It really is true; you are what you eat. If you eat nothing, you're not going to feel so great, if you eat like crap, your taste buds may love you but your body will hate you, and if you eat healthy, you're going to feel pretty darn good.
Food is literally so important in how your body feels. The saying 'you are what you eat' is very true. I've always lead an active lifestyle and ate relatively healthy - aka good meals but too many unhealthy snacks. I really started to notice how crappy my body felt, even with working out 4-5 times a week during my third year of college. I found myself far too frequently standing in the pasta line because, well, who can say no to pasta?
I finally decided that I'd spent enough time merely admiring all the healthy and delicious looking meals I see on Instagram and Facebook and it was time I started making them. For the past seven months or so, I've taken control of my diet, paid way more attention to macros, what I'm eating and when and steered myself away from the junky snacks and towards the nearest Whole Foods.
Yes, I spend a good amount of money on groceries (why healthy food is so much more expensive than junk food is a whole other novel for me) and a few extra minutes preparing food, but I honestly don't mind. I can truly say I feel so much better from the inside out than I ever did. I eat around 1500 calories a day, with meals/snacks (healthy ones) every 2-3 hours to help boost my metabolism and my body has leaned out. I feel so much better when I lift and have better endurance, I feel more energized and my stomach doesn't feel 'bleh' at the end of every day.
Some of my grocery shopping go-tos include avocados, bell peppers and hummus, fruit, protein bars, Siggi's yogurt and Bear Naked granola, Kombucha, Hippeas and Siete tortilla ships instead of popcorn and other cracker snacks, Banza pasta which is made from chickpeas and tastes just like regular pasta but with way more protein and far fewer carbs, eggs, tomatoes, and Justin's peanut butter and rice cakes.
I also drink TONS of water every day and that has also made a huge difference. I drink at least a gallon of water a day and I don't think I could ever go back to drinking a mere bottle a day. Water flushes out toxins in your body, drinking cold water in the morning helps kick start your metabolism and drinking lots of water helps you feel fuller. Also, oftentimes at night when you're hit with the late night munchies, it's not your body telling you it's hungry, it's trying to tell you it's thirsty. Next time you're sitting on the couch late at night and feel those cravings start to come on, grab a water bottle instead of a snack and I bet you'll notice a change in your body.
If you've been meaning to make a change in your diet for the better, stop procrastinating and telling yourself you'll start next week, start now. Trust me, your body will thank you, and you'll be so much happier.