12 Months of Working Towards Better Nutrition – April 2019

My apologies for getting this post out a little late! I can only offer March Madness as an excuse, and if you know how much I love Spartan basketball then you will understand. It’s been a crazy six weeks for our team, and it ended in defeat last Saturday. I’ve taken some time to mourn the loss, but now I’m back and ready to head into another month of nutrition goals.

This month’s focus is on eliminating all fast food and fried foods from your diet. Now that you’ve gotten into the habit of tracking your food, eating more protein, and drinking more water, it’s time to hone in yet again. By getting rid of fast food and fried foods from our eating habits, we are eliminating many unhealthy fats, both trans and unsaturated, from our diets and extra sugar. Unfortunately, the very things that make fast food taste so good are the very things that contribute to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other lifestyle diseases.

While I’ll always encourage you to do more cooking at home, there are healthier food options out there that are just as quick and easy as McDonalds, Burger King, or Wendy’s. Some of the ones I eat at on occasion are Panera, Chipotle, and Leaf Salad Bar. However, that isn’t to say that everything on their menu is healthy. I always go online to their website to check out the nutritional facts before ordering. And I certainly don’t make eating out an every day habit. I try to limit myself to once, maybe twice a week if I’m really busy.

This month I just want you to focus on making informed decisions about what you are putting in your mouth when you are away from home. My ultimate  suggestion is to try out some meal prep on the weekend so that you can take your lunch to work instead of going out to eat with your coworkers. If that isn’t an option, then be sure to check out the nutrition information and choose an item that is high in protein, low in saturated fat, and doesn’t contain much in the way of sugar.

If you can start making better decisions about what you are eating while out on the town, you are just one more step closer to finding success with your healthy lifestyle.