What to eat?!

Low carb, low fat, south beach, Atkins... there are so many diets and different ways of loosing weight that we forget to simply take a look at the food we put into our bodies every day.

I recently took a 1 hour course called "intro to a Whole Foods diet." Now "Whole Foods" doesn't mean shop at Whole Foods (the grocery store), and "diet" is a bit of a misnomer. In truth this is simply a way of eating that focuses on food, in its natural form, to provide all of the nutrients: minerals, vitamins proteins, etc.. that we need to be healthy.

This doesn't mean you can't eat meat or sugar or fat (yay!), as these foods are found in nature in some form. The real problem in today's food (this philosophy would argue) is that most food that we eat (yes, MOST food) is packed with chemicals and unnatural goods used to refine, preserve, flavor, and mass manufacture food.

Ok so if it's so simple - eat foods as close to the way nature intented as possible - why is so hard to do that? Well you know that! To really embrace a "whole foods" diet, you really need to prepare everything yourself. Most of us work 40+ hours a week, so its challenging to spend the time it takes to prepare good, wholesome food. But it can be done! It takes careful planning, creative thinking, and a will to steer clear of unwholesome foods. And, a little forgiveness if we can't be perfect all the time.

Here are a few tips and resources for learning how to follow a "whole foods" diet:

1. The World's Healthiest Foods: 129 foods that are wonderful, health-promoting foods - whole foods - such as fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, whole grains, etc. This site promotes what I truly believe: "the healthiest way of eating is a whole, natural, nutrient-rich food." http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php
2. What are "Whole Foods"? Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Foods
3. The Whole-Foods Diet: 6 reasons to switch to a less processed way of eating.
   http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=62664