Red light...Green light! #PUSH

So I'm reading Chalene Johnson's book Push (as I'm sure you're more than well aware) and on Day 17, our homework is to create a tiered system for our food. The idea is that of our usual foods, what we eat can be put in three buckets: red, yellow, and green. It's as simple as it sounds - green is "enjoy! this is good for you!", yellow is "good but be careful not to over do it" and red is "stop and think before you eat this".

As I was writing this all down, I realized what a great thought-provoking exercise it is so I thought I'd share it with you. Consider doing this yourself and take an honest look at your eating habits...and while you're at it, be sure to check out Chalene's book at www.pushjumpstart.com

Remember - these are items I eat / am tempted to eat regularly and I've put them in buckets based on my needs. This list is going to be "live"...I'll keep making changes to it as I think of things and add different foods to my eating routine. Your lists might be different...you may need or want to move things around. But thinking about what you eat will change HOW you eat and that is KEY to living a healthy lifestyle!

Red:
cupcakes / cakes / cookies
ice cream
whipped cream
Hungarian sausage / salami
chips / carb snack foods
candy
garlic bread
soda (this is one that needs work for me!)
breakfast sausage
bacon
full / non-low-fat dairy

Yellow:
low fat dairy (unless separately listed)
peanut butter
canned veggies
canned fruit
cheese
crackers
whole wheat bread
dark chocolate
alcohol / beer / wine
butter
potatoes
jam / jelly
juice
whole wheat pancakes / waffles
rice
steak
sweet potatoes

Green:
fresh veggies
cashews
almonds
dried plums
tea
greek yogurt
low fat cottage cheese
eggs
fresh fruit
black coffee
fish - especially canned tuna
oatmeal
fresh herbs
salt free seasonings
lean meat (chicken, tukey, and beef mainly)
PB2
Shakeology