Your Eating Revolution For The New Year

  Let’s not call it a New Year’s Resolution, let’s call it a Healthy Revolution instead. Maybe we’ll stick to it this time! When you’re searching for a new way to eat healthy, think less about “going on a diet” and more about “changing your diet”. Completely revolutionize your thinking and kitchen offerings in simple ways you can stick to.   Get Rid Of The Junk And Get Motivated Toss it, donate it, eat it, whatever you have to do to get it out of the house and feel good about it, then don’t buy it again. And if you are the type that needs motivational help, go online and find services or apps where you can log everything you eat that day and talk to others like you. Or keep a food journal next to you all day if that helps. You can get tracking, journaling, and socializing through My Fitness Pal online. (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/)   Next Up: Pick Your Food Path Again, don’t “diet” but change your diet instead. And don’t be afraid to replace whatever’s not working at any time in the future because you’ll need a lifestyle change with flexibility to make this revolution work. There are several healthy ways of eating out there with plenty of books, blogs, and online help offered. Or you can go it alone and research your own new healthy eating plan that suits you and your family perfectly, especially if you have food allergies or finicky eaters.   Some types of lifestyle diets you might wish to research are:   Paleo Diet This is not new and it’s not a fad but more of a lifestyle and while it’s not meant for you to lose weight, most people do because it’s a healthier way of eating. The Paleo Diet encourages you to eat like the cavemen did with foods high in protein and low in carbs. You can check out a ton of books and blogs, websites, and recipes by doing easy searches everywhere like Google, Amazon, Pinterest, Facebook, and your local library or bookstore.   Gluten Free While this is a fad for some, that’s just made it easier to find recipes, books, blogs, websites and products devoted to a gluten free lifestyle. There are people out there who have to be gluten free due to Celiac’s Disease, but many others have found an increase in relief from gastrointestinal discomforts (or other medical conditions and symptoms), and a general increase in health and even focus by filling up on naturally gluten-free foods like meat, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts, fruits, vegetables, etc. It’s worth researching to see if it’s right for you.   Raw Diet The idea is that you end up ruining nutrients and other goodies in foods by cooking them, so in this diet lifestyle, you will eat uncooked, unprocessed, mostly organic foods, made without heating anything over 118 degrees. While it’s reported people lose weight, there are some cons to this lifestyle choice as well. Definitely do your research and talk to your doctor. You might fold some raw food recipes into your regular weekly meal-planning to get the best of both worlds.   Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, or Flexitarian Depending on your healthy lifestyle goals or maybe your moral standpoint, you may choose one of these four lifestyle diets. Very simply put, a vegan lifestyle means no meat or products made from animal parts like dairy products or gelatin. Vegetarians are meat-free but they do often eat eggs and dairy products. A flexitarian will eat a mostly vegetarian, but occasionally do add meat to their diet, and a pescatarian will exclude all meat except for fish, usually for health reasons.   Just Go With Your Gut This is a lifestyle change in diet that you can research for yourself more and decide what’s right for you. Check out the book What to Eat by Marion Nestle. While it was written just shy of a decade ago, it has made huge waves in the no-holds-barred look at how food is presented to us in the supermarket and “debunking the misleading health claims made by big food companies”. Nestle says, “The way food is situated in today’s society discourages healthful food choices,” and by that she means food placement in grocery stores is dependent on “slotting fees,” guaranteed advertising and other incentives.   She points out that “fresh” is supermarket-speak for most likely to spoil first, not recently picked or prepared which is something we wouldn’t necessarily have realized for ourselves. It’s quite a large book with a lot of information that you can choose to read all of or just in bits. And among other things regarding nutrition, additives, labels, and more, she walks you aisle-by-aisle through the supermarket discussing produce, meat, fish, dairy, packaged foods, bottled waters and the rest.   Other Things To Consider When Trying To Eat Healthier Talk with a nutritionist for expert advice, but there’s also a lot out there online to read and compare. Make sure you’re not hopping on a new fad, but rather going with actual research from independent researchers and nutritionists who are not being funded by large companies. Some nutritional choices to think about include:   Proteins Lean proteins like eggs, fish, chicken, and lean beef contain amino acids that build muscle to help burn calories and fat, but also pay attention to consuming as many plant-based proteins as you can muster.   Vegetables They’re essential for loading your body with fiber and are rich in minerals, vitamins, and water and other fluids. Yes, fluids, to wash out the body and reduce fat, cholesterol, and even sugar.   Fruits Lower calorie and full of body-cleansing water, you can easily research a list of fruits online that are best eaten organic versus the regular produce selections (due to how much pesticides are absorbed through their skin). But be careful not to exceed one to two servings a day as they’re also full of sugars which turn into fat quickly.   Complex Carbohydrates Moderation is key for carbohydrates because there’s a possibility they shouldn’t be completely eliminated but aren’t very nutritious either. So research this and then enjoy your complex carbs like nuts, seeds, whole wheat, brown rice, and quinoa.   Low Sodium Liquid Foods Liquid diets alone are obviously not healthy, but consuming liquid foods that are low in sodium are a great way to help eliminate existing fat cells and not introduce more. Get creative with soups full of vegetables, shakes you make yourself, stews, and more.   Things to Avoid For Better Health, Weight Loss, or Fat Prevention There are certainly going to be more out there, but a starter guide for what to avoid should be high-sodium foods which encourage fat storage and alcohol which adds calories, slows digestion, and increases fat cell storage. Also on the “no” list are excessive animal fats, and those fat cell “encouragers” in the form of simple sugars and empty carbs that contain little to no fiber or nutrients. The Mighty Maids Of Durham and Chapel Hill – Voted Best of Home Advisor