Welcome to Mini Resolution May! This is Part Two of a six-week, mid-year health tune-up; a quest to feel (and look) our best. In Part One we reassessed stale New Year’s Eve goals. This segment tackles the removal of crap snack food.
Going Out On A Limb (Kinda)
I assume that you clicked this link because you want to get healthy and lose weight for summer. That weight loss/diet changes were one of your New Years’ resolutions, too. And that those plans have fallen by the way-side. You know why I assume that? Statistics.
Study after study show what we all know: everybody is overweight and unhealthy, promises not be a week after Christmas and fails, so promises again when the temperatures start rising. I mean, look at what I wrote in Part 1: I’m a rather healthful person and I only half-completed my January goals. I want to lose weight for summer too.
Fine-tuning my diet by paying more attention to the processed food I mindlessly snack on will help bust the plateau of my weight loss. Not putting that crap in my body while eating more fruits and vegetables will make me feel better in general. The same goes for you.
Ready? Take a deep breath cuz we’re…
Ripping Off The Band-Aid
It’s time to quit snacking on crap. All of it. Now. All at once.
My toddlers snack on crackers and I join them more often than I’d like to admit. Or I hit the grahams once they’re asleep. If it’s in the house I’ll eat it. And I bet you will too.
So let’s get rid of it. Neither we nor our kids need it. Pitch all the super obvious junk like cookies, sugary cereal, chips, snack cakes, granola bars, toaster pastries, etc. Right now. Get a trash bag and throw it all away. We’ll pitch the not-so-obvious crap in a couple of weeks.
If you have older kids, I’m sure they’ll complain. Let them. If they have access to their own money they can have access to their own snacks. No one will starve. Everyone will be grumpy for a couple of weeks. This will be a time period of “doing it anyway.” Next week we’ll talk about mental tips and tricks to help us through it.
Some Depressing Resources About Why Processed Snack Food Is Terrible
Read These:
- A basic overview
- A bit more forcefully
- Learn how the food industry controls and wrecks our taste buds through “bliss points“
- This guy wants you to purge your kitchen too, cuz high fructose corn syrup is bad
- UW Medicine asks, “Just How Bad Is Sugar For You, Really?”
Watch These:
- Fed Up
- That Sugar Movie
- Fat, Sick, And Nearly Dead
A Small Side Note
If you find yourself thinking some variation of, “ugh, what fun is that? No Twinkies or Cheetos? That’s not a life worth living!” then you need to take a hard, long look at your priorities. I used to say that too. Number one, it’s a defense mechanism. Number two, it’s an easy thing to think before experiencing a health catastrophe.
My health catastrophe was the nerve injury I received during the labor of Big A. I was not in control of my body for six months; that was a jarring time. After tests, neurologists informed me that Big A and I would most likely start walking together, a year or so from their pronouncement. I quit eating processed food and was jogging within six months. And I don’t think that was an accident. Cutting out salt, sugar, and all the other inflammatory agents in Frankenfood led to a quicker response time in my left leg.
My symptoms were very similar to those of a stroke. Processed snack foods directly contribute to stroke, heart disease, diabetes, etc. Please take my word for it: no overpriced fake food is worth losing bodily control. I know it’s hard to accept, but those are the stakes.
Look At Me. These Are Our Snacks Now.
Whittling down snack choices can help drive a healthy life style. Having less choices can aid in decreasing decision fatigue. When our brains aren’t bogged down with decision fatigue, will power has a chance to shine. With will power present, we’re more likely to reach for (and eat) that apple.
Now we snack on:
- nuts and seeds
- homemade granola bars
- homemade chips (spray torillas with olive oil, cut into eighths, sprinkle with paprika and salt, bake for 12 minutes at 400 degrees, turning halfway through cooking time)
- air popped popcorn
- fruit and veggies (maybe in a smoothie)
- homemade hummus (pair with chips or veggies)
- natural nut butter (pair with fruit)
- any home made version of a processed snack you love (craving fruit roll-ups? Try this recipe for fruit leather. Pop Tarts? Check these out.)
That’s it. Those are our snack choices.
Let’s stop giving our hard-earned money to giant food corporations. They are fully aware that their products are killing us, banking that our collective lack of knowledge and discipline will keep us under their thrall. Let’s prove them wrong.
Missed part one of Mini Resolution May? Click here!
Happy detoxing!
Love,
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