Eating well - or, working on it!

One of the keys to fitness is to eat right.  No major intellectual breakthrough there, this is common knowledge.  What does that mean to you though?  I don't know, or at least it is not my place to try to shoe horn you into the 'correct' box.  I can only tell you what I understand and how I am applying the information to my own personal life.  I really like the Jillian Michaels approach - if it doesn't sprout from the ground, fall off a tree or have a mother it is probably better left alone.  This is a pretty simplistic approach.  Does it work?  For most of us it either doesn't work or at least we don't know if it works because we haven't tried it.  Think about it, if we follow this reasoning some of our favorite things are about to go by the wayside.  I can't remember the last time I saw a bag of Cheeto's fall off of a tree.  Have you seen a field of growing hot dogs recently?  Or, just exactly where are all the mom's that are giving birth to all those spice drops or Snickers bars?  See what I mean? 

 

The list is endless.  What do I do about it?  I think the rational approach is to start with the obvious and easy, eliminate it and then move on to something else.  For me that means no candy (finishing up second week), no soda pop (finishing up one week), next item to be determined.  Still on my bad list are white bread, added sugar, added salt, store-bought cookies, prepared frozen dinners, ok I'll stop there. 

 

Observation #1 - pizza didn't grow on a tree or in a field, neither does it have a mother.  Potentially it could be made only from ingredients that did so that is a challenge.  What about the cheese? What about the pepperoni?  There are many things like pizza that are combinations of good and bad ingredients, we just have to be aware.

 

Observation #2 - Processed foods should probably be generally avoided.  There are numerous things within many things that we eat that make them unhealthy for various reasons even though the main ingredient may be just fine.  Sugar, salt, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, chemicals.  If the ingredient list includes items you can't pronounce you should probably put it back on the shelf.

 

So we are presented with real challenges in eating healthy.  That is why I am taking baby steps, educating myself and taking it slow and smart.  Comments welcome!