Processed food is a constant in our daily lives. But did we ever stop and consider if consuming this food is beneficial for our well-being, our health, performance, and mentality?
After all, this is the fuel we put in our body. It should be prime quality. Right?
I’ve put my body through more extreme diets than your average person goes through in their lifetime.
The conclusion…
I’ve found that nothing beats good sensible whole foods.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me give you a little context to see what I mean.
Here’s what I’ve put my body through in the last twenty years:
- The full-fat cream diet – this was an introduction to the world of dieting. I tried it in high school, preparing for prom. After two weeks of eating nothing but whipped cream, my eyeballs didn’t look exactly white at prom. No joke, true story.
- After the yo-yo effect of the whole-fat cream diet, I switched to taking health advice from singers. I listened to Madonna in an interview speaking about how she lost weight by only eating popcorn. Yeah, that one didn’t turn out that great either, and the house smelled like the cinema on Saturday night.
- After popcorn, I turned for the advice to a friend, who suggested I give the meat diet a try. After all, she lost 5 kg in two weeks, which seemed insane to me.
- There were tonnes of others, but none as radical. And keep in mind that my weight wasn’t even that extreme. In my eyes, the perfect weight would be 10 kg less.
What happens when you change your view on food
My grandfather got sick – he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Three lumps about an inch across each. My grandmother decided she’d find something to prevent him from having surgery again.
Why?
Because she was fed up with visiting him in the hospital.
My grandfather was known by the doctors as the most cut-up man in my town. Stomach surgery, lung surgery, open heart surgery, prostate surgery… you name it, he had it.
But the women in my family are known for our persistence. My grandmother, in particular. She found this little yellow book by a German author Rudolf Breuss. It claimed to treat any kind of cancer with fasting.
Please keep in mind that I was 18 years old and very eager for anything that would show fast results. See the list above for confirmation.
I was astounded at what my grandfather looked like after the fast (which my grandmother made him do mind you). He went to the doctor after two months to discuss when to schedule the surgery. After some more tests, the doctors were clueless about what happened.
His tumor disappeared. As in non-existent. Gone.
They canceled the surgery and sent him home.
My grandfather was cured and felt better than he had in years. On top of everything else, he looked great. He lost all together 18 kg.
I wrote about his experience in this post.
I was hooked.
I tried it myself – only half of the recommended treatment and it worked miracles. I lost 7 kg in three weeks. But looking back now, the true eye-opener wasn’t the weight loss.
It was my relationship with food. I became more conscious of what I put in my body.
What is ‘good’ food vr. processed food and how to find it?
Wine forward a good twenty years.
I’ve been going through as much literature on healthy food as I could find for the past two decades. The last piece of such information was this video of Doctor Tim Spector:
Is good food that hard to find opposed to processed food?
Think about it.
Every grocery shopping has turned into a treasure hunt.
How to find food that will:
- nourish our body,
- give us energy,
- help us maintain our weight and
- help fight diseases.
That is what food is supposed to do.
But does it?
Put some time into the exploration of your favorite stores. You’ll soon realize that they are overflowing with processed foods.
The chemistry in processed food isn’t natural, and our bodies can’t use it.
So, what can we do to find good food?
Simple. We need a treasure map.
And as treasure maps go, we need good instructions to reach that X on the map – which is your health.
Our treasure map holds the following instructions:
Fresh fruits or vegetables
- Produce/fruit isle is always the best option
- Fresh or frozen – either way works
- Choose seasonal products over imported ones, they have less of a journey to reach the store
- If possible, buy in bulk – many times it’s cheaper.
How can we stay away from processed food
Here is where it gets tricky, but you can avoid the traps by staying on the right path:
- Always read the label on the back – if there are more than 10 ingredients – there is a good chance it isn’t good for you
- Study the ingredients. Do you have them in your fridge or pantry? If you don’t and you don’t know how to pronounce them it’s a good sign you are holding processed food – think twice before buying it.
- Avoid the products that promise low/zero sugar. Think about it. Shugar is what gives it flavor. In this case, it was replaced with artificial sweeteners. Those our body can’t digest and are a constant companion in processed food.
- Avoid low fat – same as the one above – the flavor in foods either comes from fats or sugars. If they removed it and it still tastes good… do the math, you’re holding processed food – think twice before putting it in your shopping basket.
- Added vitamins are usually in very poor form. It would be better to eat a vegetable or fruit. They are packed with natural vitamins and our body can use them.
- Stay away from happy children on the packages. If they have to tell you how good it is for you, think. An apple doesn’t have to advertise itself how beneficial it is for your health.
Once you start paying attention to the food you consume a new world will open up.
The benefits of a good diet
Once you make a mentality shift it becomes a snowball effect.
You focus on preparing your meals from morning to evening.
You start to crave healthier foods.
Suddenly that afternoon stroll turns into an everyday one-hour jog.
First few months
- Your energy levels are rising. Playing with your children after work won’t be such a burden anymore.
- Your sleep improves.
- Your weight starts dropping without adding a new exercise to your daily plan.
Long term
- You notice a significant effect on your health.
- Your risk of certain diseases drastically decreases.
- Depression and other food-related problems are non-existent.
Not convinced yet?
Let me give you one final push. I’m maintaining a healthy diet 80% of the time.
The benefits?
- My skin cleared up,
- my gluten allergies disappeared and
- my cellulite is almost non-existent.
How’s that for motivation?
Try it. Try it for a month. What have you got to lose? Not much. But the gain…
Make the mentality shift and watch your life change.
Till next week,
Ann