Good, Better, Best
I have had so many people ask me for help with their diet and eating or been involved in discussions about food in general over the years. Food is a legal drug – and we are all seeing more obese people than ever, everywhere. It’s so acceptable and easy to overeat – people are literally drugging themselves into a food coma on a daily and sometimes every meal basis. Gorging isn’t just left for Thanksgiving Day …the over-full, eat-until-you-are-stuffed, satisfy-every-craving-with-a-drive-through, or grab and go super-sized bag of chips at a convenience store mentality is rampant. It is an addiction that is acceptable for most parts.
If you are struggling with food addiction or food in general, here are a few tips to get you started on breaking the hold food has on you.
Start with the “My plate” eating plan. Portion distortion in rampant in society. If the plate isn’t big and over-flowing many feel they aren’t getting their money’s worth, the entitled mentality of I deserve it, I want it and I’ll get it now mentality feeds into the obesity issue. I’d suggest Using the “My plate” diagram from Myplate.gov and put it on the frig at home so you can see it as a reminder and put up one for work to keep you in line when stress, fatigue or overload hits and the unhealthy habit of getting food or drink kicks in. It helps to have support at home and at work. The second diagram helps with fitting what you should eat in with a plan. 5-7 servings of fruit and veggies are recommended a day…that’s how you can do it or what to strive for. I personally feel it should be 5-10 servings a day…but that’s just me…if you eat to fuel the body and change it, you will not have room for the junk. Notice there is no shape for junk food on the plate diagram. Food is fuel, not entertainment or a drug. Don’t get a calorie laden coffee drink or soda to “feel” better…or a candy bar to give you energy…you’re putting poor fuel in the gas tank of the body and over time you’ll wreck the engine, and it’s really not fuel, you’re pouring sludge into your body it cannot use – it just stores it as fat. Choosing the best fuel for the situation and circumstances will always benefit the body and keep it fueled with the least number of breakdowns because of poo nutrition. You’ll have the energy you need. So, when the craving hits, get up from your chair and take a walk – skipping the vending machine or drive through, just walk and move! That’s really what you r body is craving to wake up…not food.
Eating close to the source is also a key to a healthy weight. God made the apple…not the apple pie. God’s packaging is the perfect grab and go in many cases. Most fruits are already packaged and ready to take anywhere. The whole farm to table idea is catching on and bringing back principles that grandma used from her garden to her table. If the food is home grown without chemicals, it is close to the source – how God intended it. Man added all the preservatives and junk…not God’s intention for us, just man’s perversion of a good thing. Eat close to the source when you can.
Good, Better, Best eating is another tip to follow. For example, with veggies; raw is best, steamed is better and cooked is good. With any choice we can always choose a Good, Better or a Best. If you eat close to the source that is the Best choice; but Better and Good still play into My Plate eating. If you don’t have raw veggies but steamed broccoli is available and what you like, great take it! Fill half the plate with it! Then the other 20-25% is protein and another 20-25% is a whole grain.
Lastly, take fueling the body on a choice by choice and day by day decision. Approach each craving or desire to eat or drink with a Good, Better and Best attitude. If you want a candy bar or chips for example – say what is a better choice? A fruit for the natural sugar verses the candy bar and baby carrots or a veggie cup to satisfy the crunch reflex in better than the chips. It is all about taking the mind and bad habits captive. You need to internally desire the end goal of losing weight more than the immediate goal of satisfying the craving. Cravings are just bad habits that need breaking typically. Take 21 days to establish a new habit and after 90 days it will become a lifestyle.
Often times that desire for a food is actually thirst. Try and drink water first and hold off 20 minutes on the food choice. IT will help you get your water intake up and quench that “hunger” craving. You need to break the immediate gratification link between impulse and act… to Good, Better and Best choices – or mindful choices. Don’t eat according to the clock, if it’s noon – and you’re not hungry, don’t eat. Many of us have been trained like Pavlov’s dogs to run for food when the bell rings. We think if I don’t eat now, when will I get the chance – as if you’ll starve and die right on the spot! Most of us have fat stores to last months, so one meal “missed” will not kill you. You’ll learn to eat for hunger and what your body needs, verses for a clock or a craving. Rarely so we ever feel real hunger, we just eat to eat, cause the clock says so or I’m bored, or I need to wake up. Be mindful of why you are reaching for food as well as what you are reaching for.
I hope that is a pep rally via blog post pumps you up and helps you make better choices! Take each craving and choice as it comes, one by one instead of looking at the end goal. Live the 21/90-day rule. Small challenges taken will add up to big changes. Also remember every CHALLENGE is started and ended with change. When you face a challenge, be flexible and positive, the change is inevitable. Be resilient and realize the constant in life is change. You can fight it and be fat or go with it and live the life you dream of.
As always, make the rest of your life the best of your life, starting today!