Healthy You Week Six

You may have noticed that there was no new challenge for week five. My hope is that you used this time to reflect on the changes you've made over the last month, congratulate yourself on the progress you've made, and do a bit of troubleshooting if needed. If you haven't been as committed to completing each of these challenges daily, ask yourself: What's holding me back? Remember those goals you set at first? Do your actions truly demonstrate their value in your life? As we near the end of this jump start to a lifelong journey, we prepare to take one of the biggest steps yet. This week we focus our attention on healthy eating. I know, I know. If you're like most people, you are thinking that healthy eating is just too expensive. The truth is, the more you know, the better equipped you are to made good food choices. A few simple swaps for healthier options on the foods you eat most often is a great way to eat healthy on a budget.

A good rule of thumb is to always check the labels and ingredients. But what good is reading them if you don't know what to look for? So, here are a few things you need to know. Beware of marketing tricks used to entice you and make you think a certain food is healthy. Labels like 'low fat,' 'gluten free,' and even 'all natural' can be used, but not really provide the benefits you'd expect. Try to fill you diet with more plants and plant-based foods. The fewer ingredients, the better. Get to know which foods contain healthy fats. Eat more of these and avoid trans fats. Foods with artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup in any form should be avoided when possible. (You'd be surprised the places you'll find high fructose corn syrup including your bread, ketchup, and pre-cooked/packaged meat.) In regards to sugar and its alternatives, moderation is key. However, honey, stevia, monk fruit, and coconut palm nectar are among some of your better options. Some other additives to avoid include monosodium glutamate (msg), food dyes (Blue 1 and 2, Red 3 and 40, Yellow 6, etc.). potassium bromate, sulfur dioxide, and preservatives like butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and sodium sulfite. Most would say that 'bacon makes everything better.' However, be sure to check your bacon along with other sandwich meats, sausages, etc. for sodium nitrate or sodium nitrites which are often added to these products as a preservative. If you're afraid that you won't remember all these and you don't feel like you have the time to do a quick google search, a wise time investment in your health by the way, you can always just make a it a habit to avoid food with ingredients you cannot pronounce. Avoid genetically modified food (GMOs). Some of the most common GMO foods include corn, potatoes, tomatoes, rice, milk, and squash.

In addition to knowing the do's and don'ts of picking food, there are a few more tricks to filling your fridge and pantry with great nutritional items on a budget. Don't shop when you are hungry. Common sense right? But we find ourselves doing it more often than not. Stock up when there are sales and buy in bulk or direct from companies online when you can. Making a meal plan for the week, or month, can also help curb impulse buys and therefore unnecessary spending. Start a small garden. Nothing is better than 'farm to table' food; local farmers markets are a good second choice. Recreate left overs and don't be afraid to try new things. Look for new ways to use the ingredients you already have.

This week, you'll earn point one point for every time you swap one of your typical food choices for a healthier option (i.e. soda for water, white rice for brown rice, or better yet, no rice for an extra serving of veggies!). This means that your point earning potential is limitless! Stack this with all the previous habits and you're in the money....or points, rather. While you nourish your body, you cannot forget your mind and soul. Since we are exchanging bad food for better ones, we can do the same for our stress relieving techniques. Take some time to examine how you handle stress. If there are any methods you've grown accustomed to using, despite their potential for negative consequences (smoking, drinking, yelling, nail biting, stress eating, etc.), increase your awareness of these and exchange them for additional meditation times, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, laughter with friends, or other healthy stress management devices.

For more information on any of the tips mentioned above for shopping healthier, check out the links below.

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