Foods to Forget About!

In my previous article (Series Article #1) in this series about weight-loss, I discussed the importance of high quality Carbohydrate, Proteins, Fats, Water, and Oxygen in our diets. This week, I want to discuss some of the foods we should be avoiding in order to lose fat, feel fantastic and look great. Now, before I get into the foods we should avoid, let me start by telling you a short story.

Once upon a time, there was a young girl who never felt like she fit in with the rest of her friends. She struggled with weight, intestinal issues and acne. Though she searched far and wide for a magic remedy that would solve these issues, she could not find one. Her mother and father told her to just eat less if she wanted to lose the weight. Her doctors told her, “take this pill and use that cream for your acne”. Finally, as an adult she was able to lose weight and banish her acne by using these methods. It should have been a happy ending, but unfortunately it wasn’t, because she didn’t feel great. Then, out of nowhere, her skin began to break out again. “It’s probably just genetics” she was told on several occasions. Fast forward several years. I – – yes, I am talking about myself – – discovered how to feel great, be healthy, lose baby weight and clear up my skin (mostly), by simply changing my nutrition.

Growing up, I ate a steady diet of processed, low-fat, and sugar-filled foods. I knew nothing about nutrition except that “eating too much was bad.” If you would have told me years ago to pull grains, gluten, sugar, most dairy, and processed foods from my diet, I would have probably looked at you skeptically and said “no way.” I mean, I love bread and baked goods, and I am addicted to sugar. I was the little kid at the family Christmas party who would stuff as many cookies into my face as possible. Yet, looking back at my childhood and young adult years, I can see a connection between the health problems I had with the processed and sugary foods that I ate.

After I had my first baby, I took the advice of a nutritionist and meticulously counted calories, allowing myself only 1200 per day. I did lose some of the weight, I didn’t feel great, and counting calories became obsessive. As soon as I would stop counting calories, my weight would start to creep back up again. I would get so tired of monitoring every single calorie, that some days I would binge on cookies and sweets and then feel horrible about myself. As a busy new mom, I didn’t have time to count calories and write down every single thing I ate, and not doing it made me feel like a failure.

After the birth of my second daughter I was desperate to lose the 55lbs that I gained during the pregnancy. I really didn’t want to go back to counting calories again. I searched on the internet for solutions, an then I discovered the Paleo Diet. “Diet” is really a misnomer here, since Paleo is not a short-term get skinny quick plan, but a mindset shift and lifestyle change. Having tried everything from a raw food diet, to being a vegetarian and then a vegan, I decided to give this a try, since many of the ideas and research made sense to me. Within the Paleo framework, I ate as much as I wanted and did not count one single calorie! I ate nutrient-dense meals that had plenty of healthy fats from grass-fed butter and coconut oil (Newsflash: fat is good for us!), I focused on eating whole, unprocessed foods, such as pastured and grass-fed meats, pastured eggs, and wild-caught fish. I ate so many more vegetables and greens than I used to. When I wanted candy or cookies, I ate some berries with nuts and coconut cream. And guess what? I started to lose weight! Of course this motivated me to keep going, but I also started to feel really good too.

So what foods did I stop eating?

• Dairy – with the exception of raw milk, and raw milk kefir which are full of natural enzymes and minerals that are still alive due to the fact that they were not pasteurized.

• Grains, with the exception of some occasional white rice. Why give up grains? There are several reasons, which I will discuss in an upcoming post. However, one of the main reasons for avoiding grains is that all of the nutrients contained in those grains are bound up in something called “phytic acid,” which prevents our bodies from absorbing the nutrients. Here is a great article that goes into much more detail on this topic.

• Sugar – I recommend avoiding all added and refined sugars, such as sugars found in candy, fruit snacks, cookies, cereals, juice and soda, just to name a few. Sugar is extremely addictive, completely devoid of nutrients, and causes so many health problems. It inhibits fat loss, and can cause hormonal imbalances. Additionally, please please please do not try to replace these with “sugar-free” snacks and foods. They usually contain aspartame in one form or another, which can have detrimental effects on our health. Instead, try to stick with fruits, raw honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar as alternatives. In limited quantities. I know. I’m not your favorite person right now.

• Processed and convenience foods – The lifeblood of our country. Take a moment and think about the meals and snacks you’ve eaten during the past few days. Were the majority of these things pre-packaged or pre-made? Maybe some cereal for breakfast, a 100 calorie snack pack, a frozen meal at the office for lunch and some pasta for dinner? Processed food is food that has been altered from its original state, usually in a factory. Often synthetic vitamins that are not bioavailable to our bodies are added back in to convince consumers of its nutritive value. These foods are full of artificial ingredients, sugars, refined oils and flavorings. Now I definitely do not want to stress you out, or make your life harder, but eating these all of the time is just not healthy! Try finding whole-food, natural alternatives to your favorite foods and snacks. Homemade, honey-sweetened gelatin is a favorite of my kids, and it’s easy to make. Dry-roast your own nuts. You can melt some grass-fed butter or coconut oil on them and season them as you like. They are delish! Do a little searching on the internet, and you will find a ton of recipes! By replacing the processed foods with whole foods, your body will be more nourished and will absorb all of the necessary vitamins and minerals it needs, instead of synthetic ones.

If you are starting to feel overwhelmed by my suggestions, don’t worry! This does not have to happen overnight. I’ll admit that the first few days of trying to avoid these foods, especially bread and sugar, was difficult for me. However, after the first week, I started to feel great and my cravings started to disappear. Every now and then I still crave pizza, or cookies, or candy, and every now and then I will have some. Although, after omitting these foods from my diet on a regular basis, I noticed that when I would eat them again I did not feel good. You need to experiment and see what works for you. Take baby steps. Try cutting back on sugars and processed foods first and increasing your vegetable intake. Trust me. If you went through childbirth, I know you can do this!

For more details about my nutritional philosophy, click here.

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