Think...no REALLY think...before you eat
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 10:29PM It is absolutely shocking the toxic, disease-causing garbage that most Americans shovel into their mouths on a daily basis. By far the most egregious and offensive component of the American diet, however, is the junk we regularly consume that we are tricked into eating and thinking is healthy by the sophisticated marketing organizations of America's largest food corporations.
During my career as a fitness and wellness professional I have helped literally hundreds of entrepreneurs and professionals achieve greater levels of health and performance through one-on-one consultations and coaching. What I've learned is that we have been absolutely brain washed. Not only mentally by the billion dollar branding and marketing efforts of gigantic corporations peddling pure crap masquerading as food, but we've also been "body washed." What I mean is that these companies actually employ food chemists and other such professionals that known exactly what chemicals will cause you to become addicted to their products, psychophysiologically (they are NOT joking when they say "betcha can't eat just one).
Personally, I have made dramatic changes to my diet over the past year primarily due to my diligent practice of yoga. The reason why dietary modifications seem to go hand-in-hand with yoga is that it creates within you a consciousness of your body that most of us have never experienced. After practicing for awhile you begin to experience exactly how your body responds to certain foods or fluids immediately after consumption. (This is a blessing, but can also be annoying at times.)
Additionally, you get to experience the same food or fluids again during your yoga practice. How is this possible? Yoga asana (or the postures you have undoubtedly seen on TV or in magazines) natuarally detoxify your system. So, it is a great joy (not) after consuming the wrong foods or fluids to go into yoga practice and experience what you have recently ingested.
80% of what I eat now is the ingredient. What do I mean by this? I mean that I rarely eat anything that is contained or preserved in a can, box, or air-tight package. The reason for this is because the pre-packaged stuff we eat is the enemy. It is the crap that we have been methodically trained to eat by billion dollar marketing budgets and the faulty stories we have learned to tell ourselves about how "hard" it is to prepare and consume fresh foods. It is absolutely, positively no more work or hardship of any signficance to prepare fresh foods (once you learn how) than it is the convenience crap that we now consume regularly while it kills us slowly.
Reference my previous post about the power of stories because right now you are most likely telling yourself stories about your diet that are contributing to your early demise. Yes, it's harsh but it's the truth. You have been brain washed by big corporations into eating stuff that's bad for your body and mind and will eventually lead to diseases and conditions you don't want. This is a very simple dietary modfication I'm recommending. It is this: eat the ingredient. If it is in a can, box, or package it is probably not the ingredient. A few examples of things you (and even many unsuspecting nutrition and fitness professionals) are brainwashed into thinking are "healthy" include:
- "Energy" bars = garbage...you can get the same stuff from nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables, etc. (I fell terrible after I eat these things)
- "Energy" drinks = garbage...water will rehydrate you just fine
- Frozen dinners = crap...read the ingredients list on these things and you can't count on one hand how many chemicals and preservatives are contained within
I'm urging you ignore the unproductive, sabotological stories that exist in your head about it being too hard or too inconvenient to prepare and consume fresh foods. It's simple. In fact, it's Real Simple to get started which is a good magazine with healthful recipies that you can typically make in 20 minutes or less. You can go way, way beyond this and eat even healthier but normally it takes a true commitment and time to make big adjustments to your diet so I won't push my luck.
Fitness, Nutrition, Peak Performance, Wellness 
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