So, I've been on a bit of a mission this week... I watched a 2 documentaries this weekend, one called Hungry for Change, and the other a Ted.com talk by Jamie Oliver from 2010 (teach every child about food).
(The film is on netflix and I think you can see clips on YouTube.
http://www.hungryforchange.tv/)
It's a little bit 'hollywoodised', as many of these films are, but still quite an eye-opener about the evils of the food industry, and explaining why it's so difficult for us to stay healthy. The argument is that the food giants are acting like the tobacco companies did a few decades ago, by intentionally keeping us addicted to sugar, while at the same time making a fortune selling us diet products that don't work (they claim that artificial sweeteners mess with our insulin production and ultimately make us crave sugar and carbs even more).
For me, it drove home the message that we really ARE what we eat: the top causes of death (in western countries) are diet-related (heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes...), yet we spend more time worrying about bombs, plane crashes, murder (which are out of our control)... We spend a fortune on medicines, beauty products, etc. to try and patch up issues from the outside which could be easily solved from the inside. And so much of this is being driven by the media and the marketing giants telling us how we should look, what we should feel, and encouraging us to spend spend spend.
etc etc etc.
Off my soapbox now, but it has pushed me to make a few resolutions:
- ditch the artificial sweeteners as far as I can
- start a gradual detox by introducing 'super greens' (chlorellla, spirulina, etc.), juices, etc.
- increase my fruit and veg intake (I used to eat more of these pre-dukan...)
- cut out refined sugar as far as humanly possible
- limit the amount of processed food I'm buying, and go for whole / raw / real foods
- support local, organic, sustainable small producers
- remember that most of the elements of good health are completely FREE! Sleep, good breathing, walking, stress reduction, laughter, socializing, sunshine, water, eating less / fasting...
I know I'm guilty of being manipulated just like everyone else: I suspect that the current craze of personal data and the 'quantified self' is just another commercial trigger causing us to rush out and buy fitbits, wireless scales, etc. BUT I do also think it's making us more aware of ourselves, which is good.
Phew, rant over! On the weight front, I've continued logging in MFP and this week is looking much better. It confirms that the simple action of logging your food makes you eat less. So hopefully a decent weightloss to report by the time my new scales arrive!
Happy Thursday, everyone,
Cxx