A standard trip to the store for my sis and bro-in-law. “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
-Hippocrates
In my opinion, eating healthy doesn't always depend on someone's will power. Oftentimes, it has to do with the athlete not knowing the difference between what foods are healthy or not. It has to do with them being misinformed, either by the food manufacturers, society, or their peers. Or, it could just come from good old lack of knowledge in nutrition.
Regardless, the reason why is irrelevant. It's all in our rear view mirror. High Speed Health is all about learning from the past, but at the same time realizing that the past is 100% in our rear view. It's all about the next steps.
The goal is to eat whole, organic, real food as much as possible. These days, food manufacturers are making it more and more difficult to know which foods are real and which aren't. People are also throwing the term paleo around like crazy.
In my opinion, real food is either an animal, a plant, or it grows on trees. For example, real food consists of (but is not limited to) quality organic red meat, chicken, fish, other seafood, vegetables, fruits, plants, eggs, nuts, and seeds.
Basically, invest in quality, nutrient-dense, organic, healthy food choices. Don’t eat just because you are hungry. Think of it as fueling your body for optimal performance.
I’m not saying you have to eat like a health freak all the time. But try to increase how often you eat clean. If you eat clean 50 to 80% of the time, that’s much better than eating it 20% of the time, or 0% of the time!
There is a ton of excessive noise in the food industry today.
So how do you know what healthy food choices are?
That gets pretty deep. But for starters, try taking my outside route method next time you're in the grocery store. The outlook is very basic and simple.
Stay along the outer edge of the grocery store at all times. That is where all the refrigerators are in the store. The middle aisles typically contain foods loaded with added chemicals and preservatives. That is why they are just sitting on a shelf and don't need to be refrigerated. They often come in a box or can.
When I hit the store, this is the route I hit when I go:
Produce section --> Seafood counter --> Meat counter --> Dairy section --> Natural foods aisle
And here's a quick description of what I get accomplished in each of them:
Produce section - Buy tons of green stuff. Generally speaking, I go for the darker green stuff. It's usually healthier than the lighter shade of green. For example, baby spinach (dark) vs. iceberg lettuce (lighter green). I'm not vegetarian and I doubt I ever will be. But, I probably consume more vegetables and fruits than your average vegetarian. It's easy when you drink one large green smoothie a day. I make them with my Nutribullet. My favorite ingredients are bananas, carrots, celery, broccoli, baby spinach, kale, spring mix, avocados, and pineapple.
Seafood counter - Fish, fish, fish. Shrimp. Grilled, broiled, steamed. Not fried.
Meat counter - I always go for the higher quality meat. If it comes down to eating low quality meat vs. not eating meat at all, then I opt for not eating meat at all. It's just not worth it. I'd rather substitute some other form of protein like black beans, chick peas, tabbouleh, or quinoa.
A great documentary to check out is FORKS OVER KNIVES. It talks about how humans' teeth were not designed to bite into tough animal meat. They were made to bite into fruits and vegetables. It compared our teeth to those of wild wolves. They have long, sharp teeth made to bite into tough meat. It also compared our digestive systems to those of wolves. Their digestive tracts are also much shorter than humans', which means the meat is in their system for days less than it is in humans' systems. Humans have longer digestive tracts which greatly increases the time meat is in our systems. It also greatly increases the chance of the meat going bad inside our bodies when it's not digested in a timely manner, which is a major cause of illness.
Grass fed beef is ideal. It's expensive, and honestly I don't eat it too often. When it comes to non-grass fed, most grocery stores list a welfare rating on the outside of the package. Get familiar with your store's practices and be conscious of them when buying.
Dairy section - The only thing I pick up in the dairy section is eggs. I never drink milk anymore. I've even gotten away from cheese most of the time. I'll eat cheese here and there when I'm out at a restaurant, but I won't bring it into my apartment. I've gotten a huge increase in energy since I decreased my dairy intake. Not sure if I can ever give up my fried eggs though. Also, buy higher quality (more expensive) eggs. They are worth it. If you've ever seen the documentary FOOD, INC., then you know why. I wrote a summary review on the documentary. You can find it here.
Natural foods aisle - I like to buy bulk foods like quinoa, almonds, hemp seeds, and chia seeds. I can throw any of it in my green smoothie if I want.
I don't go to the middle aisles of the store. I always stay in one big circle around the outside perimeter of the store.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT:
Next time you go to the store, try to not even step foot in those middle aisles. They are mostly full of processed foods loaded with preservatives and chemicals that don't need to be refrigerated. They usually come shrink-wrapped, in a box or a can. That’s why they're in the middle of the store where there are usually no refrigerators. Go for the fresh stuff.
Have you ever heard of the (grocery store) outside route method? Do you use it? Why or why not?
Either post your comments below, or email them directly to me at tbowen [at] highspeedhealth [dot] com. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Take care!
Todd B.
HSH
Stay along the outer edge of the grocery store at all times. That is where all the refrigerators are in the store. The middle aisles typically contain foods loaded with added chemicals and preservatives. That is why they are just sitting on a shelf and don't need to be refrigerated. They often come in a box or can.
When I hit the store, this is the route I hit when I go:
Produce section --> Seafood counter --> Meat counter --> Dairy section --> Natural foods aisle
And here's a quick description of what I get accomplished in each of them:
Produce section - Buy tons of green stuff. Generally speaking, I go for the darker green stuff. It's usually healthier than the lighter shade of green. For example, baby spinach (dark) vs. iceberg lettuce (lighter green). I'm not vegetarian and I doubt I ever will be. But, I probably consume more vegetables and fruits than your average vegetarian. It's easy when you drink one large green smoothie a day. I make them with my Nutribullet. My favorite ingredients are bananas, carrots, celery, broccoli, baby spinach, kale, spring mix, avocados, and pineapple.
Seafood counter - Fish, fish, fish. Shrimp. Grilled, broiled, steamed. Not fried.
Meat counter - I always go for the higher quality meat. If it comes down to eating low quality meat vs. not eating meat at all, then I opt for not eating meat at all. It's just not worth it. I'd rather substitute some other form of protein like black beans, chick peas, tabbouleh, or quinoa.
A great documentary to check out is FORKS OVER KNIVES. It talks about how humans' teeth were not designed to bite into tough animal meat. They were made to bite into fruits and vegetables. It compared our teeth to those of wild wolves. They have long, sharp teeth made to bite into tough meat. It also compared our digestive systems to those of wolves. Their digestive tracts are also much shorter than humans', which means the meat is in their system for days less than it is in humans' systems. Humans have longer digestive tracts which greatly increases the time meat is in our systems. It also greatly increases the chance of the meat going bad inside our bodies when it's not digested in a timely manner, which is a major cause of illness.
Grass fed beef is ideal. It's expensive, and honestly I don't eat it too often. When it comes to non-grass fed, most grocery stores list a welfare rating on the outside of the package. Get familiar with your store's practices and be conscious of them when buying.
Dairy section - The only thing I pick up in the dairy section is eggs. I never drink milk anymore. I've even gotten away from cheese most of the time. I'll eat cheese here and there when I'm out at a restaurant, but I won't bring it into my apartment. I've gotten a huge increase in energy since I decreased my dairy intake. Not sure if I can ever give up my fried eggs though. Also, buy higher quality (more expensive) eggs. They are worth it. If you've ever seen the documentary FOOD, INC., then you know why. I wrote a summary review on the documentary. You can find it here.
Natural foods aisle - I like to buy bulk foods like quinoa, almonds, hemp seeds, and chia seeds. I can throw any of it in my green smoothie if I want.
I don't go to the middle aisles of the store. I always stay in one big circle around the outside perimeter of the store.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT:
Next time you go to the store, try to not even step foot in those middle aisles. They are mostly full of processed foods loaded with preservatives and chemicals that don't need to be refrigerated. They usually come shrink-wrapped, in a box or a can. That’s why they're in the middle of the store where there are usually no refrigerators. Go for the fresh stuff.
Have you ever heard of the (grocery store) outside route method? Do you use it? Why or why not?
Either post your comments below, or email them directly to me at tbowen [at] highspeedhealth [dot] com. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Take care!
Todd B.
HSH
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