Beige Foods.....

I caught a few minutes of a program last night that was about obese people. Seeing as I am focused on healthy eating that interested me. BTW, I did not gain a pound during the holidays (applause from the audience please)....but I didn't lose one either. In the grand scheme of things, I think that's a success!!! Today marks the day I get back on Sonoma full force and finish this weight loss. I hope by summer to be at my goal weight. Taking longer than I hoped, but as long as I see forward progress I'm satisfied because I know I'm much healthier than I've ever been.
Back to the TV show. They got all the food these folks were eating in a day and put it out on a table so that they could see it all at once. The table was filled. One lady filled her table with over 35,000 calories a day and six times the normal rate of fat intake for a day. At that rate, they estimated she would gain 2 pounds a day.....people that's 60 lbs a month. The woman already weighed in at 420.
But the most incredible thing I learned watching the program was about color. A nutritionist was looking over the tables of food and made this point. The tables are full of beige foods. Almost all processed foods end up being beige in color and visually unattractive. These are the foods that cause the most health and weight problems. Whether you are overweight or underweight, beige foods in general provide nothing good for you. No real color, no real nutritional value. Lots of calories and fats.
On the Sonoma diet we are encouraged to "eat the rainbow". In other words, fill your plate with beautiful, colorful fruits and veggies. I was so encouraged to see the nutritionist who is fighting against obesity saying the same thing I am reading as I make this journey through weight loss.
But it was odd to have it put in such a visual perspective. It's one thing to think "color is good" and it's quite another thing to wrap your mind around "beige foods are bad." The funny thing was that Mr. Snapshot saw the expression on my face when this idea sunk into my brain and then I smiled and shouted out "WOW." He responded, "I wondered what that was going to do to you. And now I'm wondering how this will impact ME!" hehehehehe Then he reflected back on supper where we ate traditional New Year's foods. I fixed pinto beans, creamed spinach, some collards, some squash with green peppers and tomatoes and mother made cornbread. He at the pintos and cornbread. All the beige foods. I did have some beige, but I had more of the color. Yeah me!
Now I have another tool in my weight loss journey. The color wheel! I can use all the help I can get and I'm very thankful that God just "happened" to let me cruise by this TV show and teach me a very visual lesson......