Working from home has many challenges, but especially when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight. So I was really happy to be invited to be a part of a teleseminar hosted by Mamapedia and the California Milk Advisory Board as a kickoff for National Dairy Month in June. There was tons of great information given, but the information that was most pertinent to me was on weight loss. I’ve recently become acutely aware of all the different ways that our food has been altered through the use of GMOs, pesticides, etc. But what I wasn’t aware of was just how much processed foods sabotage a person’s ability to lose weight.
Did you know that the lining of our digestive track has as many neurons as our brain? Or that our digestive tract releases dopamine, serotonin, etc. when we give it real food? Nope, me neither. Our stomachs are smart enough to tell us when we’re sated, but only after it gets Real Food!
Remember that old commercial about margarine “I can’t believe it’s not Butter!” Our eyes and tongues may not be able to tell, but our stomachs sure can. And since our stomachs aren’t getting the cascade of flavors, enzymes, etc. from “unreal” food, we continue to eat long after we’ve reached our caloric needs. No wonder it’s so hard to lose weight!
There were seven main steps that I learned (and am working on implementing) to help me reach my goals:
- Learn the Secret of Satisfaction (Flavor layers help us eat less)
- Put the fork down between bites
- Train your palette to identify the multiple flavors in each food
- Connect memory to food
- Make informed choices
- Food isn’t about good or bad. It’s about real and unreal
- READ labels in order to make better food choices
- There are four categories of food:
- Real food (100% nature made)
- Almost real food (Made by nature with a little twist from humans)
- Barely real food (processed foods that retain a few memories of real food)
- Not real food (highly processed foods)
- Relish the food we eat
- Slow down
- Spend more time at the table
- Spend more time shopping for food
- Make food an event
- Turn off the phones, computers, television, etc. so that you can pay attention and enjoy your meal (my biggest pitfall)
- Detox your palate from useless salt, fat and sugars
- Read labels, choose wisely and eat more real food
- Take the long view
- Try new recipes at least once a week
- Use one new ingredients each week in your common dishes
- Do nothing drastic — food is life so enjoy each step towards healthier eating
- Upgrade your choices
- Take a step up from your normal eating habits
- If your diet consists of “Barely Real Food” work on adding more “Almost Real Food”
- Take a step up from your normal eating habits
- Treat yourself well
- Real food may cost a bit more but will make you feel better
- Instead of gnoshing on tasteless 100 calorie diet foods try eating a pear with blue cheese.
- The same 100 calories and tastes a heck of a lot better too!
As another vintage commercial states: “You can’t fool Mother Nature!” and that is so true. So the next time you’re presented with a hot roll and trying to decide between butter and margarine — go for the butter. And if you’d like to know more about this satisfying path to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, you can check out Real Food Has Curves: How to Get Off Processed Food, Lose Weight, and Love What You Eat
Disclaimer http://cmp.ly/5/u0yqab
