Everyday you are assaulted with ads claiming pretty much unbelievable health claims. These days it nearly always has to do with loosing weight, since obesity has reached epidemic proportions and not just in the U.S.
Then on top of that you are deluged with Vegan, South Beach Diet, Paleo, Whole Food powders and the list is nearly endless. You are told coffee could help prevent some types of cancer and Alzheimers, when not too many years ago it was being linked to cancer as a cause.
Hamburgers are being linked to cancer because of being fried at high temperatures, and about the only thing that really seems safe is water…if it has been purified, oxidized, electrified and certified 99% ozonated!
What it seems to boil down to is, who or what do you believe? This could get back to a previous post concerning the placebo effect, and does what you believe have more impact on your health than anything else.
Or is it something else? Could it be a question of discipline? Commitment to a lifestyle is another. Making a change in eating habits, and eliminating some things that have become shall we say…addictive?
For me it’s bread. Plain and simple. Here in Ecuador neighborhood bakeries making fresh, hand made bread everyday fresh out of the oven is beyond irresistible. Can you resist the aroma of fresh baked bread hot from the oven? If you say no you’re not normal! It’s like smelling freshly roasted coffee and not wanting a cup. Think of some of the other aromas that set your taste buds salivating.
So as I stated for me it’s fresh bread. Now the wheat that is used to make flour these days is an enemy. It gets that designation because it has been so hybridized that it’s to the point when it is in your system, it basically becomes addictive. Worse yet, you wouldn’t believe all the products flour is in!
Soups, salad dressings, anything that uses a product to thicken it will generally have flour as part of that. So you are getting far more flour in your diet than you realize. It’s not just bread that is at fault (whew, thank goodness for that) rather the flour. Bet that’s one you would never have thought of.
Still even knowing that, there are choices involved. Do you really want to make a change? Your head might be telling you this, but is it wholeheartedly embraced by your thinking? Ok, so we’re not going to get into all the subconscious factors, but they do play a huge part in whether or not changes are made.
Determination is possibly the biggest factor in maintaining good health and healthy habits. The discipline coupled together with that is nearly unbeatable. For many, that’s where things break down. The determination is there but not the discipline and vice versa.
I had to come to grips with the fact that I’m not going to give up eating bread. So instead I need to be more conscious of not eating as much of it. Not an easy thing to do when there are so many things bread goes with. Rice, potatoes, and pasta were easy by comparison. I do not miss them, and French fries are no longer a part of my diet.
That may work for me, but I can tell you it doesn’t for my wife. Everyone is different, but determination and discipline are the same no matter who you are. In the end, you are the only one who can figure out what is going to work for you. That, is the “magic pill!”
No amount of fad diets, pills, exercises, “Super Juices” and the like will make the difference. Please believe me because I’ve tried a lot of them. You can find the combination that works for you. It just takes a strong desire to find it.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your comments so share your thoughts. Come on, I won’t make fun of you! 🙂
