In continuation from yesterday’s post on toxic chemicals lets go a little farther.  Whole Foods!  What is the definition of Whole Foods? According to Wikipedia, Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible, before being consumed.

So why is it okay to eat real butter and real cheese and still lose weight?  First off, everything in moderation.  American’s are use to an abundance of food choices everyday and will buffets and numerous family gatherings that include endless choices of food so we tend to overeat on a daily basis.  Keeping food simple is one key way of losing or maintaining weight and preventing unwanted toxins from entering your body.  Let’s take for instance some of the delicious casseroles that are full of creamy sauces, tons of butter and cheese that will almost use up your daily allowance of fat in one serving.  I know I just said you can have butter and cheese but you have to remember everything in moderation.  If you can’t pass up the casserole then just have a very small serving to satisfy the craving and move on.  In most instances if you had passed on the casserole you could have had a large portion of something that is healthier for you such as a large salad chocked full of healthy goodies or maybe a grilled chicken breast with a side vegetable and would have felt full and still not have consumed the amount of fat and calories you did by eating the casserole.

I find when I eat out with people they tend to comment on the large salad I’m eating,  but in comparison to the fried food they have chosen that is actually a smaller portion than mine I am still consuming less fat and calories and walk away much more satisfied and not feeling guilty for eating an unhealthy meal.  I eat three meals a day and have at least have one healthy snack.  I have replaced sodas with un-sweet tea and coffee and instead of using sugar for tea I use stevia, but still use french vanilla creamer in my coffee.  Yes I said it!  Real creamer in my coffee!  The secret is out! LOL  My one vise I guess you might say.  How do I use it and still lose weight?  Moderation is the key.

Our bodies were not designed to intake all these processed foods.  In most cases the body doesn’t even know what to do with it so it stores it as fat.  I read an example once of choosing a banana that’s 140 calories over a 100 Calorie Snack Pack.  Some would choose the snack pack because they’re saving 40 calories but in actuality the banana is the better choice because it’s a whole food and the body knows how to process it and it’s beneficial to your body.  However, the snack pack is sweetened with an unnatural sweetener and when the body rises up to process the sugar but there’s none there it gets confused and just stores it as fat.

Enough of my rambling!  Whole Foods are the better choice and will make the perfect next step in your lifestyle change.  If you can’t buy everything fresh at least read the labels and buy the foods that you can pronounce all the ingredients and with the fewer ingredients.  Keep it simple and fresh!