Uphill Battle
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
It’s not your imagination.
Everywhere you go, there is temptation. We had some respite from this with stay at home orders, but now you may be “out in the world” more and these situations will crop back up. Even with the best of intentions, you may find yourself challenged.
Losing weight and changing the way you eat requires a whole variety of tools, but two of the most important are clarity around what you are working towards and understanding where your struggles are. But, when you are going to buy clothing or crafting supplies and you end up confronted with snacks at the checkout you may give in because you are caught unaware.
These sneaky situations are everywhere. You may have to pass by the candy at the door of the grocery store as you enter, overlook the caramel candy coating on display near the apples, resist the chips across from the case that holds the chicken, pass by the cheesecake flavored yogurt to find the plain yogurt. You may have to resist the candy at the drug store checkout, the pretzels or chips at the hardware store checkout, the chocolate covered pretzels at any given big box store. It is no accident that these foods are placed where they are.
Over these years of modifying my program little by little and helping others to do the same, I became a student of how our food is produced, where it comes from, what sorts of chemicals and processes are involved in its production and how it reaches our plates. Big food manufacturing companies are interested in profit, not our health as a nation. If you have ever wondered why it is nearly impossible to eat just one Frito, read Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us.
The more I learn about our food production system, the more motivated I feel to encourage people to educate themselves. Be the smartest consumer in the room. Read labels and avoid items with hard to pronounce or unrecognizable ingredients. Buy the highest quality meat and produce that you can afford. Eat fresh food not processed. Cook your own food dinner and treats vs. ordering or buying out. Support local farmers through farmer’s markets and shop at places that reinforce your values around food. Understand that food is placed strategically in stores so that you will be tempted. Educate yourself on agricultural policies so that you can start to understand why a bag of chips costs less than a bag of apples.
Food policies are heavily influenced by consumer behavior and preferences. Use your power.
