In today’s society, everyone is on a tight schedule. There is no room for error in those schedules, let alone cooking meals for the family. As a result, we have become a processed food generation that is sustained on preserved fare filled with chemicals. If you want to maintain your weight loss or lose weight, get off that train now.
When cars could be mass produced on an assembly line, it was a revolutionary step. We’ve applied the same technique to our food and it’s not going as well. Processed foods keep longer, but at what cost to our health?
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To lose weight, you have to cut back on calories while increasing your activity
. Statistics say that many of the people who have successfully lost weight will put it back on in a matter of years. Why? Little by little fats creep back into our diet and take over.Processed foods, even ones that are supposed to be healthy, are part of the problem. You buy microwavable meals to eat at lunchtime, but some of them contain way too much sodium and fat. It is a small meal but that doesn’t mean the calories are small. Worst of all, you might not feel full after eating one.
The concern here is more for processed deli meats, cheeses, pizza, snacks, and desserts. Is that enough? That’s a lot of ways to regain the 20, 30, 50 or even 100 pounds that you’ve lost.
Here are some solutions to solve the dilemma of the processed food train.
- Make your own lunch meat. Roast a chicken or lean turkey breast. Let it cool and slice it up. Slice it thin for sandwiches, cube it for stir fry dishes and casseroles, or cut it into strips for tacos and salads. If you are worried about how long it will keep without preservatives, freeze it and thaw when needed.
- Make your own breakfast. Those little microwave items are chock full of fat and preservatives. Visit your local butcher for fresh turkey or pork sausage. Cook it thoroughly without the skin wrapping and pat it dry of all fat. Use the previously cooked meat as addition to omelets or mold it into patties to make a breakfast sandwich.
Make your own pizza. At home, you can use whole wheat flour for the dough, mix up your own sauce and add healthier toppings including some of the pre-cooked turkey sausage in tip #2. Whole wheat flour is better for you than white flour.
Make your own snacks. Instead of buying granola bars from the store, make granola yourself at home. Cut a baking potato or a sweet potato into thin slices and bake your own potato chips. There are plenty of snack ideas that don’t contain massive amounts of sugar, salt, or preservatives.
Are you still on the processed food train? To maintain your weight loss or lose more weight, find new ways to enjoy some of the foods you enjoy without buying them prepackaged from the store.
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