For most of the past 7-8 months or so, I've made a concerted effort to attempt to eat a bit healthier, without going overboard. For instance, I've almost given up pop (soda/coke, for all you weirdos) completely. Granted, I still consume 1-2 energy drinks a day, which is basically just pop with more caffeine, B vitamins, some herbal stuff, and taurine, but I went from drinking 2-3 energy drinks a day PLUS a 2 liter of pop (usually Mountain Dew or something else with caffeine) every day to day and a half, to only 1-2 energy drinks a day, and almost nothing else but tea, vitamin water (which I've gotten HUGE into in the past 6 months...I really dislike drinking bottled water or water from the faucet, so with vitamin water, I get flavor and vitamins, and sugar and fructose instead of corn syrup), and juice.
I just went grocery shopping for the first time in three months, and dropped a half a grand. I expect these groceries to last another 3 months, give or take. I do not have a car, and really dislike asking people for rides all the time, so when I can get a ride to the grocery store (I go to this place called Woodman's, which is an employee-owned chain based in Wisconsin, and the store near me is the biggest grocery store in the state of Illinois....imagine something the size of one of the biggest Meijer or Super Wal-Marts, but it's all groceries), I go shopping for a three month supply. I easily spend 2 and a half to 3 hours every time I go shopping at Woodman's (they just opened this year, and I've been shopping there 4 times now), but this last time, I did something I NEVER do.....I actually looked at the USRDA labels on the back of most of the stuff I was buying, and made quite a few decisions about purchases based on that.
Because honestly, it floored me just how much sodium prepackaged stuff contains. A can of Progresso or Campbell's Chunky soup is two servings (but what human with a normal appetite doesn't eat the entire can by themself?), and each had an average of 800-900 mg of sodium PER SERVING, for usually 70-76% of your daily recommended intake. So I switched to the lower sodium (Healthy Request, etc) versions of the same soups, and they actually taste pretty decent. Granted, I still bought frozen pizzas and salty snacks, but made a conscious decision to choose the ones that had less sodium if I could (and it's not as if I was making a huge change....the ones with less sodium were the ones I usually had been buying anyway....spinach and goat cheese pizza, veggie pizza, barbeque chicken pizza, etc).
Long story short, my buddy told me last month that he had noticed that I had been losing weight, and this was due only to giving up pop for the most part. I'm not too worried about the fat content of the food, but now that I'm trying to cut back on sodium as well, I'm hoping to feel a bit healthier without making a COMPLETE lifestyle change (only eating fresh food, giving up cigarettes, giving up fast food, giving up energy drinks, etc). So far it seems to be working. I just feel better about the food I'm putting in my body. For the past almost year, I've been choosing to eat tortillas and pitas and flatbread instead of white enriched bread, and other small changes that by themselves, do not amount to a whole lot, but added together, seem to be making an impact on my overall health, energy level, and mental outlook.
Just thought I'd share.
I just went grocery shopping for the first time in three months, and dropped a half a grand. I expect these groceries to last another 3 months, give or take. I do not have a car, and really dislike asking people for rides all the time, so when I can get a ride to the grocery store (I go to this place called Woodman's, which is an employee-owned chain based in Wisconsin, and the store near me is the biggest grocery store in the state of Illinois....imagine something the size of one of the biggest Meijer or Super Wal-Marts, but it's all groceries), I go shopping for a three month supply. I easily spend 2 and a half to 3 hours every time I go shopping at Woodman's (they just opened this year, and I've been shopping there 4 times now), but this last time, I did something I NEVER do.....I actually looked at the USRDA labels on the back of most of the stuff I was buying, and made quite a few decisions about purchases based on that.
Because honestly, it floored me just how much sodium prepackaged stuff contains. A can of Progresso or Campbell's Chunky soup is two servings (but what human with a normal appetite doesn't eat the entire can by themself?), and each had an average of 800-900 mg of sodium PER SERVING, for usually 70-76% of your daily recommended intake. So I switched to the lower sodium (Healthy Request, etc) versions of the same soups, and they actually taste pretty decent. Granted, I still bought frozen pizzas and salty snacks, but made a conscious decision to choose the ones that had less sodium if I could (and it's not as if I was making a huge change....the ones with less sodium were the ones I usually had been buying anyway....spinach and goat cheese pizza, veggie pizza, barbeque chicken pizza, etc).
Long story short, my buddy told me last month that he had noticed that I had been losing weight, and this was due only to giving up pop for the most part. I'm not too worried about the fat content of the food, but now that I'm trying to cut back on sodium as well, I'm hoping to feel a bit healthier without making a COMPLETE lifestyle change (only eating fresh food, giving up cigarettes, giving up fast food, giving up energy drinks, etc). So far it seems to be working. I just feel better about the food I'm putting in my body. For the past almost year, I've been choosing to eat tortillas and pitas and flatbread instead of white enriched bread, and other small changes that by themselves, do not amount to a whole lot, but added together, seem to be making an impact on my overall health, energy level, and mental outlook.
Just thought I'd share.
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