edco76
New member
Some of you may have noticed from some of my other posts I am a fan of Ross Enamait. I bought his book and have really enjoyed it. I also read his blog I really enjoyed an entry he had called Learning To Eat. It is nothing new but if you all are anything like me you need to re-read things you already know to stay on the path.
“I don’t eat cheat meals simply because I don’t like feeling like crap for the rest of the day. I prefer the taste of real food and also feel much better (physically) afterwards.”
Some readers misinterpreted my comments, and believed that I was referring to a psychological feeling. Please note that my comments were related to the physical after effects that often follow junk food consumption. An abbreviated list includes stomach pains, heartburn, indigestion, sluggishness, and nausea. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen someone shovel junk food down their mouth, only to complain for hours afterwards about how bad they now feel (physically). In my opinion, no food is worth this kind of misery.
One of the problems with dieting is the perception that you will somehow be deprived of certain pleasures in life. This perception is everything but true however. If we ever hope to slow the obesity problem in the world today, we need to spend more time preaching the benefits of a healthier lifestyle. An obese person already knows that it isn’t good for him.
Healthy Foods Taste Better
I’m in no way deprived. I don’t live to eat, but I do enjoy a well cooked meal. Healthy foods actually taste better. Unfortunately, most people in this world do not know how to cook. In a response to my last blog entry, Scott Kustes from the Modern Forager (great site) said the following:
“Junk tends to be either overpoweringly sweet or overpoweringly salty. Real food is earthy, minty, sweet, sour, savory, peppery, spicy, etc. I can make 10 different meals from ground beef, onions, and something green just by altering what spices I use.”
Those who struggle with weight problems are often uniformed. They need to realize that we aren’t all crazy. Life is good and we are not missing out on anything. You can’t expect to conquer a weight problem if you live the rest of your life in a perceived state of deprivation. I don’t live my life waiting for the next cheat meal to come along. I eat tasty foods every day of the week.
We all make choices based on personal preferences. You buy the shoes that you like. You buy the pants that you like. There is always a selection that you must wade through before coming to a purchase decision. The same idea holds true for food. You choose what foods you buy. And while some of the decision making process may be based on weekly sales or availability, much of the decision is based on what you want. What do you want to eat and why?
Unfortunately, the answers to this question rarely make sense. For example, who said that cereal is a breakfast food? Did our ancestors wake up and eat a bowl of Cocoa Puffs? Who came along and appointed cereal as the preferred breakfast food?
Perhaps a large commercial enterprise made the decision for you? Using Cocoa Puffs as the example, check out the financial statement from General Mills (the packaged food company that makes Cocoa Puffs):
General Mills
The food industry is in business to make money. Much of the world’s eating habits came from these powerful companies. As I quoted before:
“We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.” - John Dryden
Unfortunately, someone else has made many of our habits for us. The habit maker has priorities that do not involve your health and well being. Many modern habits are polar opposites to what the body actually needs. To overcome a problem with weight, you need to make new habits. These habits will not deprive you of anything. On the contrary, your quality of life will improve.
Over-eating bad food isn’t a reward. Perhaps someone else told you that it is, but when you consider the pros and cons, it simply doesn’t make sense. No one needs to over eat to enjoy life. Once you change your shopping habits, this will become more and more clear to you. Life’s greatest rewards do not include shoveling food down your mouth to the point of discomfort.
When I wake up early in the morning, it is common to see deer in my backyard. There are woods behind my house. The deer eat various grasses, weeds, herbs, etc. The woods are loaded with greens. A deer could eat all day if he wanted to do so. But guess what? I’ve never seen an obese deer stroll through my yard. And surprisingly, there aren’t deer appointed nutritionists or personal trainers. The deer simply eat the way they were intended to eat. Most humans in today’s world do not. Perhaps we could all learn something from a less intelligent animal.
Ross
“I don’t eat cheat meals simply because I don’t like feeling like crap for the rest of the day. I prefer the taste of real food and also feel much better (physically) afterwards.”
Some readers misinterpreted my comments, and believed that I was referring to a psychological feeling. Please note that my comments were related to the physical after effects that often follow junk food consumption. An abbreviated list includes stomach pains, heartburn, indigestion, sluggishness, and nausea. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen someone shovel junk food down their mouth, only to complain for hours afterwards about how bad they now feel (physically). In my opinion, no food is worth this kind of misery.
One of the problems with dieting is the perception that you will somehow be deprived of certain pleasures in life. This perception is everything but true however. If we ever hope to slow the obesity problem in the world today, we need to spend more time preaching the benefits of a healthier lifestyle. An obese person already knows that it isn’t good for him.
Healthy Foods Taste Better
I’m in no way deprived. I don’t live to eat, but I do enjoy a well cooked meal. Healthy foods actually taste better. Unfortunately, most people in this world do not know how to cook. In a response to my last blog entry, Scott Kustes from the Modern Forager (great site) said the following:
“Junk tends to be either overpoweringly sweet or overpoweringly salty. Real food is earthy, minty, sweet, sour, savory, peppery, spicy, etc. I can make 10 different meals from ground beef, onions, and something green just by altering what spices I use.”
Those who struggle with weight problems are often uniformed. They need to realize that we aren’t all crazy. Life is good and we are not missing out on anything. You can’t expect to conquer a weight problem if you live the rest of your life in a perceived state of deprivation. I don’t live my life waiting for the next cheat meal to come along. I eat tasty foods every day of the week.
We all make choices based on personal preferences. You buy the shoes that you like. You buy the pants that you like. There is always a selection that you must wade through before coming to a purchase decision. The same idea holds true for food. You choose what foods you buy. And while some of the decision making process may be based on weekly sales or availability, much of the decision is based on what you want. What do you want to eat and why?
Unfortunately, the answers to this question rarely make sense. For example, who said that cereal is a breakfast food? Did our ancestors wake up and eat a bowl of Cocoa Puffs? Who came along and appointed cereal as the preferred breakfast food?
Perhaps a large commercial enterprise made the decision for you? Using Cocoa Puffs as the example, check out the financial statement from General Mills (the packaged food company that makes Cocoa Puffs):
General Mills
The food industry is in business to make money. Much of the world’s eating habits came from these powerful companies. As I quoted before:
“We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.” - John Dryden
Unfortunately, someone else has made many of our habits for us. The habit maker has priorities that do not involve your health and well being. Many modern habits are polar opposites to what the body actually needs. To overcome a problem with weight, you need to make new habits. These habits will not deprive you of anything. On the contrary, your quality of life will improve.
Over-eating bad food isn’t a reward. Perhaps someone else told you that it is, but when you consider the pros and cons, it simply doesn’t make sense. No one needs to over eat to enjoy life. Once you change your shopping habits, this will become more and more clear to you. Life’s greatest rewards do not include shoveling food down your mouth to the point of discomfort.
When I wake up early in the morning, it is common to see deer in my backyard. There are woods behind my house. The deer eat various grasses, weeds, herbs, etc. The woods are loaded with greens. A deer could eat all day if he wanted to do so. But guess what? I’ve never seen an obese deer stroll through my yard. And surprisingly, there aren’t deer appointed nutritionists or personal trainers. The deer simply eat the way they were intended to eat. Most humans in today’s world do not. Perhaps we could all learn something from a less intelligent animal.
Ross
and when my family lived in Connecticut - we had deer in the backyard - they were pretty smart critters 
