Weight Loss Tips #9: Taste the Rainbow

I've been thinking about food a lot the last couple of days, as I try to readjust my diet after the holidays.  Unfortunately, there is still a huge, Costco-size bag of Cape Cod chips in my pantry.  They are my downfall!  I swear, I could eat that whole bag in one sitting if I wanted to. 

Nothing taste as good as skinny feels, right?  I don't know if that statement is totally true, because the cheesecake that's sitting in my fridge right now taste darn good, maybe better than skinny.  Maybe it should be nothing taste as good as healthy feels.  But talking about taste, there are some food choices that can help you lose weight without feeling like you're depriving yourself. 

• Add Color to your Diet, Lots of It:  Not food dye coloring.  Add natural blues, reds, blacks, yellows, greens.  The more colorful your diet is, the better and more natural foods you are eating.  Some great-for-you and tasty bright foods are: Blueberries (wonderful antioxidants), Cranberries, Mangoes, Bananas, Apples, Tomatoes, Avocados, Blackberries, Oranges, Brussels Sprouts (seriously, if you have avoided these your whole life you need to try them roasted!).  Colorful, natural foods are usually beneficial foods.  They provide certain vitamins that can help you have more energy to get moving. 

• Go Nuts for nuts!  I eat a lot of peanuts, but I'm slowly learning to love other nuts like cashews, pistachios, pecans, walnuts.  I mentioned in a previous post that I make a little bag of trail mix to take to work most days with nuts, raisins and a few chocolate chips (just for that bit of sweet!).  Nuts are a great source of protein, so they'll curb your hunger.  Plus, they've been shown to fight against coronary heart disease. 

• Oats Aren't Just for Goats: I need to listen to this one, because I don't eat oats often enough.  Oats are so seriously good for you.  Not the processed packaged oats that I buy for my kids, but the oats that come in the cylindrical box with some old man's face on it.  Ding Ding Ding, those are the ones!  Oats are a great source of dietary fiber.  They expand in your stomach making you feel fuller in the morning, plus they get your digestive track moving, which is great for your overall health. 

• Reduce the Processed Food: Does anyone remember that Breyer's commercial, where the six year old is trying to read the ingredients off the other brand?  He's saying things like riboflavin and mononitrate, and wondering what the heck those things are.  Does anyone else wonder what the heck those things are and what they might be doing to your body?  Well you should!  Last I checked, an apple was just an apple and organic beef is just beef, without added processed chemicals.  Reducing processed foods means you have to get creative with lunches, if you're like me and work.  Make yourself a sandwich, eat tuna, take leftovers. I am not an all natural eater, though I would love to be, so I do allow myself one frozen meal a week.  Remember that processed food has a lot of other stuff in it that can hurt your weight loss attempts. 

Think before you eat.  Before long, you'll start gravitating towards the good choices instead of the bad, and you'll notice that it will make a change in everyone around you too. 

 

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