Eating right should be simple. Instead, the journey to good food is often one full of pitfalls, wrong turns, poorly marked road signs and frustration. It's no wonder so many of us run out of gas and grab for a bag of chips. Let's bring back the simplicity, shall we?
I believe you should know where a plane is heading before you hop on board, otherwise, you could end up in Barrow, Alaska with only a beach towel, sunscreen and a swimsuit. And when it comes to eating, that would be no fun. If you are looking for a vegan eating plan and wind up following a Paleo plan, honey, you're in for a rude awakening. So lets talk food philosophy.
What I believe:
1. I believe we were created by God. Sorry to those of you who believe we descended from monkeys and should therefore eat like apes. I'm not buying it. I also don't believe Adam was a caveman, so I don't need to eat a caveman's diet, either. I believe God was smart enough to design the perfect food to feed us, because it would be kind of dumb to make a man but not think about how to feed him. I think God is smarter than that. I figure that I can trust God's judgement when it comes to my food, and by eating things in as close to it's natural state as possible, I can have good health. And you know what? It's working out well for me and my family.
2. I believe we can eat meat (And fruit. And grains. And naturally occurring fats. And most of the other God-made things that modern society has demonized.) I could preach a whole sermon here, but I will contain myself, and just sprinkle my beliefs throughout this series. Consider yourself forewarned.
3. I believe that eating the right foods can help our bodies heal and become strong, and that the wrong foods can contribute to or even cause health problems. That means it's really important to make it easy to eat right.
4. I don't believe a science lab is a good food source. As I said earlier, I believe God made us and He made the food we should eat. That means that the further we get away from food's natural state, the further we are from food that will truly nourish us. So I don't believe a science lab is the best place to get our food, no matter how many tests the uber-smart scientists and governments ran to prove it's safe. I eat as close to the ground as I possibly can.
5. I believe in balance. I don't think it is very balanced to cut out whole food groups for long periods of time (unless you have a bona fide, proven allergy to said food group -- that's different, folks). Low fat diets have been proven to cause problems, low-carb has issues, vegan has issues, even low-glycemic has it's problems (we'll talk more about some of those diets plans later). Moderation is the key. To fuel all your systems properly, you need a balanced fuel supply.
6. I don't believe in being a food dictator. I figure you are smart enough to make your own food decisions without me shoving my opinions in your face. I'm a live and let live kinda gal. If you have strong opinions that oppose my food philosophy, wonderful. I'm just glad you're thinking about what you put in your body. By all means, do what you have on your heart. This series is geared more for those who aren't sure what they have on their heart, they just know what they're doing right now isn't it. They want more from their food and they want it to be easy.
7. I believe in less stress. Sometimes we stress out so much about making sure we eat all the right things that we undo the good with all the stress hormones (been there). Sometimes we need to just chill out. I try for eating well 80-90% of the time and don't stress the other 10-20%. Take a deep breath. It's gonna be okay. Pinky-promise.
Now that you know where the plane is heading, climb on board. It's gonna be a fun ride!
Next week, we'll talk about what real food is and how to buy real food in the real world (It's not as easy as you might think. But that's okay, 'cuz we're going to make it easy.) But in the mean-time, don't miss the first installment of Re-Fashion Friday, where I take totally hideous, unwearable thrift-store finds and turn them into something fabulous -- coming to a Friday near you!
