Let’s get straight to the point shall we.
America has become a toxic food environment. I have chosen this description with the utmost earnestness.
The Webster’s dictionary defines toxic (adj) as having the effect of poison. Poison in turn is defined as a substance with an inherent property that tends to destroy life or impair health.
Take a moment and reflect on the food options available to you right now. Look at the food that is being served at your office and/or school cafeteria. Pay closer attention to the boxes of food products that are featured along the aisles of your local grocery store. Next time you stop at a service station, go inside and pay special attention to the food products that are being sold at the counter. Look at which items are most prominently displayed and which items seem hidden away in the back of the store. Go even further and pretend for a second that you only want to eat something non-toxic and see how difficult it is to find those items when compared to finding the abundantly displayed toxic options.
It should not take long for you to also realize that we are surrounded by foods products instead of real food; and that these food products contain substances that if eaten regularly will definitely impair health and potentially destroy life.
The understanding that we now live in a toxic food environment can begin a revolutionary breakthrough in the way that you approach the goal of healthy eating. More specifically, our ability to consistently eat healthy food while living in a toxic food environment requires a strategy which is very different than those pursued in traditional low-calorie diets.
Up until now, people have been taught that the battle against obesity was an intimate battle to overcome indiscretions, such as lack of will power, lack of education and/or lack of discipline in order to improve their relationship with food. The logic went on to suggest that only after a person corrects these indiscretions can they successfully lose weight and become healthy; like the majority of other Americans.
In essence, the message is, “There is something wrong with you; which is being reflected by your above average size and poor health.”
You have heard them. “All you got to do is eat in moderation”. “You are just lazy and lack self discipline.” “Kids won’t eat healthy food; they only want to eat junk food”.
Check out this video:
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1785933652001/fast-food-going-healthy/?playlist_id=86892&intcmp=obnetwork
Well, I got some news for you and the so-called experts;
“IT IS NOT YOU; IT IS THEM”.
This blog is dedicated in-part to debunking the ridiculous notion that somehow our unprecedented and skyrocketing national obesity epidemic is the result of Americans suddenly becoming lazy and wanting to over-eat.
Once you accept that we as humans have not fundamentally changed from our ancestors, you can begin to critically look at how our food environment has drastically changed and what impact that has on you.
Next, I will remind you of five simple rules which will promote your health and provide the necessary tools to protect you and your family against the toxic food environment that we live in.
I am neither a dietician nor a nutritionist. Not only am I not a doctor, but I have not studied any form of medicine or worked in the medical industry under any capacity. As a matter of fact, it was only a short while ago that I began giving the subject of diet and nutrition serious thought. Up until now, my primary professional interests have been in the areas of finance and economics; which are both industries that I continue to work in today.
Ironically, it is this background along with my international travel, which I believe make me superbly qualified (and in some cases; more qualified than the so-called experts) to remind you of the simple truths of healthy eating. Truths which have been passed down from generation to generation. Lessons and oral traditions that I am sure you learned from your parents and/or grandparents everyday during childhood.
Said plainly; I haven't drunk the Kool-aid of nutrition science and I don't have a financial incentive to see you enter a perpetual cycle of over eating; then becoming obese and then buying expensive medicines and diet programs to control the symptoms that result from; you guessed it; your over eating and becoming obese.
I also, cannot with a clear conscientious try to convince you that eating a healthy meal is a complex process fraught with thousands of rules and potential dangers which can only be avoided by consulting the so-called experts and purchasing overpriced specially packaged miniature processed meals.
While I can't prove it empirically, it has become abundantly clear to me that the titans operating in the areas of Big Food, Big Government, Big Farm, Big Diet, Big Retail and Big Scientific Research have all intentionally and unintentionally contributed greatly to the toxic food environment that exist in America.
What is certain however is that we have reached an environmental tipping point in the American diet and food environment. This means that when a typical person goes through life eating what is considered a typical American diet they will likely become overweight.
In other words, no longer can overweight Americans be described as a group of individuals who routinely eat considerably more than their peers. We now live in a society where the bar has been pushed so far to the right, that eating only a tiny bit more than average or roughly the same as your peers, depending on which part of the country you live in; is enough to become overweight or obese.
Simply put, obesity in America is quickly becoming the new normal.
My economics and finance experience has taught me that people are not as unique as they like to think that they are. While it is difficult to predict with any degree of certainty exactly how individuals will react to certain situations; it is very well accepted that environmental factors and the presence of incentives are reliable predictors of broad behavioral phenomena.
With 1 out of 3 American children likely to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives and the adult obesity rate set to reach nearly 45% by 2030; I think it is safe to say that the obesity epidemic in America has become a broad behavioral phenomena.
So what does all this mean? Does all of this "toxic food environment" talk mean that individuals are powerless against becoming obese? Does this mean that since we are victims; those second helpings of hot wings, bear and pizza are not our fault?
No, it doesn’t me any of those things.
It means that you must begin to realize that American's who have a poor relationship with food are actually behaving as expected; considering the toxic food environment that we live. The flip side is that American's who exhibit a good relationship with food are actually going against the grain in many ways.
More importantly, this means that most obese people aren't obese simply because they lack discipline. They are not obese because they are lazier than the rest of us. They are not obese because they were born with below average will power.
They are obese because they lack the awareness needed in order to adopt an eating strategy which takes into account the fact that we live in a toxic food environment. In an environment where you are surrounded by high calorie processed foods, traditional low calorie diet programs in which the person becomes hungry are impossible for most people to adhere to.
I liken an obese American trying to stick to a low calorie diet to an individual unwittingly driving their car on a narrow path within a thick wooden forest. Regardless of how hard they try to stay on course, or how experienced a driver they are; if they don't understand that they are actually in the middle of a forest; they will eventually crash into a tree.
Sure, there will always be a few drivers who manage to drive perfectly through the forest and remain unharmed. But the vast majority of the drivers will crash and burn. It is a simple fact.
To make matters worse, imagine that while driving; more and more trees were being planted onto the very path that you are trying to navigate. If that wasn't enough, imagine that the new trees were intentionally being grown to be bigger and taller yet more deceptive. Finally, imagine if the cost of planting the trees was being subsidized by the government. You would not stand a chance.
Well this fictitious story is an accurate illustration of what is happening to Americans who try in vain to select healthy food options in our shops, grocery stores and restaurants.
Most of us are trying desperately to become better drivers, while not realizing that this effort is futile in the long run because we are driving in a forest of cheap toxic snacks, cheap toxic processed meals and billions of dollars of misleading and false advertisement.
There is hope however. What if I told you that there is a relatively easy way to avoid the entire forest all together? That’s right. Would you believe me if I told you that not only is there a safer alternative path, but it avoids nearly all of the trees. If you don’t believe that, I am sure you won’t believe that there are actually numerous safer alternative paths. I understand that many of us have not considered that there is a safer alternative. Some of us do not even know that it exists.
While easier to follow, cheaper to travel on and much safer than the forest path, there are a few reasons that the alternative road has lost much of its luster. Firstly, Big Diet constantly spends billions of dollars to make this alternative road seem like a daunting, elaborate and unyielding maze of twisting roads and pitfalls which can only be successfully navigated with the help of expert consultation and expensive processed meals. Big Retail is not to be outdone, because they are constantly trying to block your view of the safer alternative path by stacking more and more trees in your way. Even big government has gotten in on the act by subsidizing the production of more and more trees. Finally, Big Scientific Research is changing the road map every few years.
I am here to tell you the good news that there is an alternative path which is actually very simple to follow. As a matter of fact, it was the only path that humans used for thousands of years. Once you get on it, you will wonder how you managed to survive all those years aimlessly traveling in the forest.
The Five Rules of Healthy Living will provide the foundation for avoiding the forest all together and living a healthy life.
Below are the simple rules that healthy people observe. Throughout the rest of the blog I provide insight to better understand the rules and help you begin your journey.
Rule #1 NEVER eat a meal that does not include at least 2 vegetables (fruit substitutes are
allowed)
Rule #2 SURROUND yourself with an ABUNDANCE of snacks SNACKS that you can eat AROUND THE CLOCK and not detract from your weight management goals.
NEVER allow yourself to become hungry!
Rule #3 EXERCISE at LEAST 20 minutes a day 4 days per week.
If 20 minutes is too much; start at an amount that you feel comfortable with and
gradually build-up Consider starting with 2 minutes per day 5 days a week and add ONLY one minute per day per week. For example; Week 1: 5 minutes of walking per day per week; Week 2; 6 minutes of walking per day per week and so on.
Rule #4 NO sugary drinks including 100% fruit juice for the next 30 days. Only introduced themback into your diet once you understand that sugary drinks are an occasional beverage
that you should enjoy on special occasions and/or with friends.
Rule #5 When eating meals at home or prepare at home; NEVER eat more than 8 ounces per
meal for the next 60 days. Eat as many meals as you like in order to never get hungry/
Happy Eating
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