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The dilemma of how to eat to be well is alive and thriving during this time. Really simple healthy eating is so simple that in our world of fast food and processed food in boxes and bags, it’s hard and confusing to pull off. I want to address three things here and give you some easy tools to help you turn your diet and your health around.
First, mindset is so important! Never underestimate the effect food has on it either. The old adage, “You are what you eat” is true today as it was in the past. Eating our Standard American Diet (SAD) food will not support you in remaining positive. Especially when you’re under stress, what you eat is of primary importance.
It’s easy to understand why people tend to go off the rails with sugar, carbs and alcohol during stressful times. They relax you and/or light up the pleasure centers in your brain; they make you feel better for a short time until they let you down and you need another “fix” to feel better. As tough as it may be, and you may need to trust me on this one, eating to be and feel well even in times of stress and upset will help you more than breaking out the box of cookies and crunching down on those.
But I digress…back to mindset. If you want to have a positive mindset, you must think, read, follow and listen to positive people. Turn off the news. Fifteen minutes a couple of times a day will get you up to speed. Being a news junky just inundates you with bad, depressing information that will not support you in being positive and productive in your life. If you listen consciously, the same two or three subjects are repeated during the day. Why do you want to listen to this over and over again? It’s not in your best interest. What would be in your interest is to turn off the TV and read a book on positive mindset.
Here’s a free book you can get right now. “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind” by Joseph Murphy is one I go back to over and over again. Spend 15 minutes reading from this and see how you feel.
Second, if it’s in a package, be suspicious of that “food” no matter what the front of the package says. To change your food reality, it is in your best interest to learn to read food packages. I offer a few ideas for you to mull: the front of the package is for marketing and advertising. They don’t have to tell the truth there. The back of the package is also slight of hand as they can still manipulate the information about the contents so you may think you’re making a healthy food choice when you may not be. There is one place where you get the truth, and that is in the ingredients section. Even here, where they are supposed to tell the truth, there are still loop holes they can take advantage of in order to take advantage of you. And believe me, if it enriches the bottom line of the big food companies, they will compromise your health and well being in a nanosecond without a thought about the outcome for you, the consumer. For them, it’s not about you.
If you’d like to learn how to really read a food label, please check out this course I developed to help you be a super informed label reader!
Finally, spend the bulk of your shopping experience in the produce aisle. This is where you can get in the least amount of trouble with your food. There are challenges here as well, because there are some fruits and vegetables that are so heavily treated with pesticides that it’s in your best interest to choose their organic version. Not everything needs to be organic though. There are ways you can manage your food budget and still eat an extremely healthy diet that will support your mental and physical well being for years and even decades to come!
I refer you to the Environmental Working Group’s list of the Clean Fifteen and the Dirty Dozen. They update the list every year, and it’s a must if you want to get a handle on what’s healthy that’s conventionally grown and what really should be organic. You can check it out on their website at EWG.org
Really simple healthy eating has never been more important than it is now. Eating a healthy diet and making good food choices will support your immune system and will keep it strong. Making healthy choices and feeding your head with good food and good positive information will help you keep your mental state positive as well. Remember that we always have choices. We can give in to negativity and despair during tough times, or we can hold on tight to the truth that even during the most challenging times some people thrive and succeed, moving forward with their lives in a positive direction. My goal is to be one of the latter. How about you?
This article was originally published at https://thinstronghealthy.com/really-simple-healthy-eating/
I invite you to subscribe to my new podcast “Major Health Tips in Digestible Bites”. I release a new episode every two weeks, so be sure to check out the great information that’s free for you to listen to anytime, anywhere!
Helping You Achieve Major Wellness!
Cheryl A Major, CNWC
P.S. For more information, please follow me on Twitter – https://twitter.com/CherylAMajor and on Medium where applause is always appreciated! https://medium.com/@CherylAMajor
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I don’t just teach this; I live it!
