You have to understand that our food system is managed by huge corporate conglomerates whose responsibility is to feed millions of people and remain profitable at the same time. Food is now regionalized - meaning most items, like tomatoes, come from particular parts of the country or particular companies and are transported all over the country. These "farms" are under huge pressure not only to produce more food but also to get the food to market before it spoils (spoilage = lost profits). I wouldn't want to be in charge of this process. What a nightmare! So, we have agri-scientists who help by genetically modifying our food so that it grows faster and lasts longer. Our livestock is pumped with hormones and unnatural foods to help it grow faster and bigger. Our corn now creates it's own toxin that kills insects. Someone other than me has to think that this is not good for us. (Ok, I know there are LOTS of folks out there who agree with me)
But what can you do? I mean, why is this something to worry about and am I overreacting? My first encouragement is for you to learn as much as possible about what interests you on this topic. Think about how you can improve YOUR life and how some of the information that you learn can fit into YOUR ways of doing things and what's important to you and your families. I can tell you that there are some absolutes: Fast Food is BAD. Overconsumption of ANYTHING, even healthy foods is BAD. Lack of exercise is BAD. Beyond that I can share some of what I do to modify what I eat MOST of the time. Notice I didn't say all of the time :-) ... sometimes I just need some acrylamide (french fries) to go with my ammonia (used in commercial hamburger). (Please don't be too mad at me Matt)
The other thing that I know challenges people is time. I've struggled with that over the years but especially in the past couple of weeks with significant "burdens" added to my life in terms of time. It was hard to get in the workouts and eat right. Last week I had to sit down and just really think about what I'm trying to accomplish and come up with a real plan of action. If I allow time to be my excuse, guess where I'll be next year?? In the same exact place that I am now and that's no longer acceptable to me. I am committed to change but it's so hard. How do I manage it all given the limited time and energy that I have left for eating right and working out. I know this is a real dilemma for many of you. People have challenging time consuming stressful careers, children with activities, some are in school, caring for aging parents... there are all kinds of things (albeit important) that are drains on our time. I'll go back to it - the key is to have a real plan. One that works for YOU. So, last weekend, I sat down and wrote out my goals for the next 6 months in terms of fitness... broke it down by month in terms of what I want to accomplish (specifics - how much weight loss, what program I'll be doing, etc); then I set up 2 weeks of menus and put my workouts on a calendar so I don't have to think about it at all. I'm also going to participate in the Tour de Cure in Napa, CA on May 6th by riding 50 miles and raising money for diabetes research. I found a training plan and scheduled the workouts on the same calendar. Now I have a plan for fitness. In the words of Tony Horton, "if you have a plan you'll do it, if you wing it, you won't."
When the days are long and full of activity I've found that it's critical to be prepared (have a plan). The last 2 days I've used my Shakeology to help me stay focused. I drink one every morning (have now for the past month) and a second one for lunch or dinner with the remaining meal being something healthy. I'm finding that this is helping me tremendously in terms of getting in good nutrition and making wise choices on days that I'm particularly time challenged. This is NOT a long term plan, but I know it's an option now on particular days. The key is "have a plan". Clearly there will be days when something unforseen happens and you don't eat when or what you need but those should be your exception days. While many health experts would say to never ever eat fast food, I know that's not realistic for many (not even me) but it has to be a true rare occurrence (and no, once a week doesn't qualify).
In my opinion, the best solution is to focus on eating fresh WHOLE foods - meat, fruit and vegetables (and my vote is always organic, pastured, and local). And, where you supplement, understand the ingredients and health benefits (or lack thereof) of what you're adding/supplementing with. Stay away from processed foods as much as possible - they usually have preservatives, high sodium, etc. Even Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig and other programs like that are providing you with processed foods so just be careful. And, yes, I realize that Shakeology appears to be a contradiction to what I'm advocating but check out the ingredients: www.myshakeology.com/tlw017. It's made from healthy whole food nutrients. Can't wait for the new vegan tropical strawberry flavor to come out - it's even healthier that what they have now.
Speaking of Shakeology. I have been stuck on chocolate now for a while but because I use it as a meal replacement, I add other stuff to it so I get enough protein and calories for fuel.
Two new recipes:
Chocolate Shakeology, water, ice, whey protein, pear, tangerine (juice squeezed from one), 1 whole raw egg (pastured or cage free are best), 2 tbsp coconut oil
Chocolate Shakeology, water, ice, vegan rice protein, banana, pear, peanut butter (1 tbsp), 1 whole raw egg, 2 tbsp coconut oil
The trick is to experiment with it and have fun. The base is great but it gets even better when you add to it.
