Food and Grocery Shopping 101...to be continued tomorrow and the day after and the day after...

Hey All!

Hope you all enjoyed the last post about DIGGING DEEP! :) What'd you think of it? I'd LOVE to hear your comments and questions...I receive about 1 a day...but LET'S DO MORE OF IT!

Okay. Let's talk about FOOD a little bit shall we?

Let me slash a few myths first:

1) Every diet help you to lose weight because any way you look at it, it is a change in food and a change in calories (less)...but what diets don't do is help you to get healthier. They also tend to ruin your metabolism (slow it down) which is not good. We all want fast metabolisms right? SO do me a favor and stop dieting. :) K thanks

2) Fat does not make you fat. What makes you add fat to your body is additional calories. Remember the calories in and calories out equation.

3) Carbs do not make you fat. Now, I will say that when you eat, your body uses what it needs and will store the rest (usually in the form of either stored glucose or fat). I wish it worked out that we use what we need and then the rest would disappear or just be eliminated. BUT it doesn't work that way.

Now for some friendly advice:

1) Look at the INGREDIENT SECTION on the label. STOP obsessing over calories, fat grams, carb grams, etc etc. Take a look at what it is that you are eating. IF IT SAYS: HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP OR PARTIALLY OR FULLY HYDROGENATED OIL of any kind...THROW IT OUT. YUCK! The first is basically a chemical and the second is TRANS FAT.
Stop eating chemicals and start eating FOOD.

2) If it has a mom or comes from the ground...EAT IT. As simple as that. Can you come up with anything that is horrible for you that either has a mom or comes from the ground?

I don't think so.

3) It is a whole grain if on the label the first ingredient says "WHOLE _________ (insert grain type here). If it says enriched or white or unbleached flour...it is not a whole grain and THROW IT OUT.

White flour is basically whole wheat flour that they took the nutrients out of (so it won't spoil as fast on the store shelves) and then if it says enriched...that means that put some of the nutrients back in. DOES THAT MAKE ANY FREAKIN SENSE? NO. So don't buy it unless you need half ww flour and half all purpose...some recipes will call for it.

4) If you cannot pronounce what is included in the ingredient section......DO NOT BUY IT. It is most likely a ton of processed crap that you are about to put in your body. Not many nutrients...therefore a waste of calories and money.

5) The less ingredients the better. :) The less is in the product, the less processed it is, and the better it will be for you.

6) Try to stop eating those damn 100 calories packs. They drive me nuts. Read the label/ingredients after reading this and tell me that they pass the test. If you want a freaking cookie/cracker/or whatever BAKE IT or buy one that is less processed and/or organic/made with whole wheat flour.

7) When you go grocery shopping and go to the produce section, what ingredients do you have to read on the package of oranges, apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, grapes, carrots, tomatoes, cukes, etc etc.
NONE!!!!! So I believe that they are the best choices. BUY mostly produce and then whatever you need to make full meals, grab those SECOND. Organic is better! Less pesticides

8) Shop the perimeter of the grocery store FIRST. The healthiest foods are the ones around the store...not necessarily in the aisles...try it and you will understand.

9) Stop buying everything that is LOW FAT. Low fat means nothing in terms of health. When they take the fat out, they put sugar/some chemical into it. It's fine to do with some stuff, but really, ever since the low fat diet has come out, we have become more obese as a nation.

10) SODA. Oh god, this one really sets me off. What the hell is SODA? Chemicals that leach the calcium and vit d from your bones, sugar (or high fructose corn syrup), artificial coloring, flavoring, etc etc. If you want bubbly, grab a seltzer water and put a splash of real fruit juice in it (no aspartame or sucralose in it..CHECK IT to make sure it does not contain that).

11) DRINK WATER. OH and buy a stainless steel water bottle instead of a million bottled waters...you will save money, save the earth, and not have chemicals leaching into your water.

12) LAST ONE, try to purchase items that do not come in a box. NO BOXED foods. think about things that come in a box...are they heavily processed? YES. Are they typically foods that have a mom or come from the ground? NO.

I will say that cereal/granola is OKAY as long as you check the ingredients.

OKAY. That is enough for now!

I know I told you a lot of don'ts but...let's start with what the cut out and then perhaps I will talk about what to put into your cart. :)


WHAT DO YOU THINK GUYS?! Do-able or what!?