Well New Years has started and I assume everyone has been doing there New Years resolution now for six days... Or if you're like me you're ready start any day now :)
Like I said before change isn't easy, just because it's January 1 doesn't mean your ready to start that day. My New Years resolution date will not be the first. The only reason it hasn't started is... let's be honest the holidays are over, and we are tired.
Whether you have cooked for yourself, for your family, or ate everything everyone else cooked you're tired and don't want to cook anymore. This time of year is when pizza is easy, emptying your pantry to create a meal is easy, or fast food is the easyt whichever your reason we are all in the same boat.
There are few who start on January 1 and stick with it longer then a week or two. I'm here to say that it is ok to not start January 1 and who cares. Make your New Years when it's right for you. It doesn't just happen overnight there are steps to making your resolution come into play, and one is clean eating which doesn't happen immediately.
If you don't know where to start or have trouble cleaning your cabinets out to start something new I will help you.
First, donations are great to got rid of unwanted or unhealthy food. If you can't eat it at least give it to someone who can so you don't feel so bad for not eating it. At least you're not wasting.
Secondly, start by making a weekly meal list and that will help your weekly grocery list. Only shop around the edges of the grocery store (minus a few things inside).
How to grocery shop your way into clean eating.
- Start with veggies. Start with anything you can steam. If you aren't a veggie eater steaming is the easiest way to start without all the butter. Carrots, broccoli, califlower, spinach... The list goes on. If you are past that stage and love veggies go for color. Your veggie selections should be colorful to make sure you're getting the right nutrients. Obviously greens are the easiest, but don't forget about the yellow, reds, and oranges. Oh, and corn doesn't count towards yellow, it really has no nutrition value needed. Stay away from it unless it's the taste you want (no Corn syrup, no corn chips, no corn meal, and no corn flour). If you don't like veggies shakes are a good start because it doesn't taste like veggies because fruits are involved (and I'm not talking about juicing).
- Fruits are just as good as veggies, but not as important due to when you eat them and the proportion. Fruits are high in sugar so stay away from them in the morning. Again most all fruits are good for you now use moderation due to sugar amounts.
- Carbs and starches are the hardest to stay away from. But make sure you know the differnece between the two. Carbs are needed to have energy, but choose the right carbs. What I mean by this is grains. Steel oats are good if you have time to cook them. Gluten free things are good if you get bloated. Besides that I love quinoa it's very filling and easy to cook and tastes like whatever spices you cook with. Brown rice is also a great grain to start. Add quinoa and brown rice to your list as your carbs. If you are a person who "needs" bread try eziekel bread in the organic freezer section. You keep it in your freezer and in the morning pop it in the toaster with some peanut butter... AMAZING!!!
- Ok now to starches... Well starches are needed, but we always think of potatoes or bread as a starch. Well I would stay away from those because almost all of our junk foods are starches which is why we confuse good carbs versus bad carbs. Good starches/carbs goes along with grains, legumes, sweet potatos, and a few more. Regular potatoes have nutrients in them, but not if they are loaded :)
- Fats! Yes fats are your friends. Avacados, certain cheeses (goat, feta, mozzarella, provalone), seeds (sunflower, pumpkin), nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts), oils (sunflower, canaola, olive). In order to loose weight good fats are needed and just as important as veggies, obviously in moderation.
- Last is meat. Protein is key when starting to workout. However to much of a good thing can be bad. If you're eating protein shakes, meat, more meat, eggs, or tofu non stop. It will make you gain weight. I suggest looking up how much protein you should eat based off of your own weight. Are you eating too much, or to little? This is where organic can help. You want range free animals and as little fat as possible. Stay away from deli meat! Lean everything is important (turkey, beef). All different kinds of protein is what is going to help spice up your meals from turkey, fish, beef, eggs, yogurt, seafood...
So now you have a list. Start on the outside of the grocery store and try to stay away from the aisles. The only thing I buy in the aisles are in the organic section, whole wheat pastas or grains, cereals, canned tuna, canned beans and veggies, and some frozen veggies.
Obviously we all can't eat freash all the time. I barely have time to get to the store let alone cook it before it goes bad. Canned and frozen foods aren't ideal, but don't feel like you are failing if you're not eating organic and all fresh. In real life I would love to eat like that, but organic is expensive and fresh is hard. This is about change and starting a healthy lifestyle. Starting with a healthy way of eating even if it's not perfect it is a better way to start then to not start at all.
So, here's to starting New Years resolutions the second week of January or whenever is convienient for you. Keep an active lifestyle, a positive attitude, and strong ambitions and your goals will become a way of life.