That means, chemicals, fancy packaging, pasteurisation, refining and processing, everything not part of our original “human” diet should be eliminated or kept to minimum consumption. After all, none of these oddly worded “ingredients” were even around or intended for human consumption when mankind first appeared. It’s obvious, then, that they are not needed or intended for human growth or longevity. What they offer is immediate sensual satisfaction while they silently, in the background, attack and damage our internal organs and systems. Not a good trade-off.
What was around at the time, and still is, was the diet of our ancestors. This healthy, natural diet included wild meats and seafood, fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, ancient grains and a variety of seeds.
Whether you are trying to lose excess weight or just get healthier, if your diet consists of the wrong types of food, it’s time to swap out your non-nutrient food choices, for real ones.
Here are some basic rules to use food as your weapon in the battle against weight loss resistance:
Stick with the basics. A lifestyle to keep you clean and non-toxic starts with clean, natural food. This means avoiding all processed or refined foods. Focus should always be on eating nutrient-dense foods first, which are naturally lower in calories. Increase or decrease based on activity levels.
Cook your food properly to retain nutrients. Keep cooking temperatures as low as possible and avoid using a microwave. Foods that have become toxic from high heat and have had their nutrients destroyed by the microwave are of no use to us.
Eat some raw foods each day. Vegetables, nuts, seeds, coconut and fruit when eaten raw are more beneficial than their cooked counterparts.
Eat organic as often as possible. Eating to combat weight loss resistance means consuming clean and natural food. Consuming foods laden with herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and other dangerous chemicals can turn us toxic and create acidity in the bloodstream.
Eat local. Food that is close to its source has travelled the least amount of time and distance and retains more health-building nutrients and antioxidants, the main purpose for consuming foods!
Consume organic and free-range grass-fed meat whenever possible. Many animals have been farmed in a non-humane “cruel” way that is simply not acceptable to most of us. Plus, non-organic meat can contain dangerous and toxic chemicals that mess with our fat-burning/fat-storing hormones.
Many people do not understand that to lose weight naturally and easily and to experience truly incredible health, indulging in a weight-loss-only diet or simply eating a “little bit healthier” won’t get the job done.
This switch is not a temporary fix. It is a permanent lifestyle habit change from processed foods to nutrient-dense foods. It’s not another diet programme either; consider it the standard of food quality we need to establish a healthy lifestyle for ourselves.
It does not take a genius to figure out that our shocking level of health and epidemic global disease has everything to do with what we are eating. But the good news is, we can restore balance to our body to not only lose that stubborn weight but be able to reverse disease, age more slowly, look younger and increase longevity.
Eating is not now, nor has it ever been about buying the most eye-catching package, or about grabbing the quickest, easiest snacks and meals available. Eating is about discovering and learning how to fuel our body effectively and properly in a way we can personally enjoy; one that works for us that is permanent and sustainable for the long haul.
It means getting back into the kitchen and cooking from scratch again, an activity that seems to be a forgotten necessity of life. That’s the only way health will be fully restored, and body weight bought back under control.
When we make this “switch” from unnatural to natural, we shift from unhealthy to healthy. So give it go, try eating the nutrient-dense way and watch the magic happen to both your weight and your health.
Carolyn Hansen is co-owner of Anytime Fitness
