THE HEALTHY EATING LIFESTYLE

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Sharon Ball, One of Thousands of Health and Fitness Coaches on Noomii.

The best way to eat healthy is to eat natural foods (whole foods ) MOST of the time. That means a food that is not processed and full of chemicals and transfats. That means drinking water or unsugared ice tea instead of drinks with artificial sweeteners. Splenda (sucralose), NutraSweet (aspartame), Acesulfame potassium are chemicals. The only artificial sweetener that is natural is Stevia which is made from a plant and is acceptable. Although raw sugar, honey, molasses are natural and basically healthy in very small amounts, eating too much will sabotage your weight loss. Once you get used to drinking water and unsweetened drinks, you will find that you no longer like sweetened drinks regardless of whether they are sweetened with sugar or chemicals. Allow yourself to have a favorite food that is maybe not so healthy once in a while. Once a week or once a month- but not every day. And continue to watch the portion size.

There are multiple research studies pointing towards the dangers of drinking carbonated colas and other “modern” trendy beverages. For instance, entities such as the University of Maryland Medical Center, Harvard Medical Center, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and the National Institutes of Health suggest that carbonated beverages increase the risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, renal failure, kidney stones, decreased bone mineral density in females, bone fractures in younger women and even teenage girls, gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastritis, gas and stomach discomfort. In addition to carbonated beverages, the fluorescent-colored sports drinks and citric fruit juices can damage teeth.

Regularly spaced meals throughout the day are a must. This means you must eat breakfast. If you don’t have time for a sit down breakfast you can prepare a “eat and run” breakfast ahead of time and grab it on your way out the door. A banana and oatmeal raison cookie or a hardboiled egg and hand full of dried fruit and nuts.

Clear the house of temptations. Never go the grocery store hungry or you’re likely to come home with high calorie goodies that you really shouldn’t have in the house. Plan ahead so that you always have access to healthy whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, low fat cheese, boiled eggs,

Make every mealtime an occasion. Learn to enjoy eating. Eat at the table and not in front of the television or while reading to doing other activities. You won’t feel satisfied with your meal if you finish eating and realize you never tasted a bite because your attention was elsewhere. Allow at least 20 minutes for your meal. It takes 20 minutes for the brain to get the message that the stomach is full. If you eat more quickly than that you could end up eating a lot more food than you need because the “full” message hadn’t gotten to your brain yet. Engage in conversation, put down your fork between courses, chew more slowly, drink water with your meal and not soda. When you feel satisfied, quit eating even if there is food left on your plate. Fill plates in the kitchen and carry them to the dining table rather than serving food “family style” from dishes placed on the table. Walking to the kitchen for second helping may seem more trouble than what it is worth. Never eat directly from a package, pour out your desired serving into a dish. It is too easy to consume an entire package (12 or more servings) of chips or crackers without even realizing what you are doing. You might want to follow the divided plate rule. This means you divide your plate through the middle and fill the top half with vegetables. The bottom left quarter gets a serving of carbohydrate (the size of your cupped hand) and the bottom right quarter of the plate gets a portion of protein (the size of a deck of cards). Be sure that you are drinking enough water and other fluids. Dehydration can often be confused with hunger.

Our ancestors didn’t have to exercise because a majority of Americans did hard physical work all day farming. They never had to worry about losing weight because they had to eat large meals in order to get the energy for the hard physical labor that made up there day. Fast forward to the 19th century, people moved off farms into cities and many began working in factories. But they continued to do hard physical labor on a daily basis. Plus they often walked miles back and forth to school, work, other activities. Plus children played outdoors and their games often included running and jumping and assorted physical activities. Fast forward again to the 20th and 21st century. Substitute sedentary desk jobs, automobiles instead of walking , add television and computer games for entertainment instead of physical play. Multiply portion size and add lots of between meal snacks. Are you surprised by the obesity epidemic? In today’s world we need to be more conscious of how much or how often we are moving our bodies and how much and what kinds of food we are putting in those bodies. Making eating a CONSCOUS activity. Think about and enjoy every bite. Never eat the last few bite just because IT IS THERE.

People tend to want a quick fix. That’s why we go on DIEts. Unfortunately diets do not train us how to eat so even if the diet succeeds in our losing weight, we gain it right back when we résumé NORMAL eating.

Some diet plans tell you exactly what foods and how much to eat at each meal. Some plans even provide the food for you. This way of losing weight may be easier because you don’t have to think or plan. And for the short term it won’t hurt you.

Exchange diets are another common type of weight loss plan. This diet allows you to choose your food from a number of different groups. For instance, you get to choose so many carbs, so much protein, so much fat, etc. This eating plan actually offers lots of variety and you to learn how to make healthy choices for your meals.

Liquid diets are convenient and economical but again they tend to be boring and you do not learn to eat healthy over the long run. Plus they are low in fiber and may result in constipation problems. Any type of severely restricted eating plan like high protein foods only and low/no carbohydrates or low fat are dangerous over a period of time plus they are hard to maintain because of the boredom factor.

Generally speaking, the best weight loss plans address both diet and exercise. If you are overweight, your eating habits are just that- “habits”. You will need to make a commitment to yourself to change that habit. It may be helpful to go to your journal and make out a list of reasons to get your weight under control. You can begin with reasons such as losing weight will increase your energy level and your stamina, as well as improving your overall health. Heart disease, cancer, diabetes as well as many other health problems have all been linked to being overweight.

You will need to think and behave like a thin person. Thin people may nibble while they socialize but the main event is enjoying the company of others rather than the eating. Thin people either eat or they watch TV or engage in a hobby or activity but they don’t do both at the same time. thin people eat often but only a small amount at a time. Thin people don’t feel compelled to clean up their plate or eat their children’s leftovers or eat that last little bit in the pan rather than throwing it out. Thin people recognize that eating food you do not need is as wasteful as throwing it out. Thin people have coping strategies that do not include food when they feel down, sad, or bored. Thin people tend to be more physically active without even thinking about it.