Week 8

Wow it's been 8 weeks! So who is the biggest loser going to be? How has every one done? Did you at least accomplish a few of your goals? I hope you have picked up a few new habits along the way that you plan to keep implementing and make part of your new healthier lifestyle! If I could give you only ONE habit to keep and hang on to for the rest of your life it would be this last weeks challenge! Being aware of and doing this one thing is so simple yet will make a huge difference in how you look and feel. And really the health of the whole fam! I want you to from now on and forever be aware of and.......

READ INGREDIENTS!

It would be nice if we only ate food that had not been packaged! But since that is simply not the world we live in we are going to be eating quite a few packaged foods. So what you need to do is get really familiar with that little paragraph labeled "INGREDIENTS:" on EVERY package, can, box, or container of food you bring into your house.

Don't worry about all the numbers and percentages just look and the INGREDIENTS: Know what you are putting into your body! ALWAYS!! Be aware it makes a huge difference.

Alright to help you out just a bit I'm going to give you an example using a loaf of bread! In fact why don't you go get the kind you buy out of your pantry and look at the ingredients on it while I show you this little comparison.

Here is a pretty average loaf of bread that you will find at your grocery store. I believe it is what most people would consider "healthy." But I look at the ingredients and a few things pop out at me. First why are there so many ingredients in a simple loaf of bread! That can't be good. Next ENRICHED that's code for, "We took all the healthy stuff out and added synthetic stuff that your body really can't use." Then I see HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP I won't get into that, you can do your own research on it but just know it's way overly processed and very very unhealthy. Next I do notice that it doesn't have partially hydrogenated oils but it does have canola oil which is not quite as bad but really close! Then again just notice all the different things most of which your body doesn't really need or want.

Now if you will look below, I took a picture of a loaf of bread I had in my pantry. I bought this at Costco I have seen different brands with similar ingredients also at Smith's and Wal-Mart. So you can get them you just have to look because out of all the loaves at the grocery store there are probably only one to three kinds that will be like this.

Look at that 6 ingredients! And I know EXACTLY what all of them are. I ONLY buy bread with ingredients like this! Of course making your own is even better but finding time to always do that can be difficult. So look at your bread. What ingredients are in it? Now EVERY time you are grocery shopping read EVERY label before you put it in your cart. I have a pretty thorough ingredient list on my blog that you can look at here. I have pretty much gone by that and it has served me well for many years now. But just in case you are not ready for that here is a very basic list you could start with! Print it up and take it to the store with you and try really hard to NOT buy anything with these things on the ingredient list.

Ingredients I NEVER knowingly eat, buy, or feed my children:

Partially Hydrogenated Oils

Margarine

MSG (MonoSodiumGlutimate)

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Aspartame and all other artificial sweeteners

Ingredients that we may sometimes compromise and eat but it is so very little you can say we pretty much never eat these either:

Sugar (that's the white refined kind)

Artificial Colors (Like Yellow, Lake Blue, Red 40 etc.)

Preservatives (all those big words you can't understand)

Enriched (we want the whole grain not enriched)

There you go short and simple! Start slow but pay attention and be a smart ingredient reader. Being aware is really most of the battle! So from now on always be sure to.....

READ INGREDIENTS!