YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

Be Aware of What Foods You Are Putting in Your Body

If you are not fake, greasy and processed, then why are you putting that stuff in your body?

What you put in your body and how you choose to deal with stress are the two most important factors that determine your current and future health. If you don’t have good health, every other aspect of your life will suffer. You know this, so why is it so hard to eat right?

You may think it is a failing of willpower when you reach for a bag of Oreos, and in some ways it is, but there are larger forces at work here that are beyond your immediate control.

American culture makes it very easy to be fat- just look around in any public setting and you will know this is true. Our country has a strong individualist ethic, which can be a great thing in many ways, but when trying to address why 2/3 of Americans are overweight, it fails. We have stopped putting sidewalks down, cut out recess in schools and put snack machines in, and portion sizes in restaurants are absolutely out of control. If you are fat, it is not completely your fault.

However, if you want to get thin and be healthy by eating right, you are going to have to take responsibility for your health. No one else will ever do it for you, not your doctor, not your friends, not your parents and certainly not your government. You must come to understand and not just know the phrase: you are what you eat.

REMEMBER: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

This is easier said than done in a society that makes it very easy to eat junk. If you just float along and hope that the right eating choices will come to you, you will fail. You must take proactive steps to counter the mass of empty calories heading your way on a daily basis, and you can do this by remembering that you are what you eat.

Read labels. Ignorance is not bliss if you wake up in thirty years with diabetes and heart disease. Read food labels- if you can, with all the chemical and artificial ingredients. Awareness of what you are putting into your body is the first step towards eating healthier.

Take small steps to eat better. Going cold turkey on all foods that are bad for you would be nearly impossible and completely frustrating. Cut out a few things at a time, starting with foods you don’t really like anyway but tend to eat just because they are there- like doughnuts at the office, for example.

Eating healthy is not a goal you complete one day. It is a lifelong journey that starts with an awareness of what you put into your body and ends with you living out your days as a healthy and robust senior citizen. You will have pitfalls and setbacks, but as long as you remember to pat yourself on the back every once and a while for persevering, you will succeed. Your body is worth the time and effort it takes to treat it right; after all, it is the only one you will ever have.

More Health & Food Articles

• Be A Conscious Eater

• Weight Loss Guide

• How To Eat Healthier

Shilo Urban is a freelance writer who has just relocated to Los Angeles after her previous homes of Seattle, New Zealand, Paris, Maine, and Austin. She is an active member of the West Coast electronic music community and lives to promote the art that she loves and the people who create it.