Obesity is SUCH a huge problem in this country – followed by many other nutrition related conditions ~ Allergies, Gluten Intolerance, and more.
Diet plays such an important part in your lifestyle – but not just YOURS, it also plays a huge part in the lifestyle of your children too. We have been talking SO much about nutrition and food so far this year – we completely transformed the way we eat over the last 3 years and have seen GREAT results.
When we combine those eating habits with Essential Oils, lifestyle changes, and better spiritual focus, we have seen great things from not only ourselves but also our children.
Over the last few weeks many of you have found our posts on food, eating and Essential Oils helpful – that’s great. We are SO glad! But there are others that are NOT so happy about these posts – you have mentioned that you don’t want to read about food, better eating, Essential Oils and even things like saving money.
I hate to say this, but we are going to continue to blog about these topics for many reasons – we enjoy it, they are well received by many, and it’s incredibly important that this information IS shared. Don’t want to read about it? You are welcome to move on and read elsewhere- we can’t help those who don’t want to help themselves.
The USDA did a study just over 15 years ago – and that study confirmed that people know that there is a need for a healthier lifestyle.
However, regardless of what people know to be true about the need for a healthier lifestyle, people choose not to improve their diet. WHY is this? I struggle to understand why. I spent a LOT of time asking myself why this is. Here are FOUR reasons why we feel that people don’t eat healthy.
Attitude or Misinformation
Most people are overwhelmed with the amount of information out there.
One study says one thing, and another says something entirely different. Then, you have manufacturers that subsidize coupons for food that is just healthy AT ALL and because that advertising is constantly in our faces you assume that they know what is best for you and your family.
Some might think that low fat diets are the way to go, yet you may realize that even with a low fat diet habits can still remain the same and no progress is ever achieved.
You entrust food companies and the government to dictate what foods are healthy fr you instead of taking the initiative upon yourself to do that research. For many, it’s hard to understand WHY there are so many coupons out there for processed food. WHY are certain diets promoted as healthy and heavily publicized on television and radio?
Lack of Self Motivation
Change is gradual – and for each person it’s different. Each person has a different level of motivation than others – you might know you need to change, but you can’t conjure up the motivation to make it happen. For some it’s just too easy to pick up just anything off the shelf – it’s harder to avoid the temptation of picking up better items knowing that they will be a little more.
You might start changing your shopping habits to buy better food, but you are not ready to make the full change because you might be scared about what it entails.
Self motivation is a HUGE struggle for many – simply knowing what’s better is not enough to ward off temptation. Your health is a direct reflection of the choices you have made up until this point in your life – all too often we hear that eating healthier is more expensive, it’s impossible if you don’t make enough money, it’s the grocery store’s fault for putting items on sale that are bad for you… take responsibility for your health, your choices, and only then will you succeed.
It’s Inconvenient
Preparing healthy meals involves more time than convenient “unhealthy” boxed meals – and that is the truth! Everyone has a busy life – many have kids, extra curricular activities, in many families both husband and wife work – resorting to convenience will jeopardize your health long term.
If you were brought up eating unhealthy boxed meals, processed cereal, microwave meals and packaged cookies, chances are, you have learned that they are quick and tasty. But what is convenient has also lacked nutritional value – and your eating habits have not only paved the way for your future health but they also affect your children, too.
Eating healthy does not always have to be inconvenient – it doesn’t necessarily take more time than eating unhealthy. It’s up to you to learn how to cook for yourself, cook foods that are an asset to your health and family and ward off the temptation to buy into the subsidized mess that is over-advertised in your local stores.
Change takes Time
Changing the way you eat is much similar to saving money – it takes time. The process is gradual – not immediate. Saving money long term requires a HUGE commitment – that commitment and vision must be something that intrinsically motivates you daily – not sporadically. Eating is similar – you must have a vision to know what you want and commit to that daily.
Temptation is always going to be there.
People who doubt and don’t agree with you will probably never be blessed enough to have that vision of change. Those people will never move forward but may be the ones that come to you later on when something in their life comes up that forces them TO change their health habits.
Usually that’s how it works.
So how DO you make GOOD food choices when presented with so many poor choices – perhaps Mega sales with cheap items, a really good-looking grocery ad with lots of processed items, or mainstream media (or, friends) who aren’t in it for YOUR best interest?
5 Ways You Can Make Better Food Choices
- Only eat fresh foods, that are not packaged, and limit those you buy in a box
- Get out of the supermarket and shop at your Farmers Market, where you can buy more fresh produce, that’ll help you create a diet rich in plant food (and less reliance on meat and dairy)
- Be disciplined enough to look past the GREAT deals, and only for those that you know will benefit your family
- Read our last post on 6 ways to Avoid the Temptation of Buying Unhealthy Food
- Self educate – instead of making excuses as to why you can’t eat better, make attempts to take responsibility for your actions and ditch the junk.
That means giving up the processed food, and re-routing that money (which is NOT necessarily more) to fresh produce, perhaps incorporate more organic items.
Some of these documentaries are a GREAT place to start:
Note: This post was not meant to be directed to any one in particular – it’s a generalized thought that we opted to write about. If you find yourself angry, irritated or annoyed after reading this post, and are so inclined to send emails or comments to us that you are unhappy with our blog content, by all means move on. Nobody is forcing you to read our content, you do so by choice.