Choose Fresh Foods, Not Processed

As you stand before your microwave, heating up that convenient prepackaged meal, do you ever stop to think what am I just about to put in my mouth? Probably not. In our busy lives, it’s a great not having to take the time to prepare our meals. Tear the box, pop in the microwave, and we are set! Little to often do most of us realize that many of those prepackaged meals are sabotaging our efforts to lose or maintain our weight and eat healthy.

Most of these foods are loaded with added chemicals and preservatives. They are usually very high in sodium, carbs, and fat, and low in lean protein. The combination of these things result in a meal that not only is lacking in good nutrition, but will satisfy you at the moment and leave you hungry and reaching for snacks sooner than you should. This includes things such as fruits as well. Canned fruits can silently kill your weight management plan so be very careful to avoid such items. At the end of the day, the unbalanced meal will leave you low in energy and to make matters worse, all the extra calories you consumed will add up to extra pounds.

These are the main reasons to choose fresh over processed. Reaching for fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean protein is not only the healthier alternative, but can be found in packages just as convenient as the processed “boxes”. Eating a balanced “fresh” meal just takes a little thought. The rewards will be evident in your overall health and look.

A simple, easy to remember tip when grocery shopping; avoid the middle aisles of the grocery store! This is where you will find most processed foods. The outside walls of the store are where you almost always find the healthiest and freshest selection of food. Also, as important, NEVER do your grocery shopping when you are hungry. This is bad, very, very bad! It leads to poor choices and fills your cabinets at home with things that become all to enticing in moments of weakness!

Remember, fresh foods provide numerous benefits and should make up the majority of your meals and snacks. A little planning goes a very long way and soon enough, you will find that it is often just as easy to reach to a Ziploc full of carrots as it is a bag of potato chips.

We all want to live healthy and happy lives and making sure what we eat is the best quality, is a great start. Next, we will tell you how to ensure you are eating the “right” amounts of those quality foods!

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