Six ways we sabotage ourselves:

High-fructose corn syrup.

Some say that it’s at least partially responsible for the rise in obesity in America. This additive has found its way into our food supply and is more intense (and cheaper) than sugar, training our taste buds to crave sweeter foods.

Supersizing.

You’ve seen the movie Supersize Me (or at least you should have). A little-known fact is that one of the ways restaurants are able to compete is to serve ever-growing portions of food. Have you seen the huge sodas lately? It’s time to start looking at quality instead of quantity. Try to split your meals with a friend and walk out feeling content rather than stuffed to the brim.

Trans fats.

Let’s put some very bad fats in food and not put it on the labels. It sounds illegal, but it’s not, at least until 2006. The only thing that might give it away is if you see the term “partially hydrogenated oil” along with a high total-fat content.

Fatigue.

It’s just good old-fashioned common sense here, folks—if you don’t sleep and get your rest, you run out of energy and end up craving a sugar fix. Also, part of what makes a diet work is “feeling good” and exercising, and you can’t do either when you’re tired.

Double-stuffed foods and loaded treats

Fried Snickers bars. Cheese fries. Mozzarella-filled pizza crust. Peanut-butter-packed pretzels. Brownie hot fudge sundaes. More foods are combining a few of your favorite things to send what was already an indulgence into a whole new caloric stratosphere (740 calories for a Dairy Queen Brownie Earthquake!). A regular slice of a large thin-crust pie from a “famous pizza place” is 190 calories; the stuffed crust plain pizza is 360 calories and almost double the saturated fat. None of this even sounds good to me!

Ourselves.

We can be our own worst enemy. We can’t blame just the food industry; we need to take responsibility for ourselves. Even if it is the industry’s “fault,” it’s our “problem,” and it’s not going away—it’s getting bigger. The solution is deceptively simple: We don’t have to buy it. If we change our ways, fattening-food purveyors will need to change theirs. They need us far more than we need them. We can win the war against weight, but we won’t win it lying down. We have many ways to fill the emptiness we feel inside without stuffing it with food, and bad food at that. If you have a weight problem, reach out for help. It’s there. Get educated in what’s going on in the food industry. Read "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser. Excellent book! Don’t think for an instant that you and a small group of people can’t make a difference. To quote Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

This article was re-published using permission from the Lotus Guide Magazine and it is copyrighted. No reproduction of this article is allowed without the express consent of the Lotus Guide Magazine.

The Lotus Guide Magazine is produced and published out of Chico Ca.
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