Eat THIS Not THAT: Six Simple Suggestions to Improve Your Diet
Kara Gordon Palley 
Make it easy on yourself with these easy ways to start eating healthier. Start simple. and don't take the joy out of eating!
Eat THIS Not THAT: Six Simple Suggestions to Improve Your Diet
How many times have you told yourself that you’re going to “eat better?”
- You’re not going to eat any carbs or treats.
- You’re going to do nothing but drink water and eat kale for the next month.
And how often have you been successful following that “all or nothing” mentality?
My guess is rarely if ever.
(Pssst: It’s never worked for me either)
Maybe because studies show that when you make sweeping proclamations denying yourself whole food groups, you increase your weight loss failure rate exponentially.
Baby steps are the secret to success.
I’m living proof that small changes can add up to a whole new lifestyle.
Starting can be as simple as looking at your some of favorite foods and choosing a healthy substitute. I am NOT suggesting that you give up everything you like to eat. I’m saying 80% of the time, make the healthy choice and that other 20% probably won’t make or break your results.
Let’s begin with Six Simple Suggestions to improve your diet by eating more of this and less of that:
Carbohydrates
Starting with the big guns because who doesn’t love carbs? The issue here is that many carbs will spike your blood sugar, increase your appetite & cravings, provide little nutrition, and derail your good efforts to eat better.
Why do you think restaurants bring you that basket of bread before dinner? Because they like you? They think you’re cute?
Oh no my friends.
It’s marketing 101: bump the blood sugar and increase the sales.
You ARE cute but limit your portions and try these swap ideas.
Introducing the red, yellow and green light spectrum. Rather than exorcise an entire food group, place foods within a group on a spectrum, as follows:
Proteins
Protein is the magic fairy dust for losing weight. It fills you up, sustains energy levels, helps build and maintain muscle, and will keep you on track.
But like anything else there are limitations. The problem with some proteins is that they are too high in fat, carbs, and sodium. Make sure you are eating enough protein and choose your leanest options to catapult that body into weight loss mode.
Fruit
Fruit truly is “nature’s candy” and it lives up to the title with all the pros and cons you might expect. It’s sweet, delicious, succulent, and packed full of natural sugars and calories. So enjoy fruit in moderation and try to choose lower sugar options eight times out of ten. (See that? There’s that 80/20 rule again.)
Berries are the best choice here.
Vegetables
If protein is dietary fairy dust then vegetables are the superheroes of better nutrition. Almost every vegetable is worth eating but alas, not all vegetables are created equal. Some are heavy on pesticides. Others are members of the nightshade family and can be seriously inflammatory for some people. And some are carbs masquerading as vegetables. Load up on organic dark leafy greens, nutrient dense, and cruciferous veggies to get the most out of your plant food!
Here are some examples:
Fats
Fats can be your friend.
Really.
We have trained ourselves to fear fat but it’s essential to a healthy diet. When you see the words “fat free” you’ll usually see a whole slew of chemicals plus higher sugar and sodium to compensate for the missing ingredient.
Stop trying to avoid fat!
Fat isn’t what makes you fat (sugar is one of the things that does…but I digress). Choose small portions of healthy fats that add nutrition to your diet, improve flavor, and keep your skin and hair supple and moist. As a rule, your best bets are fats that are liquid at room temperature and or found in a single ingredient food. Simple right?
Again, avoiding the all-or-nothing mentality, here's a list of fats to eat more, less and seldom:
Treats
Life without dessert is not a life I want to live. That’s why my dietary philosophy includes the “crowding out” concept, rather than assigning labels to foods then placing restrictions on them.
I truly believe that the best diets incorporate some treats sometimes. But how about we choose treats that contribute to better eating by crowding out the junk, rather than sabotage it?
The truth is that if you want to improve your diet and eat better, you’re probably going to need to make some changes. The good news is that if you weren’t ready to do that, you wouldn’t be reading this.
Does change have to be painful? NO!
Start simple. Make it easy on yourself. You got this!
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Good News!
If you’ve tried dieting before and found permanent results elusive, or if you’ve never tried and have no idea where to start, it can seem daunting. Most diet ‘plans’ can be expensive, complicated, time-consuming and may not fit in with your lifestyle, food preferences and unique physiology. And as we’ve discussed here they SIMPLY AREN’T DESIGNED FOR LONG TERM BEHAVIOR CHANGE.
In mid-January 2023 I'll be launching my *Ultimate Weight Loss Meal Planning Solution*, designed to set you up for success from the get-go.
Until then, you can join my 5-day Sugar Reset!
Are you ready to improve your health, your energy, your focus, and how you feel in general - without feeling deprived - by eliminating added sugar from your diet?
My NEW 5-day Sugar Reset is more than just a downloadable guide – each day you’ll be getting pro tips, strategies, and coaching to help you eliminate added sugar from your diet…. All for FREE!
You can join anytime by clicking here
Categories: Nourish