For over 20 years I've been weeding through diet culture, looking for real answers to my problems and finding that this world is full of misinformation. I don't want to add to it, so again I will emphasize that I only speak of my own journey and not as a health professional (no one pays me to do any of this, I do it because I want to). That being said, there are things that I believe to be factual and I am unwilling to be persuaded to think otherwise about.
One, processed food is garbage. No matter how good it tastes, it is, at its core, garbage. My body proved that to me beyond a shed of a doubt. I stopped eating the garbage and I stopped feeling like it, too.
To be clear, garbage includes, but is not limited to, the following:
One, processed food is garbage. No matter how good it tastes, it is, at its core, garbage. My body proved that to me beyond a shed of a doubt. I stopped eating the garbage and I stopped feeling like it, too.
To be clear, garbage includes, but is not limited to, the following:
All of these are edible, sure, but they are the main reason for my battle with obesity.
No matter how "common sense" I find it to avoid processed foods now, the world is still full of jackasses trying to sell us more garbage with a different label, hiding behind whatever the new marketing buzzword is. I really did think it was a matter of counting my calories and being sure not to overdo it on the worst culprits. That does not work for someone dealing with addiction. Not only is the food designed to be addictive and unfulfilling so that we keep coming back for more, but it's also then aggressively marketed and in our faces anytime we go anywhere. Sugar addiction has been likened to that of a cocaine addiction, and while I've not yet had the desire to get me started on another addiction, I can tell you that getting over sugar sucked worse than anything I've ever given up before or after.
CICO would tell me to just limit the amount of garbage I eat and I'll lose weight, and that was true. I did lose weight. I was also still getting a regular, if limited, supply of sugar and garbage food choices at every meal. Afterall, why would I choose to eat a 200 calorie avocado when I could eat two 100-calorie packs of hyper flavored junk?
The whole situation has me pretty steamed up. Enough to have dedicated a great amount of my time and energy learning, and sharing ways to get off of junk with others who are also looking to get out of the trap. I loath being told what to do, so I will not tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do. I will only say that turning my back on people who gain millions-a-minute selling disease-promoting shitburgers is the most empowering thing I've done up to this point. They do not fool me and they no longer earn my support. Some may say that one person can't make a difference... but thanks to the amazing people who have reached out to me over the past couple of years, just to tell me they've eaten a salad because of a post I made, or avoided cookies at an office party... I already have. And now those ripples will far exceed anything I could have done myself.
I've found this experience incredibly moving and only further motivates me to continue my path, knowing what we've already done cannot be undone.
Stay strong, loves, and remember to take care of your creature as though it is the only one you get!
<3 <3 <3
No matter how "common sense" I find it to avoid processed foods now, the world is still full of jackasses trying to sell us more garbage with a different label, hiding behind whatever the new marketing buzzword is. I really did think it was a matter of counting my calories and being sure not to overdo it on the worst culprits. That does not work for someone dealing with addiction. Not only is the food designed to be addictive and unfulfilling so that we keep coming back for more, but it's also then aggressively marketed and in our faces anytime we go anywhere. Sugar addiction has been likened to that of a cocaine addiction, and while I've not yet had the desire to get me started on another addiction, I can tell you that getting over sugar sucked worse than anything I've ever given up before or after.
CICO would tell me to just limit the amount of garbage I eat and I'll lose weight, and that was true. I did lose weight. I was also still getting a regular, if limited, supply of sugar and garbage food choices at every meal. Afterall, why would I choose to eat a 200 calorie avocado when I could eat two 100-calorie packs of hyper flavored junk?
The whole situation has me pretty steamed up. Enough to have dedicated a great amount of my time and energy learning, and sharing ways to get off of junk with others who are also looking to get out of the trap. I loath being told what to do, so I will not tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do. I will only say that turning my back on people who gain millions-a-minute selling disease-promoting shitburgers is the most empowering thing I've done up to this point. They do not fool me and they no longer earn my support. Some may say that one person can't make a difference... but thanks to the amazing people who have reached out to me over the past couple of years, just to tell me they've eaten a salad because of a post I made, or avoided cookies at an office party... I already have. And now those ripples will far exceed anything I could have done myself.
I've found this experience incredibly moving and only further motivates me to continue my path, knowing what we've already done cannot be undone.
Stay strong, loves, and remember to take care of your creature as though it is the only one you get!
<3 <3 <3