So I’ve said it before, and I’m saying it again: Stop focusing on being thin, and start focusing on being healthy.
When you focus on being thin, you create bad habits, eat poorly, destroy your self-image, and set yourself up for failure. When you focus on being healthy, you create good habits, eat well, foster a positive self-image, and create an environment that sustains the long-term health and vitality of your body. And you only get one body.
All that, and you’ll probably lose weight as well.
So, with that in mind, it’s time to stop judging whether a food is worth eating or not based solely on calories. If you’re eating the right foods (lots of fruits and veggies, nuts, nut butters, legumes, high quality protein, good fats, plenty of water), you might be surprised at how little you’ll even worry about calories. In fact, most people should stop worrying about how many calories they’re eating (or worse, how many effing ‘points’) and start being concerned with the quality of the food they’re eating instead.
Let’s look at some examples of the calorie/quality trade off. Take a trip down the frozen food aisle and you’ll see row after row of frozen dinners from Healthy Choice (an oxymoron of a name if there ever was one) and Weight Watchers (not so) Smart Ones. Most people think these are great choices because, along with convenience, they’re usually in the neighborhood of 300 calories or less.
That’s great, but let’s take a look at what makes up those calories.
Here are the ingredients for Weight Watchers Smart Ones Meatloaf with Gravy and Garlic Mashed Potatoes:
Source: www.foodfacts.com
Whoa baby! I’m getting hungry just reading that. Not.
Excuse me, but how the hell is water the first freaking ingredient in Meat Loaf? Yeah, I don’t know either, so let’s move on to the Healthy Choice Chicken Basil Panini Sandwich. Sounds healthy, doesn’t it?
Source: www.foodfacts.com
Helllloooo?? That isn’t a sandwich. It’s a fucking science experiment.
But the good news is they’re both low in calories, so they must be healthy, right?
Wrong.
Low calorie highly processed crap is still highly processed crap. There’s just less of it. Don’t be fooled into thinking this crap is good for you.
Step 1 to losing weight: Eat Real Food. Really.
What do you think? Do you think these low calorie frozen meals are a healthy, effective way to lose weight? Or are you surprised at the fact that these things can actually be called food? As always, I’d love to hear your comments below.
~Dave
Dave Soucy is an entrepreneur, coach, trainer, motivator, husband, dad, and former fat guy. Learn more about him here.
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These so called 'foods' need to be in a separate category: 'How to preserve yourself with food'. Keep eating this stuff and when you die, the funeral home won't need to embalm you, you're already prepped for the service…. just need a nice outfit.
I have a friend who eats more of these 'dinners' in week than I have in my entire life… I don't eat them at all. She buys all sorts of them, the 'healthy' ones, the junk food ones [I know they are all junk food] and everything in between. She also feeds this crap to her 80+ year old mom. I swear she spends crazy money on these, yet I'm the crazy one for buying soy milk, fresh fruit and veggies, real pieces of meat- [organic when I can] and stay away from the processed stuff. I bake cookies and cakes and make other treats, so I know what goes in them and sure they are considered junk food, but they are not laden with chemicals I can't pronounce.
I also weigh about 130 lbs less than her and she wonders why. I can't convince her all the 'dinners' are junk and she shouldn't eat a steady diet of them or she should avoid them altogether. Her answer is, 'they're convenient'.