When you walk down the street, what do you see?
When you go to the supermarket, what do you see?
When you are watching TV, what do you see?
Rows and rows of fast food outlets, aisles and aisles of packaged products and so many happy people having THE BEST TIME because of this life changing, amazing product they have been paid to sell.
What do you think this does to someone who is trying to lose weight?
More than likely it:
- It completely overwhelms them
- It makes it hard to stick to their “diet, and
- They give in because its easier than fighting the urge
And, that’s only the mental and emotional side of things.
But, what I want to explain to you in this article is all of the things processed foods does to you physically so you can begin to make a better choice for your health.
When I was in the midst of my emotional and overeating days (really, not that long ago) I knew on some level that what I was eating was not good for me or my body. We have all heard that eating junk food is bad for you and you MUST eat your veggies but what does that actually mean?
I had no clue. Plus, I didn’t really want to know what damage I was doing to myself. I already felt bad enough. And the food was sooooo good!
Going through my studies in nutrition, over time, a whole world opened up to me I never knew existed. My body. And not the outside and what it looked like (because, let’s face it that is all we think about) but on the inside. All of the mechanics we have no idea about.
I believe our bodies are so simple but yet so complex when you get into the nitty gritty.
Our bodies really only have a couple of requests.
- Plenty of fresh, good quality food
- Sunlight to bathe our skin in (not talking sun baking here)
- Fresh, clean air to breathe
- Clean drinking water, and
- Love
- oh, and definitely some movement
But along the way, many decades ago, we lost all of our essential survival needs to consumerism. To commercial upheaval. To the almighty dollar.
Food began to be processed in factories rather than farms and we were led to believe the old way of cooking a meal full of fresh ingredients and actually taking a bit of time to enjoy the process was just too much for us to handle.
In the 50’s and 60’s TV dinners were popularised, which changed everything. Not only did people not have to spend time in the kitchen, but they could eat their dinner in front of the TV. This created a wave of unhealthy, processed foods for even more families to eat.
But this wasn’t the only thing keeping people out of the kitchen. Fast food restaurants were beginning to pop up everywhere giving people even more convenience when it came to what, and when, they ate.
This meant more demand for products to be sold which also meant the companies selling these products wanted to do it fast and cheap.
But there is another part to this equation. How do they get people to buy more of them?
Did you know that companies spend millions, if not billions, of dollars every year to make sure their products are more-ish?
There are even labs that test “food” products to see how much sugar, fat and salt a persons body will tolerate before they reject it. We all have an upper limit when it comes to tolerating these particular additions to processed foods and even the sweetest tooth has a set point they cannot go beyond.
Enter low-fat meals.
One of THE worst food and nutrition decisions of our time.
But how were we to know?
We were told by government, by companies and by commercials that this kind of food is great for us. I mean, how amazing do the people in the commercials lives look?
I want some of that. Maybe if I go and buy that product then I can have that life too? I can look that beautiful and skinny?
This is where our belief about ourselves, our food and our life began to fall apart. This way of eating is only relatively new. Back in the 40’s and 50’s food was served fresh. It was made from fresh ingredients but fast forward a decade or two and life has changed dramatically. And so has our health.
Which brings us back to: Real Food V Processed Food
What do they really do to your body?
Real Food
Processed Food
- Fresh
- It comes from nature
- You know what you are eating because the ingredients are real
- Has all the nutrients your body needs to function beautifully
- Keeps your body feeling energised and healthy
- Satisfies your belly
- Feeds and nourishes your gut biome
- No cravings
- Healthy heart
- Insulin levels stay steady
- Very low or no allergies
- Healthy bowel movements
- Balanced hormone levels
- Steady weight
- Don’t need to eat as much
- Moods are amazing
- Healthy mindset about yourself
- Calories don’t matter
- No dieting required
- Self control activated
- Will power not necessary
- Feel positive about your choices
- Honest with yourself about what you eat
- Giving your body love and nourishment
- Processed in factories
- Comes from nature then turned into something else in a factory
- Made up, chemically enhanced ingredients
- Can cause health problems when nutrients are lacking
- Leaves you feeling tired and worn out
- Keeps you wanting more
- Can destroy your gut health
- Too many cravings
- Heart disease
- Spiking and falling blood sugar levels
- Develop allergies
- Diarrhoea or constipation problems
- Hormones out of whack
- Weight increase
- Want to eat all the time
- Mood swings, depression
- Must count calories so as not to overeat
- Must be on a diet every week to lose weight
- Self control deactivated
- Must use willpower to avoid eating which leaves you feeling depleted
- Feel like a failure
- Conveniently “forget” what you have eaten
- Abusing and punishing your body with food
When you see it laid out like this, what do you think now?
In a world full of temptation and choice, I know it is going to be a huge challenge.
Ask yourself this one question.
“Am I fed up enough with how I feel to start making a change?”
If the answer is a resounding “YES” or even if it is a very unsure, quiet “yes”, it is still a yes.
It is a yes for your health, your mind and your body.
It is a yes for the real you who wants to feel amazing and not be trapped on the weight loss roller coaster anymore.
In that yes, there is a choice. A choice you get to make every day for yourself; and that choice is freedom. Freedom from hating your body, freedom from food addiction, freedom from feeling bad about yourself every time you put food into your mouth.
No more guilt.
When you eat real food there is no guilt because your body is getting all of the nourishment it needs so it is not asking you for more. Your body is satisfied. And so are you.
Nobody is forcing you to eat this way (and if they are you need to seek help right away). It is your choice every single day to put food into your mouth.
But I get it. Sometimes that choice feels like it was taken away from you. That you never stood a chance.
It’s time. Time to take control back. Time to reclaim your freedom. Time to choose the best choices for you.
Real food doesn't have ingredients. Real food is ingredients
If you would like more help with this, because it isn’t always so easy to get started, then I would love you to join my private facebook group: Behind the Body – Women Connected.
Inside the group you will connect with other amazing women, be the first to know about all things LOVE body, be involved in special projects, receive love, guidance and support plus so much more.
See you there, beautiful.
