Regularly eating processed foods, even if it just seems like you do it in a pinch, will make you gain weight and keep it on. Luckily, adding whole foods to your diet can reverse the curse that processed foods are putting on your body and actually help you lose weight.
With a busy lifestyle, it may seem easy to just grab ready-made diet foods but unfortunately many of those packaged diet foods in the supermarkets are loaded with unhealthy ingredients that will not help with lasting weight loss.
The problem with processed foods
Processed foods are filled with preservatives, artificial dyes, refined white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, GMOs, hormones, antibiotics, nitrates, refined vegetable oils, white flour and other questionable ingredients.
It takes a lot of energy to digest these foods, and can cause waste and toxins to build up in your system. They are also low in micro-nutrients and don’t provide the nutritional foundation you need to stay healthy.
How to replace processed foods with whole foods
Once you take the necessary steps to hydrate your body, eat the right whole foods and remove any toxins, you will heal your digestive system and your body will be able to fully absorb the key nutrients from the whole foods you add to your diet.
Whole foods are nutrient-dense, cleansing and healing. These foods are rich in amino acids, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants, enzymes, probiotics, chlorophyll, essential fatty acids fiber, and pure water that your body needs to efficiently remove waste and toxins, repair itself, and stay energized and healthy.
The best choices for whole foods that actually help you lose weight include:
Fermented foods
Fermented foods contain beneficial bacteria and enzymes that help you digest foods better and balance your gut flora. Fermented foods help detoxify the body, fight inflammation, protect against disease, and remove waste and toxins. All of these fantastic benefits of fermented foods work together to heal your digestive system and help you lose weight naturally.
Organic leafy greens
Leafy greens are some of the best sources of vitamins and nutrients that remove waste and toxins, fight inflammation and help heal your digestive system. These include vitamins C, K, A and E, chlorophyll, sulfur, iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, flavonoids, carotenoids, amino acids and fiber.
Berries
Berry fruits make losing weight easier because they are high in water and fiber, which sweeps toxins and waste from the digestive tract to promote weight loss. Luckily, they are easy to use in a variety of raw and cooked recipes. They are nutrient-rich and contain an important group of antioxidants known as flavonoids and carotenoids. Flavonoids and carotenoids work to protect the body from free-radical damage, oxidative stress and toxins.
Citrus fruits
Citrus fruits are wonderful digestive aids and great for weight loss because they are rich in water, vitamins C and A, flavonoids and fiber, which efficiently remove toxins and waste from the body.
Onions and garlic
Both onions and garlic are powerful weight loss aids. They are a fantastic source of vitamin C, sulfur, quercetin, allicin, B vitamins and potassium, which help neutralize free radicals, cleanse the blood, fight inflammation and detoxify the body. Onions are also fiber-rich and have flavonoids that stimulate the production of the antioxidant glutathione, which the liver uses for detoxification.
Once you add all of these fantastic whole foods to your diet, you will be able to cleanse your body, feel great and easily lose weight and keep it off!
Check out Shelley Alexander’s new cookbook, Deliciously Holistic, with 154 delicious and healing food recipes!
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