How To Lose Weight For Women: The Red, Yellow & Green Light Foods

When you are looking at how to lose weight for women, did you know that you have specific “Triggers?” Did you know that these triggers send you down an emotional roller coaster ride with Food?

These triggers and emotional roller coaster rides are important to understand so we can stop them in their tracks!

Yes… It’s true! We all have “triggers” that make us steer towards that comfort food when we are feeling down and out. Maybe it’s that lonely feeling that creeps in and as soon as we feel sorry for ourselves… we turn to junk food. We have that pity party again!!! (I get this because I’ve done this and had these triggers!) 

We also have “triggers” that set us down the celebration party roller coaster. This means cakes, ice cream, chips, and candy bars. Maybe throw in a couple of glasses of wine to top off that celebration party too! Sound familiar?

At the Weigh Down Lifestyle, we call these trigger foods RED Light Foods. We all know that RED means STOP! So we call these foods Red Light foods our Danger Foods. They are extremely dangerous and they can cause harm to our bodies. So…

What Are RED LIGHT FOODS?

Red light foods have very little-to-no nutritional value for our bodies. These foods are filled with high sugar content, high-fat content and include foods like chips, candy, fried foods, cakes, donuts, sodas, and a lot of sugary foods.

Once we start indulging in these Red Light Foods…we can’t quit! We can’t stop ourselves, so when we start munching on that bag of Dorito’s… lookout… the whole bag will be gone in a matter of minutes. Or maybe it’s the tub of ice cream. Or the glass of wine becomes the Bottle of Wine! 

These are Danger foods and we need to be extremely careful or STOP eating them so that we are not racing down this roller coaster because it gets in high gear in seconds.

These dangerous Red Light Foods are often very highly addictive and often filled with sugars and chemicals that harm our bodies. We all know that sugar is known as the “white death” and it is highly addictive. In fact, clinical studies say that white sugar is just as addictive as cocaine – and we all know we don’t want to be addicted to Cocaine!

So quite literally…Red Light Foods can cause weight gain, depression, and behavioral problems in our life, which ultimately leads to dis-ease and illness.

Red Light Foods can be anything that is high on the Glycemic Index, such as Breads, Pastas, White Rice, Cakes, Desserts, Sugary Drinks, etc. There are so many of these Red Light Foods, we need to STOP and become aware of what these foods are doing to our bodies.

We are literally treating our bodies like trash cans when we indulge in a lot of these foods.  

Next thing when we are looking at how to lose weight for women, there are the Yellow Light Foods. These foods are mostly in the low to moderate range on the Glycemic Index and are generally okay to eat in moderation. 

We know that Yellow means “Be Careful!” Being careful and cautious is a good way to look at foods we put into our body, so that we are treating our body like a temple, the way God calls us to do. 

What Are Yellow Light Foods?

Yellow Light Foods are foods that we still need to become aware of because overindulgence in these foods can still lead to weight gain. However, we can eat these foods in moderation. Yellow Light Foods can be beneficial to our bodies. However, in some instances, too much of a Yellow Light Food is still too much. 

Yellow Light Foods are foods like:

• lean meats
• brown rice and brown rice pastas
• other sprouted grains
• healthy oils
• nuts, fruits and legumes.

Read my post on the health benefits of sprouted grains here!

Our bodies require protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats, but too much of a good thing is still not healthy. We have to remember moderation and therefore caution (Yellow Light) comes into play.

Portion control is key here with these Yellow Light Foods. We need to make sure that we are helping to nourish and fuel our bodies, rather than overindulging and hurting our bodies. This requires being aware of our portion sizes, and how often we eat them. 

Fruits are a good example where we need to be careful just how much we partake of.  Although fruit is very beneficial to our bodies, some fruits are very high in fructose. Yes, fructose is a much healthier sugar than the white death, but it is still sugar in our bodies. We need fruit for vitamins and nutrients, but we need to be mindful and careful about these Yellow Light Foods, or we can still get into blood sugar highs. 

Yellow Light Foods are about portion control and moderation, as the Bible puts it. God made healthy food for us to enjoy, but we are to enjoy them in moderation. We need to treat our bodies like a temple and nourishing our bodies for fuel – energy. 

Then lastly there are the Green Light Foods for how to lose weight for women. Don’t you just love that Green means GO!?

What Are GREEN LIGHT FOODS ?

I love these foods as these are foods that we can generally eat as much as we like to. We don’t really have to limit ourselves to these foods because they are low glycemic, and actually provide some good nutrients for our bodies.

It has been said that negative-calorie Green Light foods take more energy to digest than they do to eat. What this means is that you would theoretically be burning more calories by eating them than you are taking in. Typically, celery is on the top of this list of foods, followed by lettuce and cucumbers. 

So remember, these Green Light Foods can be raw foods like cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, raw turnip, radishes, celery, lettuce, dill pickles, and the list goes on…

These foods don’t seem to put you onto a roller coaster of highs or lows….but they do nourish your body and fill you up quite quickly. They are crunchy and can be very satisfying when we learn to Love them (They can also be baked if you prefer them not so crunchy.) But…these are healthy foods to munch on when we feel “snacky!”

So, to answer the starting question, how to lose weight for women? Simply remember the rules of the traffic lights…

Red means Stop. Yellow means Be Careful. Green means Go.

Remember these lights and you’ll be well on your way through the intersections with ease. You will be driving towards your happy, healthy lifestyle. 

Christian Weight Loss: How Is It Different?

Does this mean you will never ever eat a red light food again? Probably not! But we know it will make you think and become more aware of what color foods you are actually putting into your body.

Every decision we make in the Weigh Down Lifestyle has an effect on our bodies. It really depends on what kind of a ride you want to take…

Tell me in the comments below – what decision(s) have you made that have positively or negatively affected your body?

Enjoy living your happy, healthy lifestyle today!
Ruth Verbree