BMTF Presents "Normal Diet" Healthy Food Lists

There are so many new or trendy diets you can choose to follow right now. In fact, there's so many it can actually make your head spin and it still leaves you asking “what should I be eating?”

Most people we see want to lose 5-20 pounds or more. So it’s worth the time to consider improving how you eat but it can feel overwhelming when your friend has lost 30 pounds doing keto or your co-worker lost 20 pounds doing the Whole 30. But both can be daunting and you can’t successfully do either without having a little base knowledge under your belt.

I would challenge you to literally forget EVERYTHING you know or have learned about diet. Take a piece of paper out and write down these 3 words as categories:

1. Fruit

2. Veggies

3. Protein

Under each, list the foods you enjoy eating for the appropriate category. They don’t have to be long lists (but maybe they are!) And then I’d like to ask you, are you eating these foods on a regular basis? You’ve already established them as foods you enjoy eating yet you aren’t enjoying them on a regular basis. This is where you start.

Take a look at your lists and start making meals out of them. For example, if you enjoy berries, Greek yogurt, apples and deli meat, you can easily create a snack of Greek yogurt and berries as a snack and a deli sandwich and an apple for a lunch. Obviously this is a simple example but that’s the point; we want to simplify it and start there. When we feel like it’s complicated, our behaviors stay right where they are, always reverting back to what’s familiar and comfortable.

You’ll notice there’s no “carb” category and that’s because there’s carbohydrates in fruit and vegetables. You can incorporate more carbohydrates with anything from this list:

· Anything whole wheat

· Sweet potatoes, multi-colored potatoes

· Quinoa or other whole grains like brown rice or farro

· Oatmeal

If you’re looking for some ideas or inspiration, follow us on Facebook and Instagram as we roll out our Quarter 2 programming that’s fully committed to helping you improve your nutrition. You can download and save the pictures and articles we’ll be sharing so you can take them with you when you shop and at home when you cook!