9 Common Mistakes For A Natural Food Diet

Eating a natural food diet will have a lot of healthy side effects for you and your family. It will even have far-reaching side effects on your community and the environment.

The great thing is that you don’t have to give up food that tastes good and satisfies you. It really is about eating foods as close to their original state as possible, in abundance and cutting back on processed fake food products.

There are numerous ways to start eating natural foods. You can choose to continue eating meat, to eat high protein, or high carb, or not. The important thing is that you get rid of any additives, pesticides, hormones and other chemicals and processed foods out of your diet.

There are, however, a few common mistakes to look out for when you start a natural food diet.

What To Watch Out For On A Natural Food Diet

1.Using Fat as a Nutritional Supplement

Even though your body needs some measure of fat, there’s no nutritional value in fat. All fat consists of additional calories void of nutrients, especially if it’s processed fat. Fat helps nutrients synthesize and absorb into your body. So you do need some fat. But you don’t need to add fat in to your diet.

Instead, use healthy fats in limited amounts. Remember that you’re going to naturally get fat in your diet by eating healthy unprocessed food that includes a wide variety of veggies, fruit like avocado and banana, nuts and seeds. Plus, the small amounts you might use in cooking such as cold pressed olive oil, organic sesame oil, and virgin coconut oil.

2. Taking Vitamins You Don’t Need

A lot of people think that it’s just normal to take a vitamin supplement, but the truth is, you only need to take them if blood tests show that you’re deficient. Most people can get by with vitamin B12 and vitamin D supplements. Today’s blood tests can show if you’re getting the right amount of vitamins or not and need supplementation. There is no benefit to taking vitamins that you don’t need.

3. Eating Too Many Starchy Carbs

Rice, grains, breads, legumes, beans, peas, cereals are all very starchy carbs and have their place in their original unprocessed form. But, you want to be careful about eating too many starchy carbs because they are high in calories and can have an effect on your blood sugar. The trick is to eat whole grains, and whole veggies, over other starchy carbs because they have a lot of fiber, minerals and vitamins. Keep it to 3 or 4 servings a day.

3. Eating Too Many Extra Sweet Fruits

Fruit is a wonderful creation by nature because we are born craving sweets. Your brain needs plenty of glucose to work efficiently, so you don’t want to limit fresh fruit completely but you do want to be careful about your choices.

You want to eat at least 2 or 3 servings of fruit per day. Choose high water, low fat, high fiber fruit such as berries, citrus, and apples. If you use super sweet fruit like peaches, or bananas as a dessert you’ll be sure to get plenty and enjoy your after dinner sweet.

4. Eating Processed “Clean” Food

There’s a lot of interest in the food industry to cash in on the clean eating and natural eating movement. Due to that, marketers will try every trick they can to fool you into buying what they’re selling. Don’t fall for it. If it’s processed, it’s not good for you. You don’t need expensive powders, potions, and super food mixes for eating natural foods.

5. Not Eating Enough Calories

It’s amazing the quantity of food you can eat when you embark on natural eating, especially if you eat a high plant based diet full of raw food. It’s important to ensure that you are eating sufficient calories for your height and weight. If you’re not eating enough calories you’re at risk of suffering deficiencies and losing too much weight.

6. Eating Too Many Calories

The converse of not eating enough calories is eating too many. Contrary to what some gurus say, you can’t eat more calories than you burn or else you’ll get fat. You also need to eat plenty of calories to keep your metabolism higher but you don’t need to overdo it. Each person has a different caloric requirement depending on height, weight and metabolism. There are plenty of online nutrition apps that help you ensure that you’re eating enough but not too much.

7. Eating Too Many Nuts & Nut Butters

While nuts are great sources of Omega 3’s, they are also very high in fat. You only need a small handful per day to get all that you need. Choose seeds instead, as they are lower in fat and higher in omegas and eat them unprocessed in their whole form without additives. You can still eat both nuts and seeds, but be sure to limit the amount. When you make nut butters, measure out a small serving size since this is concentrated and make your own.

8. Eating Too Much Sodium

With natural eating it’s important to avoid eating too much sodium because it will make you look bloated. Instead of normal table salt, use mineral infused salts like Himalayan salt. You can also use other natural seasonings and spices to enhance your food. Lemon juice squeezed on baked or broiled salmon, or your salad, instead of adding salt works great.

9. Not Drinking Enough Fresh Filtered Water

Drinking beverages with calories is a waste of calories. Natural eating requires that every calorie be full of nutrition when it goes into your body. Drinking fresh water will ensure that your digestion is working well, nutrients are absorbed, and that you are hydrated. Staying hydrated allows your body to let loose of extra sodium and fluid, helping your belly look flatter and your skin look healthier and brighter.

What To Eat Before & After Your Workouts

Your body also needs a certain kind of nutrition in each stage of an exercise workout. People are often amazed at how small dietary changes can reap huge results with their fitness goals. Whether you want to build muscle or improve your cardio performance, this free report, 15 Foods To Eat Before & After Your Workout provides details on the foods you should eat with a natural food diet so you can reach a new personal best.