The Beauty of Using Nutrition Guides

I’ll be honest, I have never spent tons of time reading food labels.  Being a “skinny” girl for all my life, I have never really needed to pay attention to food.  And, what I mean by that is - the calories, the sugar, the fat content, all of it.  I have been pretty blessed with good height and genes, but no matter how thin you are in your youth, it catches up to you if you’re not watching.  A year ago, I decided to take more interest in my health and diet and each day since then, I am learning more and more about “clean” eating and the types of food I put in my body.

From time to time, I hear from people who are using a workout program (in most cases a Beachbody program that I recommend), but are not losing weight. The first question I ask is, “are you following the nutrition guide that came with your program”. Most of the time the answer is “no”. This confirms for me that we should leave it to the experts to recommend meal plans and recipes for us, at least until we figure out what is good and not good for us to eat.

All of the Beachbody programs I have used (P90X, Insanity, ChaLEAN Extreme to name a few) come with a nutrition guide.  These guides take the guesswork out of what I am supposed to be eating and help create a realistic, workable plan for my busy life.

Of note, I am thankful for the guide that Chalene Johnson put together in ChaLEAN Extreme. It’s like she crafted to recipes just for me, the busy mom who never has any time to prepare food! The recipes require basic, inexpensive ingredients and do not take much time to prepare. As a result, I am more inclined to make them, therefore I’m not only eating healthy, but so is my family.  Who doesn’t love Balsalmic Flank Steak and Faux Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Chicken Kabobs and Chicken Bruschetta?  Great tasting meals that will keep you trim and on target with your goals.