Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, and I’m not pretending to be one either. You should always seek help from a professional.
I know, grocery shopping can be challenging. All the products sitting on the shelves in different sizes, shapes, and branding.
What products should you choose? What products are healthy? What products are not healthy?
You’re meant to be confused. Because, if you get confused, you will buy something you crave.
The Most Important Thing For Your Health
One of the most essential principles of WildFit is:
It’s more important to get the good stuff in than it is to avoid the bad stuff.
We can put you on the perfect diet. You’re eating everything you should be eating, and avoiding all the bad stuff.
Then we remove vitamin C from that perfect diet. What will happen?
It’s a possibility you could get scurvy.
So again, your health is determined by how much of the healthy food you’re eating. Rather than the unhealthy food you’re avoiding.
How To Read The Ingredient List
If you want to take a vacation from specific food type, like sugar, dairy, grains, preservatives or food additives, then look for them in the ingredient list.
Easier said than done? Food manufacturers are good at using complicated words in the ingredient list, making it harder for you to find out what’s actually in there.
It will amaze you at how many products in the grocery store contain some form of sugar.
I challenge you to take a look at the ingredient list on the products you are buying and find out if they have sugar.
They even put sugar in bacon. Yes, you read that correctly. BACON!
Do you know how many names there are for sugar? We have found 65! If you need help identifying sugar in your next grocery shop, click here to access your free sugar guide.
Be aware that in some countries, food manufacturers don’t have the same regulations for disclosing ingredient lists.
Why You Shouldn’t Obsess With The Nutritional Facts Label
According to the FDA (U.S. Food & Drug Administration). The nutritional facts label is there to make it easier for you to make an informed food decisions.
It gives you information about serving sizes, and the amount of:
- Calories
- Fat
- Cholesterol
- Sodium
- Carbohydrates
- Dietary fiber
- Sugar
- Protein
A Calorie Is Not A Calorie
The problem with nutritional facts label is that it doesn’t give you information about whether the food is healthy to eat.
If your goal is to release weight, then obsessing over the listed number of calories won’t help you.
The quality of the food is much more critical to your health than counting calories.
A calorie from an apple has more nutritional value for your body than a calorie from a Coke.
I wrote an article on Why “Eat Less Move More” Is A Ridiculous Approach To Weight Loss . Here, I explain the calorie counting myth in more details.
I also recommend you read this Medium article on why Counting Calories is a Ridiculous Way to Try to Lose Weight, by Dr. Jason Fung.
What Is Healthy Food
Maybe you’re a little bit confused now. Perhaps you’re thinking:
“If the nutritional facts label doesn’t determine whether food is healthy or not, then what does?”
If this is you, take a deep breath and relax, because you probably already know what is healthy food.
If I asked you to take a guess on what foods are healthy, you would likely come up with something similar to this list:
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Nuts
- Meat, fish, and eggs
And if I ask you to list things you need to reduce or avoid, you would give me something like this list:
- Refined sugar
- Artificial sweeteners
- Dairy products
- Grains
- Cigarettes
- Alcohol
See! You already know this stuff.
To reiterate: Your health is determined by the amount of healthy food you’re eating, rather than the unhealthy food you’re avoiding.
I want you to do two things in the next couple of weeks:
- Increase your intake of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and high-quality meat, fish, and eggs.
- Increase your awareness of the ingredients in the products you’re buying.
Your body will thank you for it.
If you want help with changing your relationship with food — then join our effective 14 Day Food Reset program.
This is what a few of our clients have said about it:
“The information I learned in the program was enlightening. My perception of food has changed drastically.” – William
“Super helpful. The insights that Eric shared were amazing.” – Rhoda