Healthy lifestyle eating and shopping.

Create a Lifestyle part 2: Healthy Shopping

So in part 1 of creating a new healthy lifestyle, we spoke about your new healthy lifestyle day! Like I mentioned, a massive part of being the best version of you is the food you eat. The saying goes; ‘you are what you eat’, so shopping for groceries is one of the most important activities you will do. If you purchase a Ferrari and use regular gasoline, then the car will not perform at 100%. However if you use premium gasoline and treat the car well, it will perform at 100%... our bodies are no different, we have to use premium fuel for our bodies to perform optimally.

First and foremost, schedule a day every week that you (and your partner/ spouse/ family) will dedicate to refilling the house with groceries that you will need for the week ahead. If there is always necessary food in the house, then you have no excuses for ‘cheating’ on your new healthy lifestyle.

Your shopping is going to be separated into categories: Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats, Seasonings, Supplements and Others (‘others’ would be bathroom accessories, dish soap etc). And make sure to have a list of what you need refilled each week when you go to the store. Like I said in the last article, preparation is the keys to success especially in your healthy eating habits.

• PROTEINS:

Your main source of proteins will come from fish such as Salmon, tilapia, flounder, trout and lean meats such as lean ground beef, lean ground turkey, Turkey breast tenderloin, Chicken breast. Stay away from fried, marinated and seasoned meats as we will be seasoning and marinating the food ourselves. You will also get proteins from egg whites and milk.

• CARBOHYDRATES:

Your carbohydrate sources are going to be vegetables, sweet potatoes, rice, fruit, whole grain bread and oatmeal. Again go for fresh unflavored options as these are going to contain less calories, sugars and poor fats.

• FATS:

These get a bad name but are essential to a healthy body and healthy lifestyle. Your fat sources are going to be RAW nuts, whole eggs, coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil.

• SEASONINGS:

Within reason anything is fine here… sea salt, ground pepper, cayenne pepper, extra virgin olive oil spray and garlic salt are some I use a lot. Also any of the Mrs. Dash seasonings are fantastic for cooking with.

• SUPPLEMENTS

These are going to be essential for your new healthy lifestyle in order to become the best version of yourself possible, so you will need a daily multivitamin, fish oil, vitamin D, a probiotic and whey protein isolate. (see my previous article top 5 supplements you need to take daily for more in depth information on each of these supplements and what they do/ why you need them to become the best version of you)

You will notice that the greater majority of your grocery shopping is going to be spent on the perimeter of the store. 

This is where we find the healthiest foods that are going to be the best fuel for your bodies. When we were created we simply either grew our food, or killed it! That’s what our bodies were built to eat and thus that’s the optimal fuel for our bodies to perform at 100%. Of course the candy isle, or the ice cream isle may lure you in but is that 5 minutes of pleasure worth it versus the lifetime of pleasure you will get from knowing you are in perfect health and looking the best you could possibly look? I’m also aware that there is going to be a variety of options for each of the foods I have recommended, so I want you to get used to reading nutritional labels.

 Go with the option that has the lowest sugar and avoid anything high in trans fat and saturated fat. Experiment with seasonings to spice up the flavor and enjoy the learning experience of becoming better and better as each day passes.