I've been putting off this blog because I knew that it would take me time to organize my thoughts so that I wasn't just rambling off gibberish. But I just read about Weight Watchers, who is changing their tune on calorie counting, and I was motivated to get my thoughts onto out.
After years of struggling with my weight, I can tell you that no amount of calorie counting helped. All it did was make me crazy about the amount of foods that I was eating. And I was enticed by low calorie foods...but then just ended up eating the whole bad and still not feeling satisfied. As I became more well-read and spent time researching organics and healthy foods, it came to may attention that it was not about how much you are eating (well, that is important, but not as important) as what you eat. Processed food is the enemy. Literally. It contains large amounts of sodium and additives. Even organics, which I am a HUGE proponent of, contain unnecessary preservatives and additives when processed. As I started reading labels, I started realizing that I had thought I was eating well because I had been buying organics and shopping at Trader Joes, but turns out, I was consuming a bunch of crap along with my snacks.
So now, we have almost no processed foods in the house. We have bread and pasta, and of course cereal and milk for my husband, but that's about it. Every once in awhile I'll buy chips or crackers, but only ones with minimal ingredients that I can pronounce. Even after years of shifting how I eat, I STILL read my labels anytime I buy something in a box or a bag.
Nothing proved to me that I was onto something as much as when I moved in with my husband a few years ago. Prior to that, he lived on Subway, sandwiches from Safeway, and takeout Teriyaki. And peanut and butter sandwiches. Prior to having me cook all his meals, his resting blood pressure was 122/80, which used to be considered healthy, although now is considered borderline high. Within a month, his blood pressure was 110/70. That's a HUGE shift and is in the healthy range.
My take home point is this: all calories are not created equal. Meats should be grass-fed, organically raised to avoid antibiotics which mess with our metabolisms. Fish should not be farm raised--again, these animals are fed grains (that are genetically modified--see previous post on this!) and are not healthy and are bad for our bodies. Be careful with protein powders. Many of them have artificial sweeteners which also have a bad effect on our bodies and our metabolisms. Grains should be whole and as unadulterated as possible: quinoa, barley, whole grain rice, etc. These are more filling, healthier for our digestive tracts and don't raise our blood sugars. And I have a sweet tooth. So I even converted our sweets to less processed and organic. We started enjoying Alden's Organic Ice Cream out of Oregon. It is minimally processed and delicious. At first, I was nervous. I was a Dreyer's Light kind of girl; 120 calories or less please! These new ice creams were much higher in calories, coming in at 180+ calories. But I will tell you this: I was much more satisfied with my little scoop of a high quality ice cream than a half-gallon of the Dreyer's Light (or other similar ice cream which is mostly air, by the way). (And yes, embarrassingly enough, I could put away a whole half-gallon if I was really in the mood). But now, I'm satisfied with so much less because there are less chemicals telling my body that I want more (this is real, btw--chemicals are added to processed and fast foods so that they are more appealing to our bodies and signal us to crave more). Also watch out for Weight Watcher packaged foods, or foods marketed for weight loss. Read those labels...there is an INCREDIBLE amount of chemicals in those foods. And once you start eating whole, natural foods, these foods taste gross!
There is also research out there that supports the fact that our bodies read different calories differently. Our bodies are meant to consume whole foods. A 100 calorie apple is a better choice than a 100 calorie bag of cookies. The apple provides all sort of nutrients and is more filling than anything processed. Don't go overboard, but you can eat more food when it's unprocessed than if it is. I can attest to this. I initially lost 12lbs when I shifted the way I ate.
That said, we're not perfect and of course we order out pizza once in a while. But that is the exception. Our investment as a family is in our health (and Jackson's college education). Pay for it now or pay for it later. I think the state of our healthcare would be very different if we focused on pushing for healthy foods instead of trying to figure out how to pay for our rising costs. Ah, but that's another post for another day.
Please let me know if you have questions. I feel VERY strongly that eating this way will change our health and our lives, and the lives of our children.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/03/09/weight-watchers-finally-recognizes-calorie-counting-doesnt-work.aspx
http://www.drgreene.com/blog/2011/01/05/dr-greene’s-parenting-predictions-2011
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