The Training Table: tenets of a healthier, fit you

First rules on The Training Table:

One has to start somewhere so let’s start with the major tenets of the way to a healthier more fit you. How do I determine what goes on my Training Table ?

Whole foods will construct a youthful you whereas processed foods will build an aging you. If the next few steps are followed all begins to fall into place.

I begin with one of the most critical, over-all arching themes that I keep in mind always and forever: is this food I’m about to put into my mouth a processed food or is it a whole food? This sounds so simplistic, but in fact, might be a bit complicated, as you will discover. However I will be breaking down the foods with a lot of surprising and unexpected discoveries as the blog proceeds.

If you want to drive a jalopy; the more processed the foods- the gunkier the auto gears will become and unfortunately, the jalopy is the vehicle you will own. If you choose the “whole foods” category or less processed foods, you immediately begin the clean-up process without even trying and you are working your way to a sleeker, up-grade.

Processed foods are insidious

For openers, did you know that processed foods have fast burning carbohydrates that lead to weight gain and decrease one’s wellness, while whole foods have the slower digested carbohydrates that will keep your body weight in control and improve wellness? 

Slow burn versus fast burn is but one layer of the onion. Processed foods are insidious and the more one reads the research the more serious you are likely to consider staying away from processed foods.

In today’s entry, let’s break it down and fully understand what is a “processed food” versus a so called “whole food,” as it refers to in this blog. I use the following rule of thumb and will break this important concept into detail later.

·         Processed food is manufactured or as the word origin implies, made by man; that is one of the distinguishing features I am referring to.

·         Another rule of thumb to determine if it is non-processed is to ask the question, “Is this a single ingredient?” Generally if it is, it will be in the Whole food category. Food such vegetables, fruit, eggs, roast chicken. A whole food can be a natural ingredient made by other animals such as honey, milk.

Get in the healthy habit of frequently asking yourself,  "How was this food item made?" 

Is this item a single/ whole food ingredient item or is it made from man-made ingredients?  

After a while, it becomes second nature whenever one reaches in the fridge, or grabs an item off the grocery store shelf. 

RULE OF THUMB 

a   Was this food fabricated  mechanically or chemically?

    

For instance with a food such as peanut butter: is it raw peanuts that have been mechanically ground into a jar of peanut butter such as you might see in popular health food stores where you might even make your own without any other ingredients? This is a whole food. Or is it a jar of  brand named peanut butter that is manufactured; it will contain more than the single ingredient (peanuts) and will include additives and  or artificial substances such as corn syrup, sugars, hydrogenated oils, diglycerides, and salts. 

If say a dressing or veggie burger is made up of a set of single ingredients, ones you can actually hold in your hand; olive oil, carrots, beans, grains, lemons...these can be put on our counter and folded together to make a dressing or pan fry your burger or whip together a healthy salad dressing. The more whole foods chosen, the better the prospects are of long-term success.

Trust me, the more you learn about sorting your foods by single ingredients, the more you will want to choose the whole foods/ single ingredient option. We will be delving into this in depth and the information has a lot of unexpected twists to it.  It really wasn’t until I fully understood and began living by this sort of triage: mechanical vs chemical----- single natural ingredient/ man-made with additives, that I began to head towards a better, healthier self, and I’d like to keep it that way for as long as possible. Of note, the more I lived by the whole versus processed tenets, the fuller my fridge and the less items in freezer and shelves; without preservatives (non-whole foods) the shorter the shelf life. So as you start improving your diet if you find that you are suddenly having trouble fitting all items on your fridge shelves, or realizing how much you'd like a newer, bigger fridge, it could likely be because you are following Training Table tenets.