Dieting - Don’t you hate that word?
We already know that if we eat healthy, we will be healthy, so it is not a matter of semantics; it is a matter of choice.
The problem is that the content of most prepared foods in the grocery stores is appalling and not what Mother Nature intended our bodies to use as fuel. Read the labels once. The best guide when you are dieting is, if you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. In the advent of convenience foods, the American diet has been sabotaged with chemicals, additives, and lots of extra calories.
So what’s the answer? Slow down America and start cooking! When you are dieting, the easiest way to constrict calories and be healthy is to stop and think about what you are putting into your mouth. Dieting starts when you pass through the front door of a grocery store. If food is not found in a package, then you found something worthy of consuming. Usually these items are found around the perimeter of your grocery store in the form of vegetables, fruits, meats, dairy, and breads.
And when it comes to dairy products, no fat doesn’t mean no calories. No fat dieting products usually contain additives that are not healthy either. So if you are overweight and dieting, choose the low fat. Fat is an essential ingredient for our brains to function normally. Does that explain what is wrong with our society’s behavior? I’d like to do scientific research on that! Dieting should include healthy fats that come in their natural form such as in olive oil, nuts, fish and avocadoes. Unhealthy fats are found in processed foods such as margarine and pre-packaged dinners, should be avoided.
Unfortunately, the average American is consuming too many unhealthy fats and is only compounding the problems by not getting the exercise they need to burn them off. A simple daily exercise, such as taking a brisk 20 minute walk can help burn calories, reduce cholesterol and ward off diseases such as diabetes and heart disease and even combat depression. While watching TV I like to skip the commercials and do some stretching or floor exercises. See how many jumping jacks you can do before the show comes back on!
When you’re dieting right, your body should get the right kind of fuel and exercise. Then it can be a lean, mean, fat burning machine and weight loss can occur naturally.