“You Are What You Eat”

“You are what you eat” How true is that statement? If you really sit back and analyze your diet (more so your lifestyle), what do you eat on a regular basis? What is your food made of? Is it even food? The documentary “Food Matters”, the TV show, My 600 lb. Life, and my biology lab class has brought me to some realizations.

For most “diets” a rule is if you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. However, what if you can pronounce it? Chemicals are given different names and such to make it easier to read and talk about for those who aren’t knowledgeable in science topics. How about you get rid of the cheesy quote and just literally get back to basics. Just because you can pronounce the “ingredients” in your meal replacement protein bar doesn’t mean you should be eating it. On top of that, does a meal in a bar sound right? Why not just eat REAL food? Real food is where you get all the nutrients you need to survive every day, the real nutrients – not the chemical nutrients. In a sense, it’s common sense. We’re humans whose bodies were made to consume fruits, vegetables and real proteins. By getting back to basics you’ll feel better and feel more satisfied after each meal rather than craving another bar or drink.

The whole idea of chemical foods brought me to another conclusion. “Approximately 12.3 percent of women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point during their lifetime.” (http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/breast.html). If you look around, most people are related or know someone with breast cancer. Since 1975 to 2010 breast cancer has steadily been on the rise. Why? Now, I’m not a genius and can’t say this for fact but this is a hypothesis I have made. Look at most Americans lifestyles these days. People are constantly on go, never pausing. Family meals, from what it seems, now consist of fast food and in the car, instead of, sitting around the table at home eating real food and sharing meaningful conversation. Now granted, fruits and veggies and animals are protected by pesticides and what else, but taking the risk with those (or going organic) is better than a lifetime of processed, unnaturally fatty, and chemically created foods. If you really think about it, it’s scary what we’re putting in our bodies. So, my theory, with the increased consumption of processed foods and fried foods comes the increase of odd, foreign chemicals to our bodies which can’t use them to benefit us. My theory is the increase of chemicals leads to an increased possibility of illnesses and cancer. If that’s not incentive to change your eating habits, I don’t know what is!!

Another point “Food Matters” brought up was the topic of vitamins and medication. Some of us let us go so much, eating poorly and not participating in activities. We get sore, we get pains in places we never thought we would, and we get weak. The so-called cure, take this Advil! Why? Why not fix the problem at its core, your gut. Losing weight and just exercising and getting stronger helps alleviate those pains. Not only will it not hurt to roll around with your kids but you’ll feel better and have more energy. Why do people take vitamins? Sure, a bag of chips may have iron and calcium, fried chicken nuggets may have protein, but that “version” of the nutrient isn’t what you need. It’s chemically manipulated to taste like cheese or whatever, IT’S NOT REAL! The real stuff you get from eating real food. Spinach has Vitamin A, Vitamin C and iron, your body will receive that better than a chip. Sure it may not “taste as good” but that’s an experimental and mental change.

Now on a personal note, I’m working on making these changes in my own routine. Before my diet and lifestyle re-awakening, I was eating pizza, chips, candy, a lot of breads and grease. Cut that out and it doesn’t take long to feel like you have control of your own body again. It’s only been 2 days and I’ve already lost 5 lbs. In addition to the weight loss, however, more importantly I feel great! I have the energy to wake up for my 9 am class without a struggle, I’m sleeping better, I feel perkier, I don’t have random pains in my back or knees and I just feel stronger. My diet consists of 2 raw salads a day, lean proteins (turkey or tuna), an apple, and a protein shake with chia seeds for breakfast. I’m already at a point where just thinking about going back to my old ways makes me want to be sick.

In order to make these changes, you have to want to do it for YOURSELF. No statistic or “fun fact” can make a person decide to change their lifestyle habits. But I want you to know that if you’re struggling to keep a healthy lifestyle, YOU CAN DO IT, and, if you’re struggling to change your lifestyle, IT’S NEVER TOO LATE!! The important thing is to be healthy on the inside and the results will show on the outside and in your smile. People will see a change! 🙂 Truth of the matter is, you are what you eat, so, EAT WELL FEEL WELL.

My salads for today!