A SIMPLE TWO STEP APPROACH TO DIETING – LEARNING TO EAT RIGHT
THE AMERICAN EATING STEREOTYPE
Years of bad habits can’t be undone in the blink of an eye, but they most certainly can be reversed.
We Americans are known for our over consumption of…well, life really…and, though I don’t agree with most of the bad rap we get, when it comes to the stereotypes concerning our eating habits I have nothing to say really.
Simply put, people around the world think we eat unhealthy and too much. This should come of no surprise because we know it ourselves…but we still just keep on keepin’ on…fighting the good fight to stay heavier, slower, and dying younger than the rest of the world…but just because we are perfectly aware of our issue doesn’t mean we don’t get offended when we hear it from other foreign folks.
At first I was completely offend by the stigma surrounding The American Diet and even more offended when people started talking about our government taking control of our diet, but the sad truth is something’s got to give. I mean think about, if the obesity epidemic progresses, how much government money will be used to treat all the health issues that come along with it?
I personally don’t think having our government tell us what we can and cannot eat is right, hell I believe that’d be enough to start a revolution, BUT if something doesn’t change we’ll have no one to help start that revolution. So, in hopes of having enough soldiers to start the aforementioned uprising, if ever needed, I thought I’d share a tip on how to eat a bit better, feel a bit better, and stay alive long enough to fight by my side when the time does come for us to fight for life, liberty, and the pursuit of Twinkies!
America’s food/obesity problem is an in-depth topic I hope to write about in the near future but, instead of giving my dissertation on America & Food – How The Free Market Is Killing Americans, I thought I’d share some helpful advice on how we can change things starting today! So, read on my friends and stay tuned because I will one day write that post – America & Food – How The Free Market Is Killing Americans…but not today.
IF YOU CAN LEARN TO OVEREAT YOU CAN LEARN TO EAT RIGHT
This is THE only TIP really…if we learned to overeat we can learn to eat right.
FULL VS. SATISFIED
Think about it for a second. It’s human nature to eat until you’re satisfied right? Yeah, we all know that…but yet we keep eating. We keep eating because we eat until we are full…and FULL IS NOT SATISFIED!
Being satisfied means we are at a happy state. It means we have eaten just the right amount of food to both satisfy our hunger and comfortably go about our day.
Makes sense right? So why don’t we stop when we’re satisfied?
Well, because Americans eat until we’re full damn it!
Being full means you’ve eaten enough to make our stomach tell us that “if you continue to consume food I will expel this crap right back up our esophagus.” We eat until we grunt or until it’s hard to breathe…and I do mean we because I am as guilty as the next guy…hell, I used to eat until I started getting cramps…from eating!!!
Nonetheless, we eat until the tank is full because that’s what we’re meant to do right…? Yes…but for some reason we keep going like we need some kind of reserve or something…?
YEAH IT’S A LOT OF FOOD…BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO EAT IT ALL!
Some people say we keep eating because the plate sizes are too big…and to this I say BULL CRAP!
Yeah, we Americans live by the motto to “go big or go home,” but we Americans are the ones stuffing our faces until the point we can almost not even walk ourselves home…but then again we do all own cars right…so keep eating my friends!
My point is that just because a restaurant’s serving size is triple the actual “healthy/appropriate” serving size doesn’t make the restaurant guilty of putting that food into our own mouths. I mean, think about it, no one but you is shoveling the pound of fry’s into your mouth.
So, just because it’s there doesn’t mean you have to eat it all!
BUT THE FOOD INDUSTRY MAKES US CRAVE THEIR FOOD
Do they…do they really?
I know all the talk about how the food industry puts chemicals/ingredients in their food to make us “addicted” to them…BUT IT DOESN’T MATTER!
It doesn’t matter if they are putting crack cocaine in their cupcakes because…
…IF WE ARE EATING RIGHT WE WON’T HAVE CRAVINGS FOR CRACK!!!
If we are well nourished and getting all the vitamins and minerals we need then we really wont CRAVE anything.
CRAVINGS VS. APPETITE – ADDICTION IS A TRICKY THING
The note made above is very true and is worth repeating. So I will;
IF WE ARE WELL NOURISHED WE WILL NOT HAVE CRAVINGS!
“Ahhhh, nope! I eat a variety of foods and I still crave doughnuts or coffee.”
And my response is, “Ahhhh, nope! You don’t ‘crave’ doughnuts or coffee…you are addicted to doughnuts and coffee”…because they’re awesome!
You see, the American diet is full of simple carbs and sugars that keep us wanting more and wanting more, more frequently…I love writing easy sentences 🙂
Say what?
Simple carbs, sugars, and caffeine are either extremely easy to turn into energy and/or are stimulants…and the brain takes notice. So, being that, first and foremost, our brains and bodies need a steady source of energy at all times, and the fact that, for the most part, our brains are fairly smart, our brains will always follow the path of least resistance when needing an available energy source – and simple carbs, sugars, and other stimulants happen to be that path…a path we all become addicted too!
A NEW APPROACH – CREATING NEW ADDICTIONS
So, here we all are, eating way too much food to begin with and, even worse than over eating, over eating foods that give us short bursts of energy while leaving us craving and needing even more energy
So what do we do?
1. Take Control Of Our Serving Size
If we are at home we can actually measure our serving sizes so that we know how much we are actually eating – as my five-year-old son says, “easy peasy lemon squeezey.”
But what if we go out to eat?
Also simple, if we go out to eat we can ask for a To-Go box at the start of the meal and when the food comes we can put half (or even 2/3’s) of the food into the To-Go box for later…and if that ain’t American, getting the biggest bang for your buck, I don’t know what is!
2. Create New FOOD Addictions
If our brain became addicted to the simple carbs, sugars, and other quick-fix stimulants in which we over indulge, then it can learn to get energy from other sources.
Be it complex carbs, healthy fats, lean proteins, vegetables or fruits, if you can go through the 3-4 day withdrawal from the bad stuff (and there will be a withdrawal effect as your brain adjusts to no longer having access to the easily attainable junk) you WILL HAVE AN APPETITE…maybe even an craving or two…FOR THE HEALTHY STUFF.
Trust me, if you can do these simple steps starting today you will change your life tomorrow!
