Don't wait until January to resolve to eat better. As the really hot days of summer give way (we hope) to weather more conducive to outdoor activities, you'll want real energy for walking, cycling, kayaking, running, golfing, tennis, or whatever your active life demands.
You can start now by cleaning out your pantry and cabinets. You can make a good first pass in about 15 minutes.
Forget that you spent money on the artificially flavored chips, white pasta, and sugar-coated cereals. Get rid of stuff you shouldn't be eating, or someday you'll find yourself or a family member tearing into it.
Here's a list of items you can throw away without guilt:
- Starchy snack foods, such as chips. Most of them have artificial colors and flavors, as well as trans fats. These are empty calories. Avoid starchy snacks even if they are "organic."
- White items: rice, pasta, bread, cream of wheat. White foods are mostly starches which convert to sugar in the body; they tend to be nutrient-poor.
- Instant ANYTHING-- drinks, cereals, potatoes, soups, dinner "helpers." These tend to have food additives that can be addictive, as well as few nutrients.
- Breakfast cereals other than old-fashioned oatmeal and high-protein organic cereals. Insufficient protein and fat are two strikes against a good start to a day.
- Candy that isn't good quality chocolate.
- Soft drinks
- Sports drinks that have high fructose corn syrup or are brightly colored.
- Low fat ANYTHING. It's almost always laden with extra sugar and artificial ingredients.
- Canned pudding, Jello, fruit cocktail.
- Crisco, vegetable oil, pie crust mixes.
One final note: please don't give away your discards. Consider everything you're discarding as a contribution to your health, not as "money out the door."
One more final note: now that you've thrown these types of food out, don't buy any more unhealthy "food" to replace them. Keep out nutrient-poor food and chemical-laden items.
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