Is healthy eating difficult? Sure it is, there are so many factors that contribute to eating healthy. Our moods, energy levels, current cravings, hormones, the amount of sleep the previous night.
Take this scenario; you have your weekly shop planned, however, you had a terrible night’s sleep, you have woken up in not the greatest of moods, you have barely exercised all week and work has been crazy.
How different do you think your food shop would be compared to a version of yourself after a great night’s sleep, plenty of exercise, and a productive week at work.
I certainly cant influence most of the above factors but I can help you put in a system that will help you when it comes to decision making around food.
I hope that by you practising this process and implementing this system regardless of external factors you’ll stay on track with eating healthy and promoting good internal health.
Incredibly lockdown was announced 35 days ago, which means we are all eating still eating 3 meals per day at home and have constant access to the foods and drinks we are buying and have in our environment.
Which makes our food shops more important than ever.
My 3-step process starts with a few basic questions I ask myself.
How many ingredients does this food contain? How many coloured fruits and vegetables make up my basket? Will eating this make me feel good about myself after?
I know my weaknesses, if I buy a pack of biscuits or chocolate if it’s in my environment aka my fridge or cupboard it’ll be eaten and very quickly and then, without doubt, they’ll be a feeling of guilt simply because I’m expending less energy in lockdown.
You don’t need 100% perfection but having a process or a few questions to ask yourself can help keep you on track to healthy eating and promoting good internal health.
If you can get to 80% of what you’re buying to include single ingredient whole foods, fruits and vegetables and then rather than buying say a packet of biscuits you could buy a single chocolate bar this way you can satisfy the craving without the guilt of looking at an empty bag of chocolates.
What do I mean by a single ingredient? A potato is a potato. An apple is just an apple. An organic free-range chicken should be just that, a chicken.
Much of our food now especially processed foods can contain high levels of synthetic chemicals, sugars, sweeteners, and stabilisers none of which your gut will thank you for.
Another really good habit to pick up is to check the ingredient list on the foods you buy and see what makes up the food you buy. The ingredients list of foods are listed in order of prominence with the ingredients used in the greatest amount first
Next, some valuable questions to ask when assessing how healthy your diet is.
Do my meals have an abundance of fruits and vegetables? How much of my diet includes single-ingredient foods? How much water am I drinking?
Implement the above and you’re giving yourself the best opportunity to consume foods that are high in antioxidants, anti-inflammatories and good sources of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. And guess what, you’ll feel great.
Give it a go next time you’re writing your shopping list or preparing your next meal.
Recap:
3 Step Food Shop Process
How many ingredients does this food contain? How many coloured fruits and vegetables make up my basket? Will eating this make me feel good about myself after?
3 Step Meal Process
Do my meals have an abundance of fruits and vegetables? How much of my diet includes single-ingredient foods? How much water am I drinking?
Thanks
Luke
Ingredient List Of Meal Pictured: Lettuce, Radish, Pepper, 50g White Rice, Cucumber, Falafel, Celery, Red Cabbage, Carrot, Coleslaw (yoghurt, red cabbage, onion, carrot, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper)
Ingredients purchased and delivered by from Stroud Green Market. Check out what your local food market is doing during Covid-19.
