Unprocessed: How To Start Your Own Journey
1. Diets vs. Lifestyle Change
Diets
What I'm about to say may shock some of you, but here it is. DIETS DON'T WORK. I know, I know, your cousin's next door neighbor's brother's goldfish wrangler lost 300 pounds on Atkins, South Beach, Paleo, fill-in-the-blank diet and now you want to try it so you can get your 'bikini bod' by Spring Break. Trust me when I say that I have been there, done that. Diets are a temporary solution to a long term problem. They promise instant results, usually in time for some big life event that you want to lose weight for. But that's all they are. Instant, short term results. Usually within a couple of weeks of this event, you are back to your original weight and wondering why you constantly fail at your goals of achieving your dream body. Diets are also bad physically because they usually only tout the benefits of eating (or not eating) certain food to reach your goals. They very often leave out the benefits of physical activity, instead promising washboard abs by purchasing expensive products, pills and chemicals to control hunger. This is crap. Plain and simple. Once you accept the fact that dieting is not the answer, you can move on and finally get the results you have been looking for. Quit wasting your money, your time, and your emotions on these pointless fads that will only let you down. As my very astute husband always says, "This gut took 10 years to put on here, and it's not going to go away in 10 days!" If you accept and agree with this, then it's time for a lifestyle change.
Lifestyle Change
A lifestyle change is an all encompassing approach to overall health that reaches into every aspect of a person's life. It's not just about the food, it is about the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of your life connecting with the way you fuel your body. While some may think this sounds more strict or binding, it is actually quite the opposite. A lifestyle change offers balance, freedom, and less deprivation than being on a diet. You are not bound to specific products, stuck counting calories, or forced into guilt if you go off the 'plan' for one meal. Once you have decided that it is time to change your lifestyle, it is very important to research the type of lifestyle you want. Be vocal with friends and family about the changes you are going to make and let them know that they will have to make sacrifices too. Group gatherings and holidays may change slightly due to your lifestyle. Let people know how they can support you with specific examples and you will be more likely to get positive feedback. Find someone to hold you accountable, so that if you do fall off the wagon, they can gently nudge you back on. Be proud of your decisions, and don't let others discourage you from your choices. I can guarantee you will encounter negative people along your journey. You can use these negative comments to either once again give up, or to fuel yourself even further towards the life you want to live.
2. Reasons to Change Your Lifestyle
If you are looking to lose weight, feel better, and change your overall eating habits, there are usually 3 main reasons for doing so. By understanding these reasons, you can help yourself to stay committed to your goals as well as supporting other people in their goals.
Physical- The number one reason people state when asked why they have changed their eating lifestyle is that they want to look a certain way, be a certain size, or some other physical goal. The equation for losing weight is simple. Burn more calories than you put in your body. When you begin looking at food as fuel and equating food with the amount of energy required to burn it off, it may make you think twice before eating empty calories. This doesn't mean that you have to be a slave to counting calories, it is simply a tool for helping you make easier choices. By incorporating physical activity into your lifestyle, you are essentially cutting your chances of heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, and early death in half. You will not only feel better, and reach your tangible physical goals, you will be gaining the peace of mind that you are taking control of your health and your life.
Ethical- Most people who change to plant based lifestyles have a deep rooted ethical belief for doing so. They are strictly opposed to eating anything that had to suffer for their own selfish purposes. Strict vegans carry this over into all their consumer products, refusing to use any wool, silk, leather, etc. in their household items as well. There are some people who refuse to accept the fact that animals suffer in all aspects of their lives for humans' enjoyment. Animals are used to clothe, feed, entertain, and sometimes even cure us. This is a hot topic of debate, and I could carry on with this subject alone for days. If you are interested in discussing this, contact me personally and we will get into the nitty gritty. I would encourage everyone to watch this extremely moving documentary, Earthlings. You can watch it online for free. Be warned that it is graphic, and tough to watch at times. You may not want to accept what you are watching right away, but you owe it to yourself to become educated on the meat, dairy, animal testing, and animal entertainment industries. You owe it to your children if you are feeding them these products, and you owe it to the animals who have suffered brutal deaths at the hand of high demand producers. Again, I am not trying to persuade anyone into any specific area, I am simply offering knowledge to those who wish to open their minds and become educated on America's food production and exactly what they are putting into their bodies.
Other- Some people choose to change lifestyles because their religion prohibits eating certain foods or foods prepared in a particular way. There are also opponents who justify their lifestyle by saying that we are the superior beings and that God has given us the right to use all the Earth and everything in it as we see fit. Whatever your stance on this topic is, it is important that we take the time to educate ourselves on both sides of this line to see what is best for our lives. Lastly, there are those who are forced to change lifestyles suddenly because of their own food allergies and intolerances or that of a loved one. This can be particularly difficult, because the choice was not theirs to make. Whether it be gluten free, dairy free, corn free, or a host of other restrictive dietary needs, it is becoming easier than ever to adjust to these new found lifestyles because of mainstream food packaging and awareness. Arm yourself with information and a little research, and you will see that it is not as abysmal as you may initially think. There are also support groups, facebook pages, and hundreds of cookbooks widely available for people with food allergies, so do not give up hope and know that you are certainly not alone in this process!
3. Eliminating Excuses
Cost of Healthy Food vs. Price of Poor Health- The number one excuse I hear when people talk about eating healthy foods is that they cost too much. While some fruits and vegetables may cost more if they are organic, knowing which foods are in season will help lower your cost. You can also purchase whole frozen fruits and vegetables to put in smoothies, soups, and casseroles. Shopping at farmer's markets, joining a CSA, and growing your own fruits and vegetables are also other ways of lowering your costs. For listings of farmers markets and CSA's, use google, or go here and search for your city. Many farmer's markets now accept EBT plans as well, so even those with government assistance can afford to eat locally grown, natural produce. By introducing whole foods into your body, you are greatly reducing the risk of preventable diseases such as cancers, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and stroke. If you add up the cost of weekly healthy groceries for a family of 4 and compare that to the cost of one week's worth of Insulin, testing supplies, and office visits for a Type 2 Diabetic, you will see that the healthy groceries win out in terms of cost effectiveness. Add in the cost of more expensive clothing at the plus sized stores, an extra plane ticket when one seat isn't big enough to fit your body in, and the drastically reduced lifespan, and you will quickly begin to realize that the price of that apple is worth it, and the apple pop tart you just ate clearly isn't.
Dealing with Cravings- One of the hardest things for me to eliminate in my diet has been cheese. I love cheese. I would eat cheese topped with cheese with a side of cheese and cheese sprinkled on top if I could. There is something satisfying and comforting about it. That being said, cheese was probably the number one thing on my daily caloric intake. I can guarantee you I got more calories, fat, and cholesterol in my diet through cheese than any other food. Once this startling realization set in, I knew it was time to make a change. Whatever your trigger food is, with a little creativity you can have the same satisfying qualities of that food but without the guilt. Once again, with a little research you can find amazing substitutions for the foods you love. Check out this book, or one of the dozens more like it to see how easily you can incorporate your favorite foods into your new lifestyle. Another way to try to eliminate food cravings is by doing it in increments. Tell yourself to eliminate the food for one day, then a week, then two weeks, and so on. It takes your body approximately 21 days to get used to not having something in your system, and to stop craving it. If at the end of these 21 days you've tried the substitutions, and you have greatly cut down on your trigger food, but you still find yourself craving it, give in to your craving. Have a little bit of whatever the food is and see if it is still as satisfying as it was before you tried to eliminate it. Chances are, it won't be. Don't beat yourself up for giving in to your cravings, enjoy the moment and then get back on the wagon the next day. Remember, this is a lifestyle change, not a restrictive diet.
Making it Work for Your Family- Another excuse that I hear from people is that they are afraid to change their eating habits for fear of retaliation by family members. "Little Johnny hates spinach!" "Brad will be so angry if he doesn't get his meat and potatoes!" "Suzy only eats animal crackers and waffles and screams if you try to feed her anything else!" In my family, you ate what was put in front of you. If you didn't like it, you cooked your own meal or you didn't eat. That was it. I find it absolutely ridiculous the excuses some parents make for their children, when they are really the ones who are unwilling to make the sacrifices. Does little Johnny really hate spinach, or do you? I worked with a group of 40 elementary school children every day for a couple of years. They were fascinated by the foods I brought in, and always wanted to try them. Their favorite? Edamame in the shell with a little sea salt on top. Trust me when I say if those kids would eat it, so would yours. Get your family involved in the shopping and cooking process and give them something to take pride in. Take them to the store or farmer's market and let them pick out an exotic crazy looking fruit or vegetable, take it home, research it together, and then prepare it together. Plant some seeds and watch things grow. Give your children (and grumpy grownups) the option of trying new things, and reward them for doing so. Be honest with your children about the dangers of not leading a healthy lifestyle, let them ask difficult questions, let them know that they have the power to make their lives healthy. Understand that you will not like every recipe that you try, neither will your family. This doesn't mean you are a failure, it just means that you need to try again. Surround yourself with supportive friends and peers, share successes and failures, and don't give up. Ever. Remember, you are changing your life for the better.
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