WHAT HAPPENED TO ME WHEN I DECIDED TO EAT HEALTHY (ON PLAN) EVERYDAY.

WHAT HAPPENED TO ME WHEN I DECIDED TO EAT HEALTHY

(ON PLAN) EVERYDAY.

I cannot count the number of times I decided to start eating healthy to lose some weight, only to find myself giving up and ‘’treating’’ myself to something sweet or salty later (usually sweet). This is a process known as yo-yo dieting. Maybe you are familiar with this? 😊 It’s where people, like me, who have struggled with weight most of their adult life if not longer, try to “lose weight” by crash dieting.  The ‘diet’ typically works for a short time.  Eventually you feel hungry and / or deprived and give up on the weight loss goals entirely. This common cycle is a toxic dieting belief I had, as well as many other people, and commonly fall for, which is why it’s important to think about the things in this article if you want to make a lifelong change.

For example, what if your motivation to change your diet was more than just weight loss? While having a healthy diet can assist your body in losing some of the extra weight, eating nutritious foods regularly has all kinds of benefits for your body’s health.   We know that our car needs fuel and oil to run.  And most of us take better care of our cars than ourselves.  We get the oil changed and the filters changed at regular intervals, WHY?  Because we value (some of us love) our vehicles.  And we know ‘’feeding’’ good quality fuel, filters and oil makes them last longer and have fewer issues as they age.  The same goes for your daily food (fuel) and water (oil) consumption.  Numerous dietitians and studies back this up, stating that if you eat healthy every day, your body’s processes and functions will improve significantly, making you feel better inside and out.  How cool is it that your body will get younger, more energized, and healthier when you give it the proper fuel & oil😊?

Here’s what exactly happens to your body when you eat healthy every day, and why you should consider shifting your mindset from always trying to lose weight to always wanting to live a happy, satisfying life.

You’ll start to crave healthier foods.

Have you noticed that when you first learn how to navigate a new route to work or our home, we need to either write down the directions or use our phones navigation?  In a quick time, we don’t need the directions and we drive from our memory.  Eventually, we drive this so many times it becomes second nature and maybe even figure out short cuts or alternate routes. Professional golfers practice hitting golf balls thousands of times a day.  They are building a strong memory of how all the different subtle changes made in their swing effects the flight and ultimately their score.

This is called Neuroplasticity.  A process in which our brain is constantly learning and changing habits after repeating new habits over a period of time.   When we focus on eating a healthy and balanced diet on a regular basis, rather than cycling through fad diets and integrating cheat days, our bodies begin craving the healthy foods we consume.

Another way to think of this.  Take my Yo-Yo dieting for example.  For most of my adult life I would go from one fad-diet to another, losing weight and eventually gaining it back.  Each time I repeated this process my body & brain were learning a pattern (just like learning to navigate to work) over and over year after year.  Eventually my body began to expect the same action and same results.  Many of you including myself, when going through this program, literally hit a wall in weight loss progress.  The scale didn’t move for several days at a time.  Your body thinks you will give up, go have a sweet or treat and stop, like we have done so many times before.  This is where the rubber meets the road, and you have to be aware of what’s going on and stick to the plan. Trust the program & your bodies real desire to be healthy and trust that you are doing the absolute best & most healthy thing you could do for yourself.

Our bodies work optimally when we fuel it with food and nutrients that add to our health rather than take away from it.   When we eat a healthy diet on a regular basis and experience the positive side effects from this lifestyle, we will begin desiring this way of life-based largely on the changes in our brain that it produces.  It feels good to feel good!

In time, you will crave less unhealthy foods.

Guess what? It works both ways!  If your body can be trained to crave healthier foods, it can also be trained to crave less unhealthy foods.  You can actually develop a dislike for less healthy foods where they begin to ‘taste more processed’ or ‘too salty/sugary’, which helps you not crave those items as often.   Your tastes literally change on this program.  I eat more varieties of fruits and vegetables now than I ever did.   I used to not like the taste of cauliflower or melons and certain fruits tasted sour to me…now if I try a soda its way to sweet and many times prepared foods are way too salty.

You will actually not want to eat unhealthy foods the longer you stay away from them.

Your body will have the nutrients it needs to function properly.

Let’s face it. If we really gave it some thought.  Our diets prior to doing the IHC plan were not that varied.  Most of us eat the off the same menu of low complex carbs like bread (sandwiches, pancakes, cakes, cookies and or pasta) and our vegetables were French fires & ketchup or potato or corn chips😊). It was fuel but it was low grade fuel, and it caused our ‘machines’ to run inefficiently.  Our bodies are like sophisticated machines, relying on specific food energy, vitamins, minerals, fluids, and antioxidants to function optimally.  Good nutrition delivers all these important components to function at tip-top level. When you eat healthy, you give your body what it needs to function well, both internally and externally.

Most of us know that healthy nutrition shows on the inside with a healthy heart, cleaner arteries, and blood vessels, and a healthy digestive tract but it will also help with your outward appearance.  Healthy nutrition can show on the exterior with healthy hair, eyes, skin, teeth, and nails.

You’ll feel energized.

When you eat healthy regularly, you’ll likely notice a difference in many aspects of your health, including having stable and consistent energy levels, & improved sleep.  Our I.H.C. plan is a healthy, well-balanced diet  that  includes more than adequate macronutrients and micronutrients to help support the optimal functioning of body processes while helping you get to a healthy weight.   If you notice your energy levels dropping or feel more irritable it very likely that we need to increase one or more of the components in your plan.  Please keep us posted on how you are doing by emailing [email protected]

You’ll decrease inflammation.

This part of our program is one that separates us from all the others.  The specific foods chosen for your plan are foods considered as anti-inflammatory.  There are several foods that are good for you but not good for weight loss.  Examples would be beans, legumes which are high in protein but also inflammatory to most people’s guts.   You can’t read an article about healthy eating that doesn’t tell you to eat grains (i.e. cereals, bread) but grains are highly inflammatory.  Inflammation causes increased acidity in your body which causes fat storage not fat burning, Most cereals and breads are also loaded with added sugars, Foods that aren’t as rich in nutrients are known to be inflammatory. which is closely linked to a higher risk of chronic diseases.

Here’s a link to an article with more information on inflammation and how it slows weight loss.

You’ll feel full and satisfied.

I remember the days of unhealthy eating choices.  Burger & fries and an hour or two later being hungry.  That’s because there were key nutrients missing in my diet.  Even though my stomach was full my body was starving for specific things not being supplied by the poor fuel choices.  No one likes to still feel hungry after eating a meal. That’s why it’s helpful to ensure that you include the 4 important macronutrients on your plate in order to feel full for a longer period of time. By ensuring that your plate has a sufficient amount of (1) protein, fiber-rich carbs = (2)vegetables and (3)fruit, and (4) healthy fats, your body will feel full and satisfied for hours after enjoying your meal. That’s because protein, fiber, and healthy unsaturated fats are all keys to keeping your body feeling full and your digestive tract happy.

The easiest way to ensure you are getting all of these macronutrients in your meal is by following using the image here as a guide.  But most importantly you should weight and measure your portions.

If you are in a place where you cannot measure your portions try doing this.

Fill 1/3 of you plate with vegetables,  ¼ with fruit, 1/4 of your plate with a lean protein, and finally 1/8 of your plate with a healthy fat.  These are not exact but the easiest way to ensure your healthy meal has all 4 components and will keep you feeling full.

Your mood will improve.

It’s called nutritional psychiatry. According to Harvard Health, when you properly fuel your body with foods that will help it to function better (i.e. “premium” fuel) what you eat can directly affect your brain, which consequently affects your mood. We have all experienced the calming effects of turkey on thanksgiving.  It’s the tryptophan found in turkey (and some nuts) that makes use relax.   Many highly nutrient dense foods on your plan improve your nutritional psychiatry.   ¼ of the women over 60 in the U.S. take anti-depressants.  It’s my opinion that many of these women could simply improve their daily food (fuel) and not need the medications.

Nevertheless, eating a healthier diet full of nutritious whole foods will make a huge difference in your mood throughout the day.

IT FEELS GOOD TO FEEL GOOD.