To get lean, eat more… fruits and vegetables, that is.
It’s like a parental mantra. Eat your vegetables!
But why are colorful fruits and vegetables so good for us?
Veggies and fruits – Nature’s medicine cabinet
Veggies and fruits are nutritional powerhouses.
They contain essential vitamins and minerals along with phytochemicals (plant chemicals) and antioxidants.
They’re the foundation of every high-quality, health-promoting diet.
Colorful veggies and fruits help boost your immunity and lower inflammation. They improve overall recovery and performance. The better you recover, the better your results.
The color tells you that these crucial chemicals are present.
But veggies and fruits aren’t just great for your body. They’re great for your psychology too.
Focus on adding, not subtracting
The first thing most people do when starting a diet is to focus on what they can eliminate.
“I gotta get rid of X and quit eating so much Y. And no more Z!”
Logical, but also depressing and depriving. Because now, all you can think of is what you’re not eating.
But what if we told you to eat more? As in more of the right foods?
As in consuming an abundance of Nature’s delicious and nutritious bounty?
Well, that sounds much more fun. And in practice, it works a lot better.
Focus on food quality
Here’s a fun little visual comparison between things that are all 200 calories.
It’s not hard to guess which foods will fill you up and give you more nutrients.
Fill ‘er up
Our bodies regulate appetite, in part, based on the volume of food.
Our stomachs have stretch receptors that sense how much stuff is in there, and our intestinal tract knows when it’s full of fiber and water.
Veggies and fruits have a lot of nutrients and a lot of volumes (from fiber and water), but they don’t have a lot of calories.
When you eat more vegetables, you can eat more food, with more valuable nutrients.
You feel fuller, healthier, and more vibrant and energetic. And you still get lean.
Sweet!
Eat the rainbow
The more colors, the more nutrients. So experiment with as many vegetables and fruits as possible.
“Eat the rainbow” and enjoy a wide variety of colorful veggies and fruits.
Have fun trying new stuff! It all counts towards your 5 servings a day.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a plateful of raw veggies, berries on your oatmeal, or a nice salad. Get your five servings in and tick off your habit.
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