Fast Food = Fake Food

My husband offered me a bite of his Sonic Shake the other day (which he bought to be social). It's been years since I've had a Sonic shake (3 years of eating healthy and another 2.5 living where there was no Sonic.) In my memory, it was something very yummy. So, I decided I would take just a bite to try it--a small bite. I couldn't believe the results.

First, it tasted good for about 1 second--it tasted sweet. After that, it didn't even pass for good! The banana flavor was totally fake, the texture poor, and generally, I could tell it was fake food. I didn't use an ounce of self-control to say I don't want any more. Quite a bit went in the trash.

Then, about 5 minutes later, I noticed my stomach didn't feel good. A couple more minutes go by and my head starts to hurt. None of this is overpowering--but folks this was one bite. Sure, my body is not in great condition, but that was not food!!! One of my daughters tried it and didn't like it either! And she loves ice cream. Of course the preschooler, didn't mind--but I think she's just not old enough to tell.

Ok, now I'm sure someone will point out that Sonic's shakes are not that good and try to convince me if I got a shake from this restaurant or this food at Sonic, it would be different. BUT my point is that until I started eating whole foods, I couldn't taste the difference. But now that I've given my body a chance to experience real food, I can trust my intuition on what food I need and what's no good for me.

And even better, this was a great lesson for my daughter on why we don't eat all this "yummy"- looking food. Next time some fast food restaurant advertising hooks her, I'll just tell her it's probably just like that shake.

Start to think about what passes for food. I really think there are a lot of people in this country who are consuming very little real food. No wonder we have a health crisis. Even their meat and vegetables are full of chemical (pesticides, antibiotics, preservatives) and may even be genetically-modified.

So, my challenge for you this week is simple--try to eat more food--that is food the way it was created!

How to lose weight, gain health, and stay sane (or how to not "try harder"!)

Tired of trying to have more "self-control" but equally tired of being unhealthy? Well, maybe it's time to realize it's the SYSTEM that's broke--not that your not trying hard enough. This year find something that works as a life style change, not another sprint.

I've been working about 2 years so far and I've made quite a few lifestyle changes. But I made them slowly and for the long haul. Before you give anything up, find a healthy replacement. For example, if you crave something fatty and sweet like ice cream, eat some almond butter (fat and protein) mixed with some honey (sweet). Voila--craving satisfied and diet not ruined! And the best way to lose weight is to get your body health so it can do what it was made to do.

If you want a tangible New Year's resolution try this: "make at least 1 diet or healthy lifestyle change a month." Then, at the beginning of every month, make a mini goal. Here's some suggestions:

January: Replace your salt with "RealSalt" or "Celtic Sea Salt", replace all vinegar with raw, unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar, white flour with whole wheat flour, and all sugar with honey (or Maple Syrup, Sucanot, Stevia, or Agave.)

February: Eliminate cokes and other sugar filled drinks. Replace with homemade lemonade (2 Tbsp maple syrup and 2 Tbsp lemon juice in a glass of water) or herbal tea sweetened with honey.

March: Begin reading labels of food in order to avoid anything that's not food in a natural state. Watch out for white flour (called "wheat flour"), sugar, corn syrup, and chemical sounding names.

April: Replace eating out (or eating a processed/prepared meal) with cooking a simple from scratch meal once a week. If you need some suggestions, try Sue Gregg cookbooks (they have sample recipes to try online free.)

May: Start the T-Tapp basic workout--15 min. every other day.

June: Get a high quality water filter and drink more water in the day.

Just imagine how much more energy and health you would have if you could make those 6 changes in the first half of the new year. Then, imagine how much healthier you'll be in 3 years if you MAINTAIN those changes! These kinds of small changes of changed my life.

May God strengthen you in 2008!

Do you have a health philosophy?

When you enter the world of natural health, you can be overwhelmed by the claims and studies and people selling wonder products. So, I've realized I need a way to filter what to believe--my health philosophy. Some people's philosophy is to accept whatever is "standard" (do you really want the health of the average American?) or whatever is the lastest, greatest, and best marketed. But if you think about it, you probably want to take more ownership of your health than that. I'll share my philosophy, so whether you agree with it or not, it may help you determine your own. And it will help you decide whether you agree with the advice I offer or not.

I believe that we started out in the world with everything we needed to be healthy and that God-made food is incredible and the more man tampers with it, the worse it is. I also think that eating healthy should not be complex. It should be something that would have been possible before the advent of modern nutritional studies.

So, I'm never surprised by the lastest studies on how wonderful some new fruit is, nor am I surprised to hear that some juices made from the wonder fruits are not as helpful as the fruit itself. When I hear that coconut oil is incredible (anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and on and on) but that corn and soy oil are not at all healthy because it takes so much processing to make them--I can easily accept that. When I read about how natives foods also included raw animal products like raw milk, butter, or sometimes eggs or meat (yuck!) I agree we probably need raw animal products today (milk or butter please!) But not milk from a typical dairy, from cows or goats that are raised the old fashion way on pastures and hand milked, so it problems with the milk are immediately observed.

But sometimes I hear that we need to do food combining or need to eat for our metabolic type or cut out meat or cut out carbs or fats or whatever. But I don't think these things are truly necessary b/c they are too complex or unnatural. These are things usually based on science not readily apparent to the average native person. (By native I mean, not a part of our modern culture.) But eating more raw food IS a good thing and eating vegetarian can be good as a type of fasting to cleanse the body.

Let me give you an example of how easy God made things. Tomatoes are good for your heart (and what do they look like?) Carrots are good for your eyes (and when you cut them, what does the shape remind you of?) And a good way to get calcium is making a chicken broth out of chicken bones (though to get maximum benefit add raw Apple Cider Vinegar). So much of health is actually intuitive.

As a Christian, I also look at the Bible. During the Black Plague, the Jews had a relatively low death rate, and where persecuted as having purposely spread the disease. I think this is due to following a God-given health plan. (Jews and early Christians did not separate out the religious from health, psychology, education, etc as we do today.) The Bible adds lots of important ideas to my health philosophy such as hand-washing and sanitary practices and a list of unclean foods. These include things like pork, shellfish, and catfish. It makes sense b/c both catfish or raw shrimp actually look digustingly dirty. Hmmm... And what do you buy to clean your fish tank? A little catfish. Just b/c you can eat the food and "still go to heaven" doesn't mean it was created to be eaten, ya know.

Well, enough philosophizing for today. Take some time and figure out how you are filtering all the lastest health info coming your way. It's worth the time b/c it keeps your from getting overwhelmed and giving up. Hang in there! Your health is worth it.