Healthy Chicks

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Good morning; hope you all had a lovely weekend and that the Monday Blues aren’t hitting you too hard. If you need to get out of your funk I suggest you take a look at this post and this song to cheer you up a tad. Ahh, better, huh?

Anyway, yesterday while perusing the grocery aisles at Trader Joe’s, I got to thinking about the different food going into my cart, which would ultimately go into my body. More so, I started thinking about the importance of reading the INGREDIENTS, rather than just the label on the package. My number one food philosophy is that what you put into your body is what you will see, more so that real, whole, fresh ingredients is the key to finding your “happy weight.”

But my philosophy wasn’t always that way. You see, when I was in college, my number one goal was to lose weight and look good. It consumed my life, and I had the most terrible body image. I wanted to lose weight for all for all the wrong reasons (frat guys, to look “skinny”), and went about it entirely the wrong way. I counted calories like it was my job, weighed myself sometimes four times a day, and bought my groceries based on the writing on the box. If it was low fat, low carb, low calorie, or sugar free it was good to go in my book.

Funny how I thought I was being so “healthy” but was actually the exact opposite. I never even took the time to read the ingredients on all of the crap going into my body. “Sugar free with only 5 calories!” Sounds great on paper. But do they tell you it’s loaded with fake sugar substitutes that make it difficult for our bodies to process, and can cause bloat? A “fat free” dressing may sound like a good idea, but  not when that means it triples the sodium level and is composed of 15 ingredients you can’t even recognize. Does “Healthy” or “Light” really make a difference when the bag of chips you just bought are packed with crap? Is the chicken you picked up in the frozen section really just chicken or is it chicken combined with starches, maltodextrin, sodium, serveral sauces, and a whole bunch of other crap?

We need to take the time to read ingredients here people, even if that takes an extra five minutes out of your grocery time. Because trust me those extra five minutes are totally worth it for your health. Read the ingredients, and I mean really read them. Compare and contrast options. Look at the back of the box. If you can’t pronounce something or see a list of ten plus added ingredients, you may want to give that item a second thought. Know that fresh is best, and the less ingredients there are, the better. Load up on fresh or frozen fruits and veggies, whole grains, all-natural cereals and oatmeal, whole dairy products and nuts. And know that the less processed, the better our bodies can handle it, ultimately making an impact on the way we look and feel.

So my challenge for you this week is to spend a little more time looking at ingredients in the supermarket. Think of it as a homework assignment of sorts, a homework assignment that’ll do wonders for your mind and body. You owe it to yourself.

XoXo,