Oh, the cabinets of temptation. Almost everyone has one. Or two. But the fact is, if you have a cabinet full of trigger foods, at some point you or a family member will be…
well, triggered.
The first question is, how can you make your kitchen a “safe zone”?
Create an environment that supports your fitness and nutrition journey.
Keep healthy options on hand, and make them CONVENIENT. On the same token, keep unhealthy options unavailable and harder to access. For example…grapes. If I bring home a container of grapes and just sit it in the refrigerator, that is where they will stay until the shrivel up and rot. Now, if I take the time to pick them off the vine and wash them, they are much more likely to be eaten. If I take it even a step further and portion them out into baggies..I can guarantee they will be reached for much more quickly. Sam idea with other fruits and veggies.
Now when it comes to trigger foods, like say, kettle cooked potato chips… I know that if they are in our household, they will get eaten. And quickly. So if and when I do purchase them, it is a smaller size bag to go along with a treat meal so that when that meal is over, they are gone. Temptation over.
If a specific food is not going to help you reach your goals, it’s probably best not to have it around.
How Do I Set Up My Kitchen For Success?
A good kitchen set-up makes things easy! When you have a clear structure and a trusted system in place, you don’t have to think. You can just… do! It’s simple!
I like to begin by identifying my “Red, Yellow, and Green Light Foods.”
“Red light” foods are bad news foods. They make you feel sick, crappy, bloated, they trigger you or are just simply unhealthy. These foods have to go. Get them out of your kitchen.
“Yellow light” foods are foods that are sometime okay, sometimes not. Yellow means approach with caution. These are foods that maybe you can have a little and still feel okay. Maybe you only get when out at a restaurant. A planned indulgence or occasional treat.
“Green light” foods are foods that make you feel good mentally and physically, and that you can eat normally, slowly, to satisfied, not stuffed.
These are usually things like fruits and vegetables, lean protein, and legumes
Green means “go for it!”
Now, let’s review your kitchen. What are your red, yellow and green light foods?
Make a list and use it to give yourself a boost in the right direction.
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Amber Zuver
Author Bio
Amber seeks to empower women and young girls in strength and to inspire them to not be afraid to step into the gym. Amber finds great joy in helping clients move, perform, look, and feel better! She believes that your training at the gym should transfer over into making your everyday life better as a whole, both physically and mentally.