Things I Can't Believe

1. I can't believe that the latest supposedly health oriented magazine that arrived at my house yesterday, suggests a 1200 calorie per day diet, where lunch consists of a frozen food entree. Bad, bad, bad in so many ways. 1200 calories a day, unless you are a smaller, lighter weight person, would throw most of our bodies into starvation mode. This is where your metabolism slows down to accommodate the lack of food intake, making it much more difficult to lose weight. OK, then, the frozen food entree. These are typically loaded with salt and other preservatives and who knows what chemicals. These are not real food products. These are chemistry experiments. Don't beat yourself up if you eat one once in a while, but, if you're eating frozen entrees on a frequent basis, then you could really use my help with setting up a plan for healthy eating.

2. I can't believe how many different "energy" and "nutrition" bars are being sold in stores, to people who seem to think that they are eating something healthy! Buyer beware...most of these "energy" bars are no more than candy bars and are loaded with added sugar and chemicals. Read the labels! There are some minimalist products out there that are actually made with real food. My favorite is Lara bars. They come in a bunch of yummy flavors, and are made with only a few ingredients. The Cashew Cookie flavor contains cashews and dates. That's all. The Coconut Cream Pie flavor contains dates, unsweetened coconut, almonds, cashews, and extra virgin coconut oil. That's all. Of course it's more ideal to just eat real fresh food, but, when I need an emergency snack, I'd much rather eat these than some other bar that has a list of ingredients a mile long, most of which I can't even pronounce.

3. I can't believe how many magazines spend the first half of each issue telling you how to lose weight, and the second half of each issue, giving you recipes for cakes, cookies, and brownies! But if you look at the advertising pages in those magazines, you'll notice that a lot of their ad revenue comes from companies that sell these "food" products...Nestles, Duncan Hines, etc.. Coincidence? I think not!

4. I can't believe how many products and gimmicks there are out there that guarantee quick weight loss. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting an infomercial on tv for the latest gimmick. And they must sell well enough to pay for those expensive infomercials plus some. If you know anyone who has tried any of these gimmicks/tricks/products/diets, etc., that has lost weight, kept the weight off long term, and looks and feels good and healthy and strong, then please tell me about it. I'd love to hear it, because otherwise, I just don't believe it!

Not a day goes by where I don't literally say, "Wow, you've got to be kidding!" Now, I don't want to get stuck here with negative energy, so I will end by saying.....be a smart consumer, and a smart advocate for your own health and for your own healthy lifestyle. Make smart decisions. Make healthy decisions!