Counting calories, avoiding fats, eating small portions, living with hunger—dieting is a drag and the majority of people eventually gain back the pounds they fought so hard to lose. Diet is limiting and restrictive. Consider nutrition. The word ‘nutrition’ comes from Latin, which is ‘to nourish’.
The goal of nutrition is to emphasize and maximize the amount of nutrients that your body needs for optimal health, hormone balance, and sustenance.
Dieting can slow down the metabolism and affect hormones that control appetite. This may cause you to become hungrier, and lead to an unhealthy and a vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting.
You’ll have better success if you eat with a focus on meeting your nutritional needs. Proper nutrition and avoidance of the ‘inflammatory’ foods can help reduce constant pain, digestive complaints, skin rashes, autoimmune disease, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, hormone imbalances, and other chronic health issues.
You may be surprised to find that not only do those symptoms reduce but you may also lose those unwanted pounds.
Eating anti-inflammatory foods may cut out many of your favorites, but it does not require you to be hungry. In fact, hunger can work against you by causing low blood sugar.
Basics of nutrition and anti-inflammatory foods
- Eliminate the following, since they are designed to be addictive
- all processed foods
- fast foods
- sweets and desserts (helps to curb cravings and stabilize blood sugars)
- coffee drinks
- sodas
- Eliminate processed vegetable and hydrogenated oils
- Eliminate gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and other gluten-containing grains
- You may have other food sensitivities and/or intolerances. Eliminate these foods for about 3 months and observe your reactions upon reintroducing them one at a time (every 3-4 days)
- dairy
- eggs
- soy
- nightshades
- nuts
- In some instances you may need to follow a stricter version of this diet, and eliminate grains, or foods with lectins
- Increase whole foods found in the produce and meat sections of the grocery store, with an emphasis on vegetables and leafy greens
- Increase healthy fats, including coconut, olive, or hemp seed oils, and avocados
- Get enough sleep. Studies show that lack of sleep promotes hunger, stress, and inflammation and is linked with obesity
- Get regular physical activity, not to burn calories but because it is vital to good health. Overtraining, however, can be counterproductive to your weight loss efforts or good health
