How does your diet make you feel?

Nutritionally lacking foods

Picture this; you sit down at lunch time to a burger with the lot, a side of fries and a soft drink you then get up make your way to the office and go sit back at your desk/computer for up to 5 hours before finishing for the day.  During this time, you body is inactive and trying hard to process the high fat, high (simple) carb and high sugar lunch so how does this make you feel? Sluggish, de motivated and dreaming about a nana nap, sound familiar? But isn’t food meant to give you energy?

Next day

As an experiment, replace the lunch of yesterday with a salad of greens, roasted carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato, chickpeas, tofu, avocado, currants, nuts and seeds, a piece of fruit and a bottle of water even a bottle of kombucha, how do you feel today when you return back to your desk?

The key to feeling invigorated especially after lunch is to eat a meal low in GI, containing complex carbohydrates, a small amount of protein and lots of fruits & vegetables.  This is the best way to maintain your blood sugar levels during the day helping eliminate that tiredness feeling in which you experience after a heavy lunch.

The way a Planted Life follower eats is not a matter of denying you all of the good things; it’s about creating a diet rich in real foods, not carefully marketed fast foods that are a far cry from how we should really be eating.

Simple steps to follow when putting together your eating plan each day:

• Eat more vegetables and fruit (preferably RAW)its as easy as adding in a handful of spinach, kale or any other vegetable for that matter into any dish you are preparing.
• Cut down on the highly processed carbs at lunch
• Avoid the overly processed grains such as white bread, muffins and chips. Instead replace the simple carbs with complex carbs such as wholegrains, brown rice, vegetables & fruits
• Reduce you portion sizes
• Drink water, up to 2L per day

As a society we tend to over eat, the bigger the plate the bigger the portion. We have all fallen into the trap of over eating; our eyes are bigger than our stomach so this is a habit we need to break. Eat controlled portions and allow 20 minutes for your food to digest before thinking you need to eat something else. Or better yet, have a glass of water you might just be thirsty.

Tips to eating better

Cook more

We are all about encouraging you to utilise your kitchen to cook up a storm. We are not all Master Chefs so each meal that you cook doesn’t need to be 5 star – we are cooks so let’s just cook. By cooking in you can control the amount of fat, salt and sugar in which are used in your meals thus reducing your calories; you never know you might shed a few kilo’s along the way.

Be prepared

Have in the fridge pre-roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, cooked chickpeas, washed lettuce, grated carrot, pre-made salad dressings this will ensure you can just throw in a container the perfect ingredients for a ‘take away’ salad.

When your hungry – EAT!

There is no point denying you of food just because it’s not what we regard as the right time to eat.  Snacking when we think we are hungry can lead us to eating empty calories such as packets of chips, chocolate bars and the like.  If you are hungry, eat or simply snack on a handful of nuts or fruit to tie you over until your main meal or better yet, eat your main meal.

Drink up to 2L of water a day

It’s important we are kept hydrated and sometimes we can confuse hunger with thirst.  Water should make up 99% of your liquids consumed during the day, not soft drink or energy drinks which are high in sugar.  The only way to go is H2O! 

Mindful Planters

Have you heard of mindful or conscious eating? We need to become more in touch with our bodies, understand what effect the foods we eat has on the way we feel not just our body image.  By becoming more aware of the foods you eat will have to feeling more energetic and alive.

If your current diet is making your feel tired and unwell, then its time to make some changes for the better. Just ensure you have will power and determination for making changes to your current eating habits and be kind, change isn’t going to happen overnight, it does take some time.  Be realistic and the journey to healthier eating will be an enjoyable one.

6 ways to become a more mindful eater

1. Slow down; let your body catch up to your brain
2. Listen to your body; are you emotional eating or responding to your body’s needs?
3. Be mindful of your eating environment; limit eating on the go
4. Consume nutritionally healthy foods not marketing campaigns
5. Consider the lifecycle of your food; from plot to plate
6. Don’t multi task when eating; just eat

Planted Positive Programs

Looking for guidance as to how you can improve your eating habits? We offer an array of Positive Eating programs, sign up today.