When it comes to weight loss a lot of people know very little about the subject. They get their information from TV, magazines, or the newest and best diet program that their co-worker has started. When it comes down to it most people believe that weight loss comes from calories in and calories out. This then leads to counting calories and food restrictions. This can become complicated and inconvenient for most people’s work and social life. The result is giving up completely or trying to “eat healthier.” What does it mean to eat healthier? You ask 10 different people and you are going to 10 different answers. Fat free, low sodium, zero calories are all things that will come to people’s mind when asked what healthy eating looks like. To put it into perspective let’s make a comparison. A 12oz bottle of Coca-Cola and a one-fourth cup of almonds have roughly 140 calories. Which one is healthier? Coca-Cola doesn’t have any fat in it, but one-fourth cup of almonds has 18.1 grams of fat!Almonds contain 1.7 grams of natural sugar while 39 grams of processed sugar is found in Coca-Cola. If you were on a fat-free diet the answer is obvious which one you would reach for, the Coca-Cola. It’s even better if it is Coca-Cola Zero that contains absolutely no calories. Makes counting calories and working off calories a cinch. To the uninformed or uneducated it logically makes sense to choose the Coca-Cola. What people don’t think about when it comes to eating healthier or is what happens to your body once you consume food and beverages. The body doesn’t only see calories. In fact, it doesn’t see calories at all. The body processes the ingredients that make up the food and beverages consumed. Coca-Cola is made up a list of ingredients that are hard to pronounce let alone knowing what they actually are. The ingredients that most people recognize are carbonated water, caramel, color, aspartame, natural flavors, caffeine. To be brief, carbonation deteriorates muscle, aspartame isa neuro-toxin, caffeine is a psychoactive drug, and natural flavors are typically a buffet of chemical concoctions. Once Coca-Cola is consumed the body goes into overdrive trying to handle high amounts of sugar and process foreign substances; blood sugar levels spike and then drop leaving the consumer craving for more to get them out of their lethargic state. The ingredients of almonds are almonds. One could argue that almonds are high in fat. This is true, however, the fat in almonds are healthy-for-you fats. It also contains protein and dietary fiber, both of which are good for the body and help you stay fuller longer. There isn’t a spike or plummet in blood sugar and the nutrients found in almonds aid the body in so many beneficial ways. So before you decide which weight loss program, workout/exercise regime, like or diet plan you want to incorporate into your life take some time to learn about how the body processes food and which foods will provide the body with the most amount ofnutrients and the smallest amount of harmful effects.
