Cut the Bulls*it.
Ever taken a glance at a pre-1950s cookbook? You'll find that most meals are made "the hard way" i.e. from scratch. Very little processed garbage, lots of REAL food like fresh meats, vegetables, fruits, spices, dairy, and grains. Many times, cookbooks gave a variety of techniques for properly preserving fruits and vegetables through canning, pickling, dehydrating, and freezing. I grew up in a household that planted a garden and used canning, freezing, and pickling as a means to keep foods for the off-season. The foods were simple, preserved with simple methods, and were wholesome. Not quite as good as the vegetable straight out of the garden, but close enough. I also grew up with a family that hunted. I don't grow pale at the site of a deer skinning. Amazing that I was a vegetarian for a year, eh?
I didn't really appreciate the value of this sort of childhood until now. I eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, and meats and am open to trying new foods all the time. I try to stay away from "Franken-foods" better known as the garbage that occupies the majority of today's grocery store. For some time, I bought a lot of Franken-foods. I bought a lot of soy Franken-foods as a vegetarian. Bad idea (although I did open myself to a whole new array of veggies, so it wasn't a completely bad gig). I can't say I particularly felt any better nor did I feel very healthy. Quite honestly, I think most of these foods should simply be cut from our diet entirely. Unfortunately, they keep becoming more an more popular and more and more a staple of a so-called "healthy" diet. They even enter my diet at times, even though I try my darndest to avoid them. Simply put, they're BULLSHIT and I, you, and most others shouldn't rely on them as a daily diet. Consider this my grass roots movement to cut the bullshit. Consider this also my pledge to stop buying crap at the store. I'm just as guilty of this sometime, so don't consider me perfect by any means. Better nutrition is certainly a journey, and I'm prone to fucking up from time to time, but I continue and improve! :)
Here's some simple steps to stop buying and consuming bullshit...try em out!
1. If it's produced by an agra-conglomerate, read the label before buying. Notable exceptions to this are frozen veggies (buy them PLAIN...wtf is this pre-made sauce crap?), coffee, tea, some organic products, and some preserves.
2. If it's in the center of the store, be wary. If it's boxed, makes silly health claims, or has a list of ingredients 20 items long...ermm...make sure to examine it well.
Shop at your local market!
3. If it's canned or frozen, make sure it's not full of additives and sugars. A lot of brands are pretty good about skipping the crap and leaving the good ole veggies for you. Again, just read the label.
4. Funky meats. I don't like my meats pumped full of antibiotics. Buy those that pledge not to when possible.
5. Eggs. I need to get back to just buying straight up eggs in the shell. Cage-free varieties work well. Check your local market - local farmers often sell them there.
6. Butter. I'm going to go back to using the real deal in moderation. No margarine crap.
7. Buy lots of fruits and veggies. Try to buy at your local market in season or US-sourced, when possible. I understand bananas are the anomaly. It's sort of a necessary evil for me, to be honest.
8. Ditch refined sugars and starches. I've been doing this for some time. It's a great way to boost your health and energy. If I give in and eat candy and other sugary delights...I feel crappy afterward. Better deal for me is just to avoid them.
9. Flavor with lots of spices! I love spices. Check your local bulk foods store for good prices on these.
10. Drink in moderation. Stick with wine and microbrewed beer. Luckily the US is a hotbed of microbrewed wine and beer choices. Red wine, 4-6 oz, is a fantastic choice loaded with antioxidants.
11. Enjoy your dark chocolate. 70% dark or darker is my rule of choice. It's a bit bitter like coffee but really hits the spot for me. It's also a good source of antioxidants. It may have a bit of added sugar. Just make sure there's no added dairy.
12. Trail mix. It's a very portable snack choice, easy to make at home, and naturally good for you. Our ancestors, hunters and gatherers, would approve.
Okay, I'm going to get off my soapbox for today. These are MY goals. You can plagiarize and make them yours, too. I give you my approval!
Coke Tax
And no, I don't mean cocaine. Although I'm sure if we legalized the stuff and taxed it we'd fix our health care woes faster than lickety-split.
Anywho...
This business of taxing "junk foods" is pretty silly. I've been hearing a lot about it lately. Considering I'm a healthy eater and a typical stupid hippie, you'd think I'd be all about it right? Wrong. It's no solution or "quick fix" for America's expanding waistline. It's no solution for our failing healthcare. It's another stupid band-aid proposed by another stupid politician. Taxes on crappy foods won't solve much. Certainly it may raise some money but it will do little to fix an underlying problem...and what's that?
No simple answer!
Why is Average American X or Y overweight? Well, could be a number of reasons. We're quick to lay blame on the stereotypical American diet - fast food, processed foods, soda, sugar, and junk in general. The stereotypical diet isn't necessarily the case for many. There are other underlying reasons for being overweight that many gloss over such as: unbalanced diets, consumption of unknown food additives, little knowledge of daily caloric needs, yo-yo dieting, lack of activity (this is big), poor portion control, drinking sugary beverages, mindless snacking, and sabotage/emotional eating. The average person may eat a variety of whole, healthy foods but may overindulge or lack physical activity. Physical activity doesn't mean standard exercising...just means getting up off your rear and doing SOMETHING...cleaning, walking, mowing the lawn, laundry, gardening, what have you. Maybe this person likes to snack or graze and forgets how much they eat. Maybe they are eating as a response to stress. Maybe they have no fricking clue as to how dense in calories a standard restaurant salad actually is...Maybe they consume a high sugar diet but have no idea they do so (hint: lots of foods contain hidden sugar, believe it or not). Maybe Average American X is considered "overweight" by the standard weight chart but has healthy body stats. Chew on that one for a bit.
Repair starts at awareness.
First, we should focus on health. What's a key to better health?
Step one. Clean up your meals. Fad diets are just that...fads. Strive to eat real food and enough of it. Don't be tempted to starve yourself with goofy fasting. Eat whole, healthy foods including lots of vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, legumes, and whole grains. That's pretty basic.
Step two. Know your portions. I'm a psycho who tracks, weighs, and measures all my food, but that's not obviously for everyone. Have a general idea of what a portion is. I do recommend measuring food for a while to get a better idea. You'll be able to eyeball portions much better. A good rule of thumb for 3-4 ounces of meat is that it's the size of a deck of cards.
Step three. Learn to read a label. Know what the heck those food additives are. Some are controversial...some are just common sense to AVOID when possible. What are some chief dirty offenders? High fructose corn syrup (think: shitty sugar derived from corn), Nitrites (preservatives used in most deli meat), synthetic preservatives, partially hydrogenated anything (0% trans fat...not so if this is on the list), corn oil, refined sugars, artificial colorants, synthetic flavors, the list goes on.
Step four. Fitness. I do recommend folks clean up their diet before starting any fitness regiment. Why? Because fitness requires energy and proper fuel for the body. Supply your body with good, clean fuel in the form of good, clean food, and you're ready to go.
Step five. EVALUATE progress and tweak as necessary. Sometimes caloric needs go up and down. Many get technical and evaluate macronutrient ratios. I'd say this is a good idea, but you really need to get technical and log your calories to do so. I do so, but that's my own choice. Continue to evaluate your progress by taking measurements of your cholesterol, blood pressure, waistline, weight, body fat %, and heart rate. Increase fitness intensity as you progress in any fitness program...this means lifting heavier, bringing more intensity, etc. At the same time, learn when to lay off to avoid overtraining.
Step six. Learn to relax. Reducing stress is a key to being in better health. Being more healthy can lead to improved stress levels and a better sense of wellbeing, so these can go hand in hand!
I think things such as these should be embraced more by the public, but instead most fall for quick fixes to waistlines, fad (read: ridiculous) diets that make no nutritional sense. I've fallen for that b/s in the past and can say fads aren't lifetime fixes and usually just result in weight gain, sometimes more severe than before starting a fad diet. In addition to fad diets, many fall victim to fad workouts which don't establish healthy eating or fitness behavior, but rather dangerous situations of overtraining while not consuming enough calories.
Oh yeah, and fuel yourself with WATER...not crappy soda. So then if a crazy tax is imposed, you certainly won't miss it 
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