To answer a question of good food vs bad food, what I try to eat daily, where I shop for my food and what I avoid.... First off, in my opinion, there is no such thing as good food or bad food. Food choices do not make you bad or good. I know, I know.. good for you.. but I feel these labels we put on food of being good or bad just set us up to feel GUILTY. Guilt should not be attached to food. It just sets us up for an unhealthy relationship with food. So.. this is how I look at it... The food that you choose is either promoting health, healing and nourishment... or it is promoting disease, inflammation and leaves us malnourished. Pretty simple... and makes it MUCH easier to say no to a bag of D*ritos.. See what I did there... D*ritos are not bad. They just do not promote health.. so if I am trying to heal.. that is probably not the best choice for me. F.R.E.E.D.O.M. It is no longer a battle of ooooohhhhhh, that looks sooooo gooooood.... BUT I cant have it.. its bad for me.... Now the conversation is more like this.. Yup, those taste good but, if I want to be well.. this is not how I will get there. This will just leave me empty and wanting more and will help keep me unwell at the same time.. No thanks... pass... (and by they way, they have food scientists whose jobs are to design their product to chemically drive you want more.. but that is another post.. ).. Naming D*ritos is an easy one for foods that do not promote health.. but what about everything else.. How does one shop for food? I want you to become an avid label reader. This is SO incredibly telling about what you are eating.. Food or a food PRODUCT... There is a difference. Things in a box that have 20 ingredients is NOT food... it is a food product. and guess what.. it does NOT promote healing or general well being. This is my challenge to you in seeking out real food. Pick it up.. If it does not have a label.. WAHOO!!! That means you are probably holding veggies, fruits or meat. You CANNOT GO WRONG HERE. (I do try to find quality sourced meats.. but dont make yourself crazy.. If you are just changing your food.. just make the change.. dont adopt paralysis by analysis (guilty as charged sometimes...).. Dont over think it.. Just get the right stuff in your cart and we can grow from there. If the item you pick up has a label, can you read all the ingredients?? EASILY?? Is it real ingredients.. or is it science-ey sounding..? If you can read everything in it and KNOW what it is.. WAHOO.. REAL food. If you cannot.. rethink it.. it is more than likely a food product. (remember, NOT good for overall health and wellbeing). This is a task at first.. It takes time to sift through all the muck... but you will see VERY quickly just how little food the general public consumes... What come to mind is the saying that we are overfed and malnourished. Mind boggling really.. We have excess everything, yet our bodies are under nourished.. and we pay a price for that.. As far as what I eat.. I follow the advice I just dished out above. I focus on real food.. not food products. My ideal day is 3 REAL meals a day. No snacks.. When you eat a plate of food that is nourishing, you are NOT hungry for a snack. Ideally, my plate will have a protein (meat or eggs for me) veggie and a healthy fat... (using coconut oil for my veggies, avocado, using butter.. etc.) I eat fruit occasionally, but not all day everyday.. Again, 3 times a day leaves me satisfied, nourished and its really not that hard. I dont count calories, fat or fiber.. I just eat the right things and let my body do the job it is designed to do. Now, notice I said my IDEAL... that means I dont get it right all the time. Thats okay. Its life.. What I have learned is that preparation is key.. If you dont have a plan, plan to fail. When we are hungry, we are not going to stop and prep foods, etc when there is a bag of something close by. Have a plan. Follow it as best you can.. and love yourself. Remember, food choices do not make you bad or good. Food is meant to provide life and energy.. not an emotional exchange. (I HIGHLY recommend It Starts With Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig for more info on this..) Shopping for my food... I am fortunate to have a Whole Foods in our area and even though it is a bit higher than some stores, it gives me a lot of freedom and ease in shopping... You can shop any store really, but ones that are geared toward good sourcing, clean ingredients, etc do make the task a bit easier. As long as you read labels, you can do this anywhere. I LOVE shopping local.. If I can find a farmer to get stuff from.. that is my preferred route. I always ask questions, like, do you use pesticides/herbicides to grow your vegetables/fruits.. are you chickens pastured.. beef grass finished, etc.. You can learn a lot about your food when you ask questions.. dont be afraid to ask.. they are usually more than happy to talk to you about it.. and teach you if they are really in it because they love it. And last but not least.. what I avoid.. I prefer to say steer clear of.. I steer clear of wheat, soy, corn, (grains in general) MSG (this has MANY names) and anything that is a science term.. like TBHQ, BHT... the names that you cant pronounce. Carageenan (sp?) is a real pisser in organic foods.. I try to stay away from refined sugars as well.. anything ending in ose.. dextrose for example.. all forms of refined sugars.. The sugars you want to see if youre going to have something sweet is honey, maple syrup... natural sugars. If all of this is overwhelming.. PICK ONE thing to change.. Maybe it is just focusing on wheat.. Maybe it is just getting rid of soda... You pick... Keep in mind that I am on Chapter 20 of my journey.. Dont compare my chapter 20 to your chapter one. Your chapter one is important.. valuable... has the potential to set the stage for a vibrant future... Focus on that. Know that I am here and am cheering you on!! YOU. ARE. WORTH. IT.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 02:24:08 +0000
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