon.
11. Take a few minutes to think and write down your goals, what you really want to achieve deep down.
