Eatin' trash

I attended a nutrion workshop the other night.  I'm not being endorsed or anything, but the name of the program is Genesis Transformation.  The main idea is simple...eat real food.  The program also suggests drinking a gallon of water each and every day.  Skip alcohol (if weight loss is your aim) and try to quit your addiction to sugar.  They also touted the old belief of 'eat less, move more' is indeed passe.  We need to eat more REAL FOOD and always be sure to make exercise a part of our norm.  The instructor provided an hour and half pitch basically telling the group to enjoy NON-PROCESSED food.  To me, this is a no brainer.  I was happy to realize this program was not gimmicky, there was no 'buy this and you'll lose weight' sell and their bottom line "healthy eating will naturally lead to weight loss".  WOO-FRIGGIN-HOO!  And NO DUH!

I was held up on the dropping of the vino part.  I love my wine and dark chocolate and I'm not sure I will be able to part with these loves of my life.  Just as I desperately held on to the belief these two things are vital to my happiness, there was a woman in the group who was very resistant to the idea of foregoing her beloved sandwich. She asked the instructor if she actually meant that with this program bread was a giant 'no-no'.  The instructor reassured her it was difficult for her to give it up as well, but once she was able to drop the bread her weight dropped, too.  This woman dragged on the bread debate, for what seemed to be awkwardly too long, and even said, "I don't eat any other processed food but I need my sandwich for lunch at work."  I wanted to take this woman aside and ask her what she was actually putting on her sacred bread.  Last time I checked, bread was nothing more than a vehicle used to transport cured (code for sugar) processed meat into the body.

Check out the label of any bread found in your typical grocery store...fresh from the bakery or taking up an extended stay on the shelf.  PROCESSED TRASH!  That's all it is.  And don't even get me started on deli meat.  I made it a rule to fore go my former lover, turkey breast sandwich.  I know, it's super hard.  I wish I didn't know what I knew because then I might be able to eat like a foodie.  But folks, I'm a savvy foodie and it's impossible for me to stick my head in the sand and pretend that all food is good for us.  I used to believe, hand to God, if the grocery store sold it then it was ok.  I also sincerely thought that if it was super bad, the kind clerk would tell me I was purchasing poison.

Yeah...not so much.  Even the FDA doesn't have our best interest.  Food, for the most part, is manufactured.  The goal of the grocer and food producers is to keep their pockets lined with cold hard cash.  Our country is among the fattest in the world and there's a good reason for it.  We tend to believe there's a quick and easy method for everything.  When we hit our bumps, we take another route.  For me, it took over 365 days to start seeing a change in my body composition.  But with a beautiful blend of being a savvy foodie and a personal trainer in the making...I am seeing the results I craved.

You cannot stick your head in the sand and shove the sandwich in your mouth and expect things to change.  Life is hard.  Working out can suck.  There is information overload when it comes to diets.  Throw it all in the trash and EAT REAL FOOD.  That's the key.  Low fat, no fat, low calorie, no calorie, all natural, healthy...just words.  Words the greedy food manufactures use to get us to buy their crap and think we're 'eating well'.  Spin it 'round and READ LABELS!  Find out what exactly you're putting into your magnificent body.  Judge for yourself and trust no one.  Most of the stuff out there, ready for 'consumption' should be labeled....TRASH.  Why put trash into your body?

Don't worry my little savvy readers.  There is hope.  Just think outside the box and say it with me...EAT REAL FOOD.  The diet industry is a billion dollar one and you want to know why, because we hide from the truth.  There's no easy way out.  There's no pill.  There's no diet.  It's just eating natural food the good Lord provided.  Fruits and veggies.  Make those your main courses and you'll start seeing a difference.  It's all good.

Positive not punitive!

When you were a kiddo how many times do you remember hearing, "You'll like this when you grow up"?  I'm not referring to spirits, although remembering my first sip of my dad's beer was enough to make me question his taste buds.

What I'm referring to are healthy foods!  My mother used to take me to the health food store and pick out things like Papaya juice and 'Oaties O's' (the healthy alternative to cheerios).


Most of my friends were drinking apple juice and eating Cherrios.  I was quite envious, at the time.  My mother did not allow me to eat overly sweet cereals or juices.  She diluted apple juice with water when I was at an age when that was all I wanted.  We did not have soda or things like 'Hawaiian Punch' (there's a blast from the past).  At the time I thought I was being punished.  My mother was attempting to install positive food choices.  She was being positive, not punitive!!

My mother was trying her best to make sure we were not hyped up on sugar, like many of our friends.  Sugar and kids can be a crazy combination.  My mother was not trying to suck out all the fun in our lives, she was trying to get us (I have a partner in crime that I call brother) used to food that was not doused in sugar.  I'm 33 years old and still do not have a single cavity...thanks mom!

A friend of mine is trying to ween her little guy off of milk.  It's not as easy as she had hoped.  He isn't buying the almond milk for milk.

You may be asking, what's so bad about milk?  Milk is used for growth - be it human or animal.  We, as humans, are the only species that continue to drink milk beyond infancy.  What the dairy industry has done to cattle (and humans) is absolutely deplorable!!

The farmers hook the cows up to machines and tug away at their udders.  What happens is sores develop around the udder and the machine keeps pulling away and opens the sores.  Thus allowing puss from the sore to drop into the same container as the milk!!!  (Go ahead and re-read that last sentence just to make sure you did so correctly)  So, may I offer you a nice glass of puss with your milk?

Check out this article from PETA - http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/dairy-industry.aspx

I'll wait....no seriously....read it....see I didn't go anywhere, I just found some more cute baby pics....ok, now that we've got that cleared up I'll continue.

Not only is milk not necessary it's down right disgusting.
Had I been raised as a vegan or vegetarian as a youngster I would not know any different.  That would be so completely amazing!  Babies eat what their parents (or care takers) GIVE them.  By not allowing your little one to grow up on sugar, dairy, meat, whatever...they'll never know life with it!

I love to see little ones devouring fruits and veggies.  I love seeing kids asking, "is this healthy?"  BRAVO!  Our society is producing over indulged children with parents who are more concerned with being their friend rather than their parent.  We have parents with despicable eating patterns (fast food for breakfast/lunch/dinner) and they're passing along their habits.

Don't be afraid to challenge the 'norm'.  Don't eat what everyone is eating.  Please be a savvy foodie and educate yourself about what you're deciding to put into your body or anyone else's, if you're a savvy mommy or daddy ;)
God gave us the most wonderful gift of all...life.  We need to safe guard it and make sure we're nourishing our bodies with what He provided - fruits and veggies.  I hate to say it, but the FDA does NOT have our backs.  They have our wallets.

Side note about the YouTube clip - I do not condone giving babies lemons or other sour fruits, but this video was simply hilarious.  You or your little one may have similar (initial) reactions to new foods, but don't worry it won't kill you.  You may just make a super funny face.