I've been reading a bit lately about eating healthier. A few articles I've read make a good point--if you don't eat healthy, no amount of exercise is going to give you the body you desire. I can bust butt at the gym for an hour a day 6 days a week, but if I go home and refuel with donuts and cake, I'm not going to see results. That might seem obvious, but what about refueling with white bread and jam, or oatmeal with a heap of brown sugar? Those also might seem healthy, but the more I read about processed foods, like white flour and sugar, the more I wonder about removing them from my diet.
I don't plan on going all or nothing. I think moderation and balance (see
this awesome post!) is truly the key here, but over the past few weeks, I've become more conscious about what I'm eating. Yesterday was my first "sugar-free" day, and it went surprisingly well. Instead of adding my usual brown sugar to my oatmeal, I sweetened it with stevia. I avoided a piece of tempting fudge at youth group, and I was overall cautious about sugar. I will not cut down on the amount of fruit that I eat, because I believe it is still healthy, even though it contains sugar (in its natural form though). I did however (and plan to continue) avoid/limit any added sugars. My goal is also to avoid white flour as much as possible also. I know that I won't be able to avoid all processed foods 100% because there are times that I have no control over what is served to me (like a party tonight, and Sunday dinners). Like I said, I believe in moderation. If I deprive myself, I'll be more likely to binge on the unhealthy foods.
Mike and I have a vacation coming up with his family in May, and so I have just over 3 weeks before we leave. I'm curious to see how avoiding processed foods will impact my body in the next few weeks. While I don't plan on overeating and making a pig of myself, I do not intend to deprive myself of anything on our cruise. It's my first experience, and I'm not going to miss out!
Are there foods that you avoid?
Posts
When I exercise, I don't have the desire to eat unhealthy! I'm doing p90x now and eating unhealthy just makes me feel bad. [However, I did eat a hot dog recently... I didn't feel awesome afterwards though.] I totally agree on the natural sugars in fruit. People have told me not to eat bananas and such because they contain so much sugar.. I don't care. I like bananas after workouts. :)
ReplyDeleteAnyways- Good luck on your healthy eating plans :P and have fun on your cruise! How fun! Never been on a cruise before.