Part 1: Eat Clean
Christmas is coming, and we all know it can be a tough time to eat healthy and exercise. However, there are significant benefits to starting now! By cleaning up your diet and getting active before the holidays, you’ll likely find that not only the holiday treats don’t hold the same allure, but you may feel less sluggish with your newfound energy.
First, let’s talk about food. Your taste buds, which number between 2,000 and 10,000 cells, are responsible for distinguishing different flavours. Every two weeks, about 200 taste cells are renewed, meaning you can modify your taste preferences over time. Eating processed foods can distort your taste buds, making whole foods and low-sugar options seem less appealing. But as you adjust your diet, your taste buds can relearn to appreciate the natural flavours of whole foods.
The taste cells distinguish 4 large groups of flavours:
- Sweet
- Salty
- Sour
- Bitter
Flavour receptors are not only on the tongue, but also found at the digestive level capable of creating relationships between certain flavours and emotions. This is why there are people who experience great satisfaction with certain types of food. Processed foods don’t help the matter either, as they are irresistible and addictive with little to no nutritional value, designed that way so that we acquire a taste for them. But by cutting back on them you can literally retrain your taste buds to appreciate the natural flavours in foods in their whole state. Taste buds will literally come alive and those once desirable processed foods will seem unbearable.
The realization may come when you reach for those holiday treats after “cleaning up” your diet. You might experience some undesirable side effects such as dizziness from blood sugar spikes, stomach upset, indigestion, headache, bloating, and lethargy. These symptoms, unnoticed before, might have been present all along, because sometime we don’t realize how unwell we are until we experience what well feels like.
By switching to healthier options now, you can become more attuned to your body’s responses and feel better overall. Once Christmas hits, even if you do indulge, you’ll likely want to get back to healthier eating.
Next week, I will cover the second half: the benefits of starting your exercise regimen as soon as possible, even with Christmas close by!
If you’re looking to take on the challenge of healthy eating and exercising before Christmas but need some motivation, DEEM Health + Fitness has just the program for you. Join our “24 Days Before Christmas Holiday Hustle,” available both in-person and online!
Mikkie Nettles-Pollon, Certified Personal Trainer/Holistic & Sports Nutritionist
Not sure where to begin, contact me at info@deemhealth.ca
250-541 -0411.
www.deamhealth.ca
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