But seriously, do you really want to be popping pills to keep you from eating so much? Is that really going to stop you if you're someone who can't tell when your stomach is full in the first place? Okay, maybe you're not popping pills, maybe you're eating those new "energy/weight loss/protein/low carb" bars that taste like cardboard. In my humble opinion, I'd rather take the pill.
I digress.
I assume that the two or three of you who actually read this blog are runners (or people who love food) and I'm therefore preaching to the choir. BUT, I feel the need to educate those people who think the only way to weight loss is through a bottle of pills that there is a better way!!! I know too many people who have turned to supplements, protein bars, meal systems and otherwise "quick fix" programs for weight loss (I used to be one of them) that I deliver this message with a sense of urgency to plead with them to STOP! Our bodies are not artificial and therefore we should not ingest things that are anything but natural.
This is my solution: If you feel like you eat too much because you can't fill up on the "recommended" serving of food, commence your meal with a nice, big, hearty, delicious SALAD! Yes folks, I said the "S" word. Please note: When I say salad, I don't mean that plate of iceberg lettuce smothered with ranch dressing and a wedge of under-ripe tomato on the side. I mean a big, beautiful bowl of crisp, leafy greens, dark green spinach, shredded red cabbage, bright orange carrots, crunchy bell peppers, fresh bean sprouts, ripe, juicy tomatoes, roasted sunflower seeds, dried cranberries and just a smidgen of cheese, topped off with a nice drizzle of EVOO and balsamic vinegar.
Unlike other animals (like dogs who eat first with their noses, then their mouths, and frankly don't care what the food looks like), we humans eat first with our eyes, then our noses and finally with our mouths. So when you sit down for dinner and see a plate of iceberg lettuce drowning in a white sauce that is probably 75% high-fructose corn syrup, of course it's not going to look appetizing! Just imagine coming to the dinner table to find a bowl of salad that is alive with a symphony of color and aroma--wouldn't you be more willing to eat that everyday than the former? Me thinks yes. Plus, vegetables that are very colorful will typically be more flavorful as well; no more grainy, watery, tasteless tomatoes or iceberg lettuce that tastes the way it looks--like watery plant matter.
So you now know that salads can look, smell and taste amazing, but what about the real question at hand--why should you eat it?
Aside from filling our bellies up a little before an entree, salads also provide us with loads of fiber, nutrients, antioxidants and vitamins. As a distance runner, my salad is extremely important to my running performance. Because I eat at least one salad everyday, I don't need to take any supplements to keep my body running like a well oiled machine. I get lots of iron, protein, fiber, potassium, calcium and just a little bit of fat to help my muscles work efficiently and recover quickly. Below I've listed the main ingredients that are in my daily salad and the components of each ingredient that assist in improved physical performance (obviously, you can change or substitute these vegetables with others...remember: bacon is not a vegetable).
Note: Even if you're not an athlete, these nutrients are essential to a healthy body.
Lettuce/Leafy Greens
-fiber
-vitamin K
-potassium
Spinach
-fiber
-Vitamin A
-beta-carotene
-Vitamin K
-riboflavin
-potassium
-magnesium
-folate
-Vitamin B6
-iron
Red Cabbage
-fiber
-Vitamin K
-thiamin
-potassium
Bean Sprouts
-protein
Carrots
-vitamin A
-beta-carotene
-fiber
Bell Peppers
-vitamin C
-fiber
-potassium
Tomatoes
-fiber
-vitamin A
-potassium
Sunflower Seeds
-vitamin E
-thiamin
Cranberries
-fiber
-calcium
-potassium
-vitamin A
-vitamin C
Olive Oil
-unsaturated fat
Balsamic Vinegar
-carbohydrates
Eating just one salad a day, in addition to the rest of your diet, can provide you with sufficient amounts of these nutrients, vitamins and fiber. Plus, it tastes heavenly. There's nothing more delicious than a cold, crisp salad loaded up with whatever kind of veggies you may have lying around in your refrigerator. (If you don't want to slave over a cutting board to prepare your salad, you can buy bags of washed lettuce and spinach, matchstick carrots, shredded cabbage, and tiny tomatoes that you don't have to cut; although, these convenience items are more expensive than whole foods. If you're really ambitious, I find that vegetables that I've grown myself always taste better than those from a store and are practically free, to boot!)
I know I've been talking about healthy muscle function and physical performance, but I've somewhat neglected why fiber is so important. #1 It helps to keep your arteries clean and healthy. #2 It helps to keep your intestines clean and free of build-up. #3 It helps you to pass stool more easily, so no more straining or constipation. #4 Because fiber makes you go "number two", it also helps to keep your belly flat....and who doesn't want that?!
The path to a flat tummy and easier weight loss is as easy as ABC:
A-always eat a salad
B-befriend the bathroom
C-check out that bod!
Okay...done with the lame-o jokes for today. Be healthy people, you have too much to live for to ruin your body with some dude's get-rich-quick/lose-fat-fast schemes.
Salads rule,
Sarah
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." -Michael Pollan
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