Only Focusing On Calories
Some diets or advice people receive is to keep their calories under a certain amount per day or some other calculated value for their daily calorie intake.
The problem with focusing only on calories is that you are not considering the nutritional value of your food. Many diets or advice say to eat whatever you want as long as you are under that limit. Unfortunately, empty calories can often lead to more eating because your body is craving nutrients you are not giving, making life harder for you.
You could be consuming too much sugar or fat or missing out on nutrition your body needs to function at its best.
Eating Too Much Sugar
Eating a wide range of fruits and vegetables can be beneficial and advised. However, eating too many natural sugars because they are "natural" can still cause problems for weight gain and even contribute to diseases like diabetes.
You can limit your fresh fruit, consume more vegetables, and ensure you do not overeat too many dried fruits, smoothies, or juices. You should also consider if there are better alternatives to the fruit or vegetable you eat, such as replacing potatoes with sweet potatoes, which have a lower glycemic index.
Underconsuming Protein
Protein is essential to building and retaining your muscle and replacing worn-out cells in your body, and it will make you feel much better than when you consume carbs or fats.
Most people under consume protein, which hinders their ability to regulate hormones, enzymes, neurotransmitters, and a host of other functions in your body that are required to function optimally. It is also essential as we age to maintain the muscle we have for weight loss, injury prevention, and general mobility. Without consuming enough protein, we cannot do that.
Avoiding Fats
Many assume that if you consume fats, you will add that to your body, which is invalid unless you are overconsuming food. However, getting enough fats in your diet is crucial for many areas of your body to function well. Such as cardiovascular health, immune system support, improved brain functioning, and almost every other area of your body benefits from getting enough fat.
It is crucial to differentiate different fats in any case. For example, natural fats from nuts, meat, and healthy oils are beneficial. However, when your fats come from processed foods like doughnuts, pizzas, and similar products, then that allows you to overconsume fats and not get the healthy kind that is most beneficial to your body.
Avoiding Frozen Foods
Frozen foods are just a way of storing food, so it is advisable to stay away from frozen pizzas and ice creams. However, frozen vegetables and meats are just as healthy, if not more easily accessible and stored than fresh foods.
Most fruits and vegetables are frozen at the peak of their nutritional density, meaning they are all stored and ready for you to consume. Fresh fruit and vegetables may not be available or may not be as nutritionally dense, especially the further it has to travel and the longer it sits and waits for you to consume them.
Adding frozen fruits and vegetables to your diet can significantly benefit you by providing better nutrition and easy access and storage.
Not Staying Consistent
Staying consistent with your food and nutritional intake is key to maintaining a healthy body. It can often take months to see the full benefits of adding something new to your system, and it requires you to continue adding healthy foods to your system for a long time. There is no magic bullet food or supplement you can take to overcome an unhealthy diet.
There is no problem with eating fast food or processed foods once in a while, but a healthy body requires you to stay consistent with maintaining your health and nutrition.
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