Sophomore Natalie Arndt, blog writer and FC student, strives to inform students about fitness and nutrition. Four years ago, Arndt discovered her passion for staying in shape and pursuing a healthy diet. For her first blog, read Creating a healthy lifestyle.

When she is not meal prepping, Arndt can be found in the campus mentor program, Sister To Sister, playing volleyball, or riding her horse, Katie. As she encourages others toward a healthy lifestyle, Arndt hopes to inspire readers to take action in pursuit of nutritious habits.

Where do I begin?

While beginning a healthy lifestyle, the majority of people think eating healthy means going on a “diet” and fail to follow through. A diet is restricting the food you consume for a period of time. The issue with a diet is it isn’t consistent. It’s a quick fix that escalates into a rollercoaster of on-again-off-again healthy eating.

A lifestyle is not perfection, it’s a sustainable way of life. The idea behind a lifestyle is a way of eating clean and healthy food, while enjoying the treats you love. Consuming food shouldn’t be all or nothing. The best way to balance food is 80% whole food and 20% sweets. The common reason we eat our favorite sugary treats is because we crave them. How can I reduce my craving?

In my life, I do my best to remove sugar during the weekdays and treat myself on the weekends. A tip would be to go on a cleanse, by removing all fast food and sugar for a week or month.

The goal is to detox (remove) the harmful bacteria in your gut and replace it with nutritional whole food. It begins with small steps toward a long lasting goal.

Second is to understand the difference between whole food and processed food. Whole food is food that maintains health and energy in your body. These foods include no artificial additives or preservatives.

Processed foods are foods that have been made with preservatives. These foods usually come in cans or are frozen with a thousand ingredients that looks like gibberish. A good side note: “If you can’t read it don’t eat it”. In the end, it truly is self discipline and the desire to retain a nutritious lifestyle.

Certain grocery stores carry healthy and local foods, including Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods. The grocery store you shop at can make an effect on the food you purchase. These stores have options that can inspire your eating habits and make it effortless to purchase nutritional food.

Snacks I recommend: ABC bars, soy flaxseed chips, olive oil popcorn, inner peas, beef jerky, almonds and almond butter are some alternatives you can purchase.

If you are struggling to find the difference between processed and whole foods, here is a list of processed foods to stay away from: Cheez-its, Cheetos, Swedish Fish, Famous Amos, Goldfish, Skittles, Doritos, and sodas (Dr. Pepsi, root beer, Mr. Pibb, Coca-cola).

Recipes

Breakfast Fruit Smoothie

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Peanut Butter Granola

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For Arndt’s first blog, read BLOG: Creating a healthy lifestyle. For more blogs, read Growing closer to God, an introduction.