Today I have a guest post from Breanne. Breanne blogs over at Essential Moves to Wellness, where she blogs about health and wellness, and living a chemical free life. If you’d like to learn more about Breanne and her blog be sure to check out her author bio at the end of this post!
If you’re thinking of going on the latest cleanse or fad diet, try unprocessed foods instead!
Dieting is one of the worst things you can do to your body because it’s temporary. If you shift your mindset to a lifestyle change, then you’ll get to a healthy weight and keep it there! Clean eating is one of the most sustainable ways of eating.
I’m here to tell you why.
Diets are Just a Rollercoaster of Bad Eating Habits
There might be a fair amount of unprocessed foods in diets, but the way you eat them is often unrealistic or unsustainable.
I can’t tell you how many fad diets I’ve tried! While they did make me lose weight in the beginning, my body was craving its old lifestyle. So by the time my diet was over, I quickly reverted to my old ways, try as I might to do the opposite. You know that trap at Mexican restaurants where there’s a giant bowl of chips in front of you? You say that you’ll just have a couple, but then the whole thing is gone ten minutes later. What happened?
You had nothing better to do, you were hungry, and so you ate the whole thing without thinking. Diets do something similar to you. When you’re faced with inevitable boredom or the bad food is put in front of you, it’s incredibly hard to maintain self-control. This creates a mental and emotional dilemma too. I would constantly berate myself or feel guilty just for eating a cookie.
Focus On Sustainability
Diets often have you changing your eating habits in an extreme way. This leads to extreme cravings, and extreme relapses. That’s why you hear stories of people gaining more than what they lost at the end of a diet. It’s your body’s way of saying “Don’t do that to me again! I’m gonna make sure you don’t lose weight like that!” Instead, you should focus on finding “diets” that can last in the long run and don’t involve any crazy rules.
But is there even such a thing?
Cue dramatic entrance of clean eating and unprocessed foods.
What is Clean Eating?
Clean eating is basically eating as few processed foods as possible, while maintaining focus on unprocessed foods. (source). A key point about eating unprocessed foods is that you want to make most of your food yourself. While you may be groaning at that last statement, there’s a very good reason for it! Most foods that come ready to go are often full of added sugar and other nasty additives.
What to Look Out For
The basic rules for what makes processed vs. unprocessed foods are simple. If the food comes in a box, bag, or package, then it’s most likely processed. There are exceptions to this rule, like a bag of whole grain rice.
Basically, if the food looks like it was made in a laboratory or a factory, don’t eat it.
Avoid Added Sugar
Any food products that have an unnecessary amount of sugar get the boot as well. And you’d be surprised as to what foods have added sugar hiding in them! Some common culprits are bread, cookies, pasta sauce, and salad dressing. Lucky for you, I’ve got 3 homemade salad dressing recipes right here.
There’s even added sugar in things like store-bought guacamole! I prefer to make my own for this reason, plus it tastes so much better!
Go for Whole Unprocessed Foods Instead
This is why I stressed that a big part of clean eating is making most of your food yourself. Unless you feel like spending more money on health food items that may or may not be unprocessed, it’s just better to make your own. Focus on whole fruits for snacks instead of a sugary granola bar, or bake your own chicken to go on a salad instead of buying a bag of pre-made chicken.
This way, you’re getting naturally occurring sugars from the fruit, and the right amount of protein from the chicken.
Small Amounts of Processed Foods are Fine
It’s okay if some of your diet is processed though! The point of clean eating is to eat as whole as possible. Take my easy fish taco recipe for example. You could argue that it’s not 100% clean, and you’re right! There are corn tortillas, which were not made by me. Not to mention there’s a flavoring packet! But it’s from a company I trust with ingredients that I like, and the same goes for the tortillas.
So to sum it up, it’s okay to have a small amount of processed foods, but use your best judgment.
It’s All About Changing Your Mindset and Your Lifestyle
The next time you feel the urge to try the next juicing or cleansing diet, run the other way! If you want sustainable weight loss, or better eating habits overall, you need to change your lifestyle. Clean eating and unprocessed foods are one of the most sustainable ways of eating, because that’s how we’ve been eating since the dawn of time!
So try your best to gradually wean yourself off of foods that come in a box, bag, or just look like they were made in a factory. Wholesome, unprocessed foods can be your medicine, and your body will thank you for it!
About Breanne
Breanne is the writer and owner of Essential Moves to Wellness; a health and wellness blog dedicated to teaching people how to eliminate harsh chemicals from their lives while becoming the best version of themselves. Breanne has been living chemical-free for over 7 years, and loves to share her findings online. You can find her on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. Or grab her simple beauty product swaps here.