6. Pasta vs. brown rice.
Pasta is a staple in my diet. I crave it, I love it and I need it. After my commissary tour, I realized that pasta is a seriously processed food. There is no such thing as organic pasta or healthy pasta – not even whole-wheat pasta.
Viau says that substituting brown rice or quinoa for pasta is the healthiest way to eat. It’s been a tough transition, but one that has allowed me to drop 5 lbs. in two weeks. I don’t crave it as much as I did, but I’m not completely broken up with pasta. However, I am choosing whole wheat instead of regular pasta now. Baby steps.
7. Stay clear of fake fat. We’ve all heard of trans fat and how terrible it is. However, so have the major producers of food we eat. This is why reading the labels matter in making healthy choices. Fake fat or Trans Fat, such as margarine, is engineered in a factory to resemble fat; its cheaper and more cost effective. Just because a product states on its packaging “0 Trans Fat” doesn’t mean it healthy to eat.
Anything that has partially hydrogenated oil in it has trans fat. Items such as microwave popcorn are deceiving. It states on the packaging that is 0 Trans Fat, 94% fat free and has the Weight Watchers points associated on it but in reality the second item in the ingredients is partially hydrogenated oil. You are substituting fewer calories for chemicals. You are choosing chemicals over your health. Don’t be deceived.
Choose healthy fats in your diets. The healthy fats include extra-virgin olive oil, flax seed oil, and fats from plant sources such as nuts, seeds, avocados, and coconuts. Trans fat is directly linked to heart disease because of how it’s made. So look for items that are grown on a farm not in a factory. Use butter when you cook versus margarine – use less. You’re body will thank you.
8. Artificial sweeteners and diet soda’s. I loved diet soda. It’s been a part of my life for more than 25 years. I would drink it because it has fewer calories than regular soda and I need the caffeine. Of course, I believed diet soda was a healthier choice.
However, after my commissary tour, I realized that all soda is basically unhealthy. I’m again, choosing fewer calories over my health. There is nothing natural about soda. It’s produced in a factory, latent with chemicals. The better choice is unsweetened tea, carbonated water or just plain water. It’s taken over two weeks, but I’ve trained my taste buds to crave water. Strangely, my skin feels and looks different. I’m not saying it’s directly linked to eliminating soda, but there has been a definite change in the health of my skin.
Artificial sweeteners fool the brain to think that it had something sweet. The truth is artificial sweeteners (designed in a laboratory), such as those in sodas, yogurt, cereals and sugar substitutes, actually make you crave more sugar. It tricks your brain into thinking it’s satisfied, but you will crave something sweet later. It’s a vicious cycle.
If you have a sweet tooth or want to sweeten cereal, yogurt or coffee you should reach something naturally sweetened such as raisins, dates, fruit or real organic sugar. Go with the real thing, not something created in a lab.
