reality bites...into tasty food!

For the past 3 weeks, I have avoided all processed and packaged foods. Not only have I made the environment more beautiful, I have also created greater beauty in myself. My epiphany inspired by this simple act is that the more packaging of food that ends up as waste, the more of that packaged food will also end up on my waist. If it fills the landfill, it will fill my fat cells too. On the contrary, buying food that is not packaged or processed (i.e. real food, like raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains and beans, etc.) does not fill waste sites or my waist site. Its real food for me.

ask and ye shall receive

The other day as I was walking to my doctor’s appointment, I was laboring over the issue of overeating. My walking chant was “why do I overeat; why do I overeat?” When I got to my doctor’s office, I looked up, only to see on her magazine rack, a cover story entitled “why we overeat”! Epiphany strikes again! I was reminded of a number of sayings from Christian and other thoughts ask and ye shall receive and when the student is ready, the teacher appears. The magazine article led me to a book at the local library and more wisdom to win the war on junk food. The wisdom, of course, was what I have always known, but needed some reinforcement again. For me, the principle message was, when I eat food the way God created it, my body will look the way He created it.

do, by doing...

As a teenager in 4-H clubs, I learned the motto learn to do by doing. I could alter this motto to say learn to think by doing. Much has been said about the power of thought to effect action; however, the flip side of this equation is that action also influences thought. Take the action of eating salt, fat, and sugar, which stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain, starting a chain reaction of thinking that influences the brain to think of salt, fat, and sugar. The more you eat, the more your brain thinks about eating and tells you to go for these substances. Conversely, eating nutritious food influences the brain to stimulate thoughts of eating nutritious food. The more you eat nutritious food, the more you want nutritious food, and thoughts of junk food gradually fade away. Not only are you what you eat, but what you eat creates what you think, which further influences what you eat.

deadly delights

My neighbor’s teenage daughter facilitated a profound epiphany for me the other day. News was out in the neighborhood that I had encountered a cougar while walking alone on the mountain. The day after this event Emily (my teenage neighbor), when asking me about the cougar experience, punctuated her remarks with “You have run into a lot of animals when walking alone up there and yet you still go up there.” The epiphany didn’t hit until a few hours later when I was ruminating on her comment. Why do I continue to go where I know there is danger when I have a choice not to go there? I could substitute cougar for any number of other objects that pose a threat to my peace and security. Case in point—sugar. Why would I continue to return again and again to a substance that has the potential to damage my health in so many domains? Just a thought for the day, thanks to the cougar and my teenage neighbor.