The Process of Cutting Out the Processed...

....FOOD!!!

Yes, it is a challenge at first, but I promise, your body will feel so much better and thank you for making the change!

What are the most common processed foods?

I was going to give you a whole, long list, but then I realized that we all know what the most common processed foods are. As a general rule, processed food has been changed extensively from its raw state. So, if it uses the words bleached, refined, hydrogenated, artificial, additive, powdered, or soy, consider these a RED FLAG! 

So, things like fast food, white wheat flour and bleached white flour, cereal, soda or other sugary drinks, packaged cheese, cookies and CONVENIENT snacks, and processed meats are some of the biggest culprits, and best things to steer clear from!

I use this as a general rule of thumb for the majority of what I eat and try to feed my family:

Read the labels!! The fewer the ingredients, with names you recognize and understand, the more easily your body can break down and absorb what you are feeding it. 

It just makes plain old sense to fully understand what you are eating, be able to pronounce everything on the list of ingredients (if there is a list), and know exactly where that food comes from…don’t you think?

Rather than counting calories, watching fat grams, or reducing carbs for “healthy eating,” simply eat whole foods that, are more the product of nature than “the product of industry.” It really isn't as complicated as you might think!

I was also going to give you a long list of WHY you should eliminate processed foods from your daily life, but we probably all know most of them too! So, I will share my testimony with you:

Since cutting out processed foods, at least 97% of the time, I have had no digestion issues, which was something I struggled with for years! I had gone to doctors, specialists, and finally went to see a nutritionist. I really haven't had any stomach pains, and if I do, I know exactly what caused it. I have so much more energy than I did before! And to tell you the truth, I honestly cannot remember the last time I was sick!

It is not my intention to make the case that junk food is evil and the world will end if you eat it. Obviously, that is not the case.

In some cases, food processing is beneficial in that it helps neutralize the natural toxins in food before they are consumed.

And sometimes you just want to eat something simply because you like the taste and nothing and no one better get in between you and that double chocolate brownie!! Eating a little processed food now and then won't have a great effect on your overall health. The human body is pretty resilient.

However, a continuous diet of only junk food will certainly have an effect on your well being and your long term risk of disease.

With all of that said, here is your MISSION, should you choose to accept it (yes, I have been on a Mission Impossible kick lately and am waiting, rather impatiently for another one to be made!):

Think about what you have been eating lately. Find what YOU consider to be the most unhealthy thing that you eat on a regular basis. This could be a burger from your favorite fast food joint, a soda, chips, or even those delicious thin mint cookies! Instead, replace it with something a little more healthy like a glass of water or even naturally flavored water, an apple, some celery, a handful of raw almonds, some greek yogurt...and the list goes on!

Don't worry! I won't leave you hanging! I will walk you through this each step of the way! Ethan Hunt had a team to back him up on his missions and so do you! (Ahhh!! There better be another movie coming out soon!!!) :)

Stay tuned for more tips and healthy alternative choices!