Lose Weight and Get Healthy with Home Made Food

There are many ways to lose weight. You can cut carbs, count calories, exercise, or eat cabbage soup for an entire week. While all of these things will help you lose weight, some are easier than others. One of the easiest ways to drop pounds without too much sacrifice is eating food without preservatives. Not only will you lose weight, but you'll also save money.

Making the switch from processed foods to home-made foods is a healthy choice. The proof is in the ingredients. A typical, store-bought loaf of bread has around 23 ingredients, (many of which are difficult to pronounce and frighteningly long). Compare that to a home-made loaf of bread, which typically has about five ingredients and they all have instantly recognizable names. The reason for the extra 18 ingredients in your store-bought bread? To increase shelf-life while maintaining flavor. These ingredients, however, may have unintended side effects for your body-including weight gain.

According to Paula Baillie-Hamilton in her paper Chemical Toxins: A Hypothesis to Explain the Global Obesity Epidemic, the chemicals found in our food can disrupt our bodies' natural ability to control weight gain,[i] not to mention a host of other unhealthy and frightening side effects. Kevin Brown and Annette Presley, founders of The Liberation Diet, base their diet on the principle that preservatives and chemicals in our foods make us fat and their explanation of the beginning of Crisco found, here, makes a very convincing argument. In addition to the harmful and fattening chemicals found in store-bought products, like bread, you will often find a high sodium content; which leads to water-retention and, therefore, weight-gain. Sweetener's like high-fructose corn syrup are another culprit in promoting weight gain instead of helping you lose weight and they are often found in the baked goods on your supermarket's shelf.

Many diets require that you cut foods like bread entirely out of your life to lose weight. The thought of cutting carbs, while trendy, isn't very appealing to most people and can prove difficult. It is common knowledge that individuals who do succeed in losing weight through food omission, often find themselves gaining it right back when the diet is over. One reason for this is because they are still eating foods loaded with preservatives, sodium, and sweeteners-an experience anyone who has dieted can attest to.

There is a better solution that doesn't require any omission of foods from your diet to lose weight-and will still have benefits to your health: make more groceries at home. This way, you'll know what is going into your food and you'll have control over the fat content and sweeteners that you consume. You'll also enjoy your food much more when you've made it yourself; food without all those preservations tastes great and the accomplishment of making your own food is extremely rewarding.

Foods you can make at home to lose weight include bread, rolls, bagels, granola, protein bars, juices, and more. Basically, anything that is normally processed and bought packaged at the store is a candidate for a home (and health) makeover. Even making one or two items at home can make a difference in how you feel and help you lose weight. It's also addictive (once you realize how fun it is) and may lead to even more home-made food, weight loss, and creativity.

Saving money is another bonus to making food at home. For example, a traditional white bread is made with flour, yeast, butter, and salt and will cost around $1.50 or less for a loaf. Compare this to store-bought bread which usually clocks in at around $3.00. Comparing store-bought bagels to home-bought ones has a similar result. It's worth noting, however, that not every home-made product is going to cost less. For example, juicing at home can prove to be a bit more expensive than buying store-bought juice. So, when making food at home to lose weight, if you are also looking to spend less; you may want to do a bit of research ahead of time.

On the whole, making food at home instead of buying it's processed alternative in the store is a cost-friendly and tasty solution that will help you lose weight and get (or stay) healthy.

[i]http://www.slimmingsystems.com/assets/pdf/academic_paper.pdf

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PAULA F. BAILLIE-HAMILTON