Greetings,
Let's get right to it. Repeat after me:
"Tomorrow I will get hungry". Let's try that again, only a bit louder, "Tomorrow I will get hungry."
Ok, one more time, but take a deep breath and then lower your voice, "There is a 100% chance that at some point tomorrow I will get hungry." Hell I am hungry right now (you don't have to say that)
You have obediently followed my instructions, but since I am not standing right beside you, I cannot be sure that you actually believe it.
To that end, I developed an informal test for those individuals who believe that there is a possibility that they won't get hungry tomorrow. Here is what I want you to do.
When you wake up tomorrow morning, I want you to go the next 24 hours without eating. When the 24 hours are up, post a comment on this blog letting me know if you were able to go the entire 24 hours without eating and never getting hungry. If enough people report back that they did not get hungry; I will reconsider rule number four. Until then, I think that it is safe to say that all of us will become hungry at some point tomorrow. The reality is that most unhealthy people go to bed and wake-up feeling hungry.
So, here is the million dollar question. Since you know with 100% certainty that you are going to become hungry at some point tomorrow; why not spend 10 to 15 minutes today preparing for this reality?
Think about it for a second. If your spouse or partner told you that tomorrow they plan to take you out on the town for dinner and dancing; wouldn't you take a few minutes to consider what you are going to wear? On the same token, if you were told that tomorrow, right after school you needed to drive the kids to soccer practice; wouldn't you pack some lawn chairs, a hat, some comfortable shoes, a pair of sunglasses and some water? Of course you would.
Ensuring that you are surrounded at all times by an abundance of SNACKS that you can ENJOY BEFORE your hunger-level becomes so intense that you indulged in an unhealthy TREAT is arguably the most important rule of the five.
"According to research presented at the 2011 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo, snacking, especially beverage consumption outside of a regular meal continues to increase among Americans, accounting for more than 25 percent of calorie intake each day."
In my opinion, not only are these findings not surprising; but they are completely understandable in the context of our evolutionary history. Only recently, has mankind enjoyed a reliable source and assortment of food. This is still not the case for nearly two thirds of the world’s population. For the vast majority of our existence, we have lived as hunter gatherers who endured a life where food was a scarce and precious resource. Even during favorable times, there were no advance methods of food storage. In less favorable times, such as droughts or prolonged harsh winters; next year’s harvest could literally be destroyed overnight.
Our ancestors would have never passed up an opportunity to eat. If they stumbled into a berry patch or walnut grove they didn’t say, “Great, I will come back later and enjoy these when I get hungry.” They started eating right then and there because they didn’t know when their next meal was going to be or where it was going to come from. This was a matter of survival.
Fast forward a millennium or two and that pre-historic survival instinct remains the same but our food environment has changed drastically. Instead of stumbling into the occasional snack out in the wild, we are surrounded, accosted and bombarded by high calorie processed TREATS on every corner. If that isn’t enough, thanks to billions of dollars of marketing from Big Food, we also have to endure a continuous stream of advertisements promoting these TREATS.
With our natural inclination to eat food that is readily available and the abundance of readily available high calorie junk in our toxic food environment; it is a wonder that the average American is not 400 pounds!
The Five Rules recognizes this fact by mandating that you shield yourself from all of the TREATS thrown at you in the toxic food environment. Remember rule number four:
“SURROUND yourself with no LESS than 8 SEPERATE low fat, low sugar and low salt SNACKS that you can eat AROUND THE CLOCK and not detract from your weight management goals.”
Think of your snacks as the oxygen tank used by a scuba diver. When the diver runs out of oxygen, she only has a certain amount of time to replenish her tank before she will drown. While you won’t drown, if you don't have enough snacks on hand; you will eventually fall susceptible to your toxic food environment.
The quality of the air ensures that the diver can swim longer using much less breaths. With that being said, ANY oxygen is better than NO oxygen at all. So initially pack SNACKS that YOU enjoy without obsessing about the nutritional value. Getting into the habit of choosing your own SNACK over the vending machine TREATS, is way more important than forcing yourself to eat raw broccoli and spinach dip (which I happen to enjoy) if you don’t like it.
As you become a more experienced diver, you will naturally seek a better quality of oxygen and become more efficient at using it. This is part of the Self Discovery process!
To be absolutely clear, you need to be able to eat around the clock. Personally, I normally have at least 20 snacks at my disposal.
The great thing about this rule is that not only do you get to choose SNACKS that you like, but you also get to eat as many of them as you like.
Having an assortment of your own SNACKS with you, acts as an important buffer, which reduces the likelihood that you will buy an impulse TREAT that you really don't want and that you know you really shouldn't have.
Most of us don't spend two dollars in the vending machine everyday buying potatoes chips and soda because we love potato chips and soda. We spend two dollars in the vending machine everyday buying potatoes chips and soda because we get hungry and succumb to a toxic food environment that provides only potato chips and soda.
Also, it is not the potato chips or any other relatively unhealthy snack that I am especially worried about. Remember, Americans are not obese because each morning they pack a small bowl of potato chips to satisfy an afternoon craving that they always get. They are obese because each afternoon they eat a large big of potato chips they are starving. Only to have another bag later because potato chips don’t have the nutritional value to stave off hunger.
If on the other hand, you developed the Affirmative Habit of surrounding yourself with raisons, apples, bananas, a small bowl of tortilla chips, nuts, dried fruit, a small bowl of salad, yogurt, peanut butter, bread, reduced sugar jelly, popcorn, oranges, granola bars, fiber bars, cereal, olives, celery, cucumbers, humus, carrots, grapes, plums, mixed frozen fruit, Greek yogurt, honey, water, a small bowl of pretzels, a bit of dark chocolate, a small bowl of crackers and trail mix that you already PAID for; you would be in a much better position to pass on the vending machine.
Preparing snacks is not only important in isolation, but it also provides the necessary support when adhering to smaller portioned meals. It will take some time to wean your body from the high calorie supersized portions that it has grown accustom to. Ramping up your SNACK intake will support this transition by helping regulate your blood-sugar to avoid replacing the depleted calories (that your body thinks it needs) through TREATS.
Remember that SNACKING is always necessary for healthy eating, but during the Self Discovery process, you will begin to settle on a right amount of SNACKS that work for you. Until then, remember HUNGER IS UNDEFEATED AGAINST WILL POWER; so air on the side of caution.
If in doubt eat an apple!
During the first two months, it is far more important that you develop the Affirmative Habit of preparing SNACKS than it is to lose a few pounds through eating less. Losing weight in the absence of an overarching strategy of overall health is like a gambler rolling sevens three times in a row. Everybody gets lucky; but eventually, you both will crap out.
The final point is that preparing SNACKS should be viewed as the litmus test of your desire to change.
When I was a young man, my father taught me something very important. He used to tell me that whenever possible, loan each of your closest friends $50 to $100 dollars. Make sure that it is a meaningful amount of money, but not enough to upset you if they don't pay you back.
If your friend doesn't pay you back or has a problem paying this small amount of money back to you on time; you BOTH will know that they can never be trusted to repay a larger loan. This was sort of an integrity litmus test used in determining what type of friend I had. Such a small amount of money, effectively removed all the obstacles to repay the loan except the person's integrity and priorities.
The same is true regarding preparing your own snacks. Buying a bag of fruit and a few other items that you like to eat, is so easy that if you agree that it is a good idea, but are unwilling to act on it; we both know that you do not yet possess a strong enough desire to change your relationship with food.
Your unhealthy lifestyle has nothing to do with your level of will power, your level of food discipline, your level of education or how busy your days are. It simply boils down to your desire or lack of desire to change.
Happy Eating,
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