FOOD
By: Frank Gigante
Natural Pro
Jenniffer Merida photo
HEALTHY EATING:
Practical, Sustainable, and Enjoyable
O
ne of the ongoing misconceptions in mainstream media is
the notion of healthy eating. Foods are frequently labeled
as being “good” or “bad”. The notion of healthy eating is misconstrued to mean that one eats only “health” food and never has a
cookie, a piece of cake, or pizza. This gets further distorted as
people then feel they must eat less to lose weight and beat themselves up mentally if they stray from this restricted regimen. These
perceptions are not at all what healthy eating should be. A healthy
lifestyle should be enjoyable, sustainable, and include a variety of
activities and pursuits. Healthy eating should be the same.
What Healthy Eating is Not:
Restrictive
Healthy eating should not be restrictive. There are no magic foods
that one must eat, or one must stay away from in order to live
healthy and feel good. When it comes to being a fitness strategist,
I make it a point not to set anyone up for failure, by giving them a
specific list of foods that they must eat or a list of restricted foods
that they can never eat. My goal is to work with people where they
are at, using the foods that they like, and providing education and
suggestions so they begin to make small changes that will yield
long term and lasting results.
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Natural Muscle Magazine
Labeling Foods
The focus of healthy eating is not on good foods or bad foods, as
there is no such thing, but on choosing quality food sources while
allowing for other less quality foods that will still lead to meeting
their nutritional needs and goals.
Concrete
Healthy eating is ever changing. Food choices should change.
Peoples’ likes and dislikes of certain foods will vary. Seasonal
foods add great opportunities for variety and creative meals
and menus. Branch out, try new foods and learn to incorporate
different foods and dishes into your lifestyle that will still work to
meet your goals.
The How of Eating Healthy
How does one “eat healthy”? The key to any successful plan is
it needs to be practical and something that can be maintained for
A long time. Even when choosing healthier food choices, do not
choose foods simply because they are healthier. If you don’t like
broccoli, do not buy it or force yourself to eat it. There is no need
for that type of torture and it will only lead to a breakdown in your
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plan. It is almost inevitable that at some point, you will no longer
force yourself to eat broccoli, then you will feel bad and the guilt
and downward spiral begin from there.
Instead, a great place to start is with the foods you eat now.
Use what you are already eating and start to look at those foods
in determining are they helping or hurting you in meeting your
nutrition needs and health goals.
This is not necessarily a list to rid yourself of all the foods you
like. If you enjoy pizza, there is no reason you cannot have pizza.
You may not eat it every day, and you probably won’t eat a whole
pizza at every sitting, so there is no reason not to enjoy pizza when
you want it. There are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in pizza.
Those can all be worked in within your daily needs without the
guild or feeling like you need to run on H