You Are What You Eat

This post is inspired by Mary Jo Brugger (my future mother-in-law)  Thanks MJ :)

You've heard it a million times from your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles,and cousins.  It's said on the radio, tv, and in the movies.  It is even the commercial slogan for Pediasure Sidekicks at the moment.  It's the phrase "You are what you eat", and it's never been more true.

Now, before I get going with this, I want to make something clear.  I am NOT promoting a diet program.  In fact, I am a firm believer that no one should diet.  In my experience, diets make people less healthy not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well.  I believe that your body gives you cues as to what it needs including hunger, what you're hungry for, and how much to feed it.  So, again, I am not writing this because I feel as though everyone should diet.  I am writing this piece because I believe good nutrition and happiness go hand-in-hand.

Think about your eating habits.  Are they good, bad, or average?  Let me give you a little guideline.  A "good" diet means you are eating 60% carbs from fruits and vegetables, 30% protein (lean protein like eggs, chicken, salmon, turkey), and 10% good fats (from almonds, olive oil, and fish oil).  You should be eating at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, and a very little amount of your carb intake should be from wheat/grains.  You eat refined sugar in extreme moderation, and your caffeine intake is moderate as well (one-two cups of coffee per day).  You rarely drink soda or sugary drinks and never consume fake sugar.  An "average" diet is if you get about 2-3 servings of vegetables per day and try to eat healthy.  A "bad" diet is if you are not even close to following this guideline.

Now that we have classified how you eat, now think about how you feel.  Do you feel tired after you eat?  Are you sluggish, have trouble focusing, unmotivated, and irritable throughout the day for no reason? If you answered yes, chances are that you are not eating the proper diet.  Even if you are an "average" eater, you probably still experience a good amount of these symptoms.  It's no secret that Americans don't eat the best, but what I don't understand is just because it is the norm, why does that make it acceptable?  The fact is, we are poisoning ourselves, passing on these eating habits to our children, and are miserable because of it.

So, with that being said, I want to conduct a little experiment with you all.  If you classified yourself as a "good" eater, I want you to eat horribly one or two days this week.  Don't by any means binge eat, but just choose unhealthier options ( an example would be pop-tarts for breakfast, pizza for lunch, chicken strips for dinner).  By the end of the day, I want you to write down how you feel.  Write down everything from your mood to your physical feelings (stomach, head, heart).  Now, if you are an average to bad eater, try eating by the guidelines I gave you, and do the same thing at the end of the days.  Post your results on the blog, and we will talk about why you are getting those results later in the week.

I also think it is not only "You are what you eat", but "You are what you consume."  What do I mean by that? Well, I mean everything that you put into your body including soft drinks and prescription drugs.  Below is an article about Aspartame:  The fake sugar they put into Diet Soda, low sugar cereal, yogurt, ice cream, gum, sports drinks, crystal light, jello, or anything you can think of.  Many of us believe that if the label says it is good for you by saying "no sugar", "zero calories", or "lowered sugar", then it will help us lose weight.  The fact is, however, that your body has no idea how to digest the ingredients in these modified foods because they are being made with unnatural substances like aspartame, corn syrup, and natural/artificial flavors.  As a result, ANYTHING that your body cannot recognize as a substance to digest will be stored as fat.  So, these products literally puts more fat onto your body which causes stress, weight gain, lack of energy, and exhaustion.  And, it is sneaky.  The side effects that aspartame gives you disguise itself as other diseases such as Grave's Disease, and can be lethal.  Not only does it give you negative side effects, your risk of having a child with birth defects is higher! Enough to make you to read the labels? Well, if I can't convince you, maybe this article can: http://aspartame.mercola.com/

Lastly, I want to talk about medicine.  Don't get me wrong, I believe medicine has its place, and if you are taking and antibiotic to get rid of an illness by all means please continue doing so.  I am talking about medicine that we take to suppress pain, prevent pregnancy, and lower our blood pressure.  The fact is that by taking this medicine we are messing with the body's natural function.  We are allowing the drugs to control our bodies and preventing the body from do its thing.  As a result, the body lets the drug take over and it quits doing things naturally like releasing hormones, healing, digesting, lowering blood pressure, and balancing our brain chemistry.   As a long-term result:  we are sicker, depressed, and are more susceptible to brain disorders.  Don't believe me?  Read this:  (Focus on #4):  http://www.feelgoodbuzz.com/tag/prescription-drugs

It is no secret that I believe it is only when our bodies are balanced out that we can start being happy.  That cannot happen without proper nutrition all around.  Putting the right things into your body will allow it to function properly.  I think we sometimes forget that our brains are in our bodies, and it is our brain that releases the "happy" hormone.  Feed it right, and it will make you happy.  It's that easy.

Remember what your mother told you: "You Are What You Eat."  Try my experiment, and let me know the results!

Thanks for visiting!  See you tomorrow :)