Eat some COLOR!

Needless to say, as a fitness professional I get asked a lot of questions about diet and nutrition. What I usually tell most people is that you do not need to "go on a diet". I don't like the whole idea. If for no other reason than the very term "going on a diet" implies that sooner or later you "come off a diet". And what happens then? What you need is a change of lifestyle and habits in the area of consumption.

I tend to prescribe the common sense diet. I personally believe that just about everyone knows. Know what I mean? Everyone knows which foods are fundamentally bad for you and which are fundamentally good. You don't need a fitness professional to tell you that if you're filling up on Burger King Whoppers, large order of fries, and a (diet) cola three days a week - you aren't giving your body foods that are rich in life-sustaining nutrients and you certainly aren't going to be losing any weight. NOBODY needs to be told this.

"Ok, so I know what I should not be eating - what SHOULD I be eating?" One of the ways that I'm fond of answering this question is to say - FOCUS ON KEEPING COLOR IN YOUR DIET. Especially foods that are dark green, red, orange and burgundy. Bell peppers come in a variety of colors (yellow, green, red), beets are a nice rich dark burgundy color as are cranberries. pomegranites and cherries, oranges, apricots and canteloupes = orange, raspberries, leeks, lemons are yellow. You get the idea. Generally speaking foods that are white/lacking color tend to be low in nutritional value. Breads, pastas, (refined) sugar, pasta, potatoes, etc.

Of course there are exceptions to every rule, there are some white foods that are very good for you (onions), and this isn't addressing meats and nuts, but generally speaking the more color you manage to add to your diet - the better!