Sugar is the largest contributing factor to obesity today. Sugar and its 40 or so associated friends are
hidden in everything these days. It is
estimated that almost 80% of the foods today contain some form of sugar. Sugar is used to make food taste better, substituted
for missing ingredients such as fat and also used as a preservative. Sugar creates problems for the body because
it raises insulin levels which drive increased fat stores. This is also true for sugar substitutes,
these can actually be worse for you because of their chemical composition
and very little is known about the long term effects to our bodies.
2.
Fat
Dietary fat does not equate to body fat! Fat in your diet is not a bad thing; our
bodies actually need fat to stay healthy.
How long have we been told to eat low fat foods only to see a huge
increase in obesity in America! Eating
fat should take place in its natural form; nuts, seeds, avocados, oils, butter,
cream etc. When you see products labels
"low fat" or "fat free" then buyer beware, there is usually sugar or some other
chemical hidden in the food to make up for the taste.
3.
Fast Food
If you eat fast food then you will most likely struggle with
your weight! Fast Food today is
essentially a product devoid of most of its nutritional value, it is chemically
processed and for the most part it does nothing but add empty calories to
your diet. Think about it this
way, how can McDonald's serve a “Big Mac” for the same price it did 20 years
ago? They only way they can do this by
using a food that is completely altered and is no longer a real food.
4.
Nutrition Labels
Nutrition labels have become a long list of unrecognizable chemicals
and food derivatives. If you read food
labels, do not focus on calories or fat, but focus on ingredients. Any product with more than six or seven ingredients
should be avoided. Any food label with ingredients
you have never heard of then stay away from them!
5.
God’s Food Plan
God does not make junk!
We have been taught this in Sunday school, by our religious leaders and
our parents from an early age and they are all right! This also applies to our food. If you eat the foods that God gave us in
nature then you really cannot go wrong.
Our challenge is the “Big Food” companies, they have altered the food so
much that it lacks any resemblance to what came out of the ground. Go back to eating all natural foods as close to
a natural state as possible.
6.
Exercise
Exercise is very important today because of our lifestyle
and conveniences. Our bodies are
designed to move. Because we sit at
desk, drive cars, go through drive thru’s and use elevators our bodies are not
moving like they used to. To make up for
this just get out the door and exercise.
Whether it is running, walking, hiking, cycling or going to the gym, get
out and move every single day!
7.
Calorie In / Calorie Out
We are taught that a calorie is a calorie. This is not true, if it were, then we could
eat 2000 calories of sugar and be done for the day right? Not so fast!
If you use calories restriction to lose weight then you will quickly
find that it is not sustainable. Your challenge
is to eat high quality foods and the calories will take care of
themselves. The problem is when we eat
foods devoid of nutrition, i.e. processed, then the body is still hungry and we
eat more. When you eat natural, high
quality foods, you will actually eat less food but be healthier in the process.
8.
Diets
Diets do not work, lifestyle changes do! If you continuously chase the latest fad,
diet, new report about supper foods etc. then you will continue to get
frustrated. Diets are temporary and usually
create stress on the body because your body thinks that it is starving. When you starve your body, your body will do everything
it can to retain the fat stores for survival.
We cannot change the basic instinct to survive. The only way to lose weight and not starve your
body is to change what you eat.
9.
Alcohol
There are only a few real befits to alcohol to our
bodies. Alcohol is a poison and will
work against your efforts to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Wine turns to sugar then fat, beer turns to
fat as empty calories and distilled liquors require mixing with sugar to drink
them which then turns to fat! Alcohol
will also derail your workouts because they reduce your metabolism which is usually
raised by exercising. Lowing metabolism
lowers the fat burning mechanism in our bodies.
10.
Sodas & Juices
Our bodies are not designed to drink calories. Sodas, juices, sport drinks etc. are all filled
with sugar or even worse, fake sugar. When
you drink these products you are still thirsty and you have not given your body
any real food to sustain itself. The
best and easiest way to lose weight?
Drink water, water and then more water.
We do not need to drown ourselves in it, but if only drink water, then you cannot go wrong.
11.
Drug Problem
We have a huge drug problem in America. We get sick, we take a pill, we have a
chronic illness, we take a pill, we cannot sleep, take a pill. How about this approach: if you are sick then
take a look at what is causing it. Chronic
illness such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, arthritis,
impotence, sleep disorder, headaches etc. can almost all be alleviated or at
least reduced to manage levels by changing our diet. Not only can we cure these diseases we can
also have a huge impact on long-term illness such as cancer and obesity.
12.
Healthcare
Doctors and hospitals today are not about healthcare, they
are about sick care. We must be responsible
for our own health because our Doctors and hospitals are too overwhelmed and
ill equipment to really get in to preventative care. We have
seen such a dramatic increase in illnesses that we are overloading the system
and it will become even worse as we continue to become a nation of fat and sick
people. Healthcare professionals get
very little training on nutrition and prevention; they are trained to fix people. That is great if you are sick, but if you
want to stay healthy then you are own your own.
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