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One Simple Change
I frankly think that developing a healthy diet is simple.
People make it seem like it is super complex. Heck companies want people to think it is complex so they can sell supplements and weight loss products and processed foods that supposedly have all these health benefits.
But honestly, you really only need to remember one thing when it comes to eating healthily – eat whole, natural food!
Cut out all the crap!
Don’t worry about freaking supplements even if they were on Dr. Oz. Don’t worry about your micronutrient intakes. Don’t worry about exactly how many fruits or vegetables you eat or how many omega-3s you are getting.
Don’t worry about doing a diet with 20 bazillion different rules! Make one change first!
Just cut out all of the processed crap!
If you started focusing on just eating natural foods, so things that spring out of the ground and aren’t processed…aka usually have a short shelf life unless frozen, your healthy and the way you feel will improve exponentially.
Just by starting to even cut out one processed thing a day, like the crackers you eat for a snack (even if they are supposedly “healthy” crackers), you will be cutting out a ton of crap from your diet.
Processed foods are loaded down with vegetable oils and sugars. I mean take a look at any nutritional label on any pre-packaged food at the grocery store. I bet there are a ton of things listed in the ingredients that you’ve never heard of.
AND I bet all of them have way more sugar than you expected…but then again you were probably more worried about the fact that they were supposedly advertised as low-fat or “all-natural,” right!?!
But seriously, those pre-packaged foods can do some damage.
Here we are worried about the amount of saturated fat in an animal product and yet people are consuming a TON of simple sugars and vegetable oil (which is SUPER bad because it causes inflammation because it contains a horrible ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s) in all of the processed crap out there!
Anyway, the point is if you cut out processed, pre-packaged foods and focus on eating whole, natural foods, you will instantly cut out a TON of bad things.
Once you do that and have a good diet baseline, then start looking at ratios and exactly what natural foods are best and how you react to gluten, dairy and carbs, in general.
Don’t make it complicated to start!
At work we constantly talk about getting back to basics. And that is exactly what you’ve got to do here. Don’t make a ton of changes and complicate your diet.
Make one simple change and get back to the basics – eat whole, natural foods!
Dr. Oz – GRRRRRR
So on Wednesday of last week, I did a lunch and learn talk at a local business with another trainer from Innovative Results.
We talked mostly about mindset, but we did touch on some basics of dieting. We talked about eating whole, natural foods. We talked about cutting calories, but making sure that we don’t cut out too many. We talked about making small changes over time so they actually take root.
And at the end a woman raises her hand with a question…a question about supplements that she saw on Dr. Oz.
UGH! (I wanted to throw up my hands and roll my eyes. I don’t have a problem with Dr. Oz just the fact that everyone DOES exactly what he says like mindless drones.)
She wanted to know what we thought about some green coffee bean thing and raspberry ketones. She said, “Dr. Oz says that these two things will help you lose weight.”
The only thing I could say back was, “KISS…Keep it simple stupid.”
hahaha! YES!
She looked at me in confusion.
I just simply explained that I didn’t even want to get into discussing those supplements. That the MOST IMPORTANT thing if you want to lose weight is to eat whole, natural foods.
First you have to get the macronutrients in order before you start thinking about the micronutrients.
Green coffee beans or whatever the heck they are, aren’t a magic pill!!!! There may be some new study saying they can help AID with weight loss, but trust me, if you want real results, you have to do real work and eat REAL food.
Let’s face it….Dr. Oz has a TV show. He wants to talk about new trends, new fads…It is what keeps people tuning in!
I can’t blame him! I love researching and experimenting (I mean shoot I tried the potato diet just to see what would happen!)
The problem with it is…He has power. He has credentials and a TV show that reaches millions. He is a well-respected medical figure, and rightly so!, so people believe whatever he says. If he says raspberry ketones have health benefits, people run out to buy them.
Stop being drones!!! Use your brain!!!!!
Really you think some green coffee bean is going to solve all your problems!?! I mean if you look at most of the boxes with the supplements or extracts the boxes even tell you, “take along with a HEALTHY diet and exercise program.”
What do you really think makes you lose weight!?! The green stupid bean or the healthy diet and exercise program!?!
AH!
GRRRR Dr. Oz!
Stop making people think dieting is so complicated!
Keep it simple stupid!
If you have the healthy diet on lock…If your macronutrient breakdown is in order THEN maybe think about experimenting with green coffee beans and all that jazz!
Suckers for a “Quick Fix”
DISCLAIMER: This post is kind of mean.
Seriously sometimes people are pathetic.
Dr. Oz calls Raspberry Ketones a fat-buster and “the number one miracle in a bottle” on his show and suddenly everyone goes out and buys them.
We are suckers for a quick fix. People go out and buy it because Dr. Oz says it works “miracles.”
Here's a quick fix for you...
They don’t even care that there are really no scientific studies substantiating this claim!
When I searched for studies this is basically what I came up with...
And here is a quote from the ABC News article linked above:
For now, the reputations of products like Raspberry Ketone Plus and Raspberry Ketone Ultra rest on anecdotes and two studies conducted on mice put on a high-fat diet. Japanese researchers reported in 2005 that raspberry ketone “prevents and improves obesity and fatty liver,” by boosting the breakup of fat cells. Korean researchers reported in 2010 that raspberry ketone increased fat cells’ secretion of a hormone called adiponectin that regulates the processing of sugars and fats in the blood.
Dr. Robert H. Lustig , a neuroendocrinologist and UC San Francisco pediatrics professor who is among top experts in the nation’s obesity epidemic, said that animal studies alone are insufficient for scientists to say how raspberry ketones work in people.
“Until there are human studies I won’t weigh in,” he said.
“People are willing to take chances. It’s amazing how many people look for a miracle instead of looking at what they’re eating and how much they’re moving and fixing whatever is broken,” said Mary Hartley, a registered dietitian and clinical nutritionist in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Who cares about studies though!?! I mean Dr. Oz says it works. And so does some trainer with a line of supplements, which includes raspberry ketones! I mean she wouldn’t just be promoting a product to make money, would she?
GEEZ! Seriously people!
You’d think by now people would be smart enough to resist the temptation of a “quick fix.”
But nope! Who wants to work hard!?!
Are you addicted to food?
Are there certain foods that you can truly get addicted to? Dr. Oz says there are – Brain Hijackers: The 4 Most Addictive Foods.
The question now is…do I agree?
No. I don’t. I don’t think you can truly get addicted to a certain food.
Yes, I do think there are foods that we have a harder time avoiding/giving up on a diet. There are certain foods we are definitely more attached to.
But I don’t really think a true addiction is created.
I mean certain foods just taste freaking good so of course we want them all the time. Certain foods also comfort us or just remind us of happy times.
You could say I’m addicted to ice cream. I mean it has the sugar and fat that Dr. Oz says is addictive and I have the hardest time not wanting it when I’m in a bad mood, stressed or well…anything. I pretty much could eat ice cream all the time.
But I don’t think I can truly say I’m addicted to ice cream.
I just like the taste of it AND I associate it with good times and happy feelings.
So maybe it isn’t actually the ice cream or the chocolate or meat itself that is addictive, but the feelings and memories associated with the food that make us crave it.
I mean now I’ve started craving dried fruit more than anything….even maybe ice cream. Why this sudden addiction to dried fruit…specifically apricots?
Because I associate dried fruit with relaxed weekends on the couch with Ryan. I’ve been stressed free on those days and have totally gotten to relax each and every time I’ve eaten dried fruit recently.
So am I addicted to the dried fruit or the fact that my brain associates dried fruit with relaxing?
Hmmm…this could be an interesting experiment. I should try eating one certain type of veggie…like brussel sprouts…on any relaxing day/fun event and see if I start to crave them….
Man Bicep 