My Opinion on so-called "healthy" foods...for what it's worth.

The title of this blog might not be catchy, but I don't want to brow beat, so I figured I would just start off with the truth.  The truth is that this particular post is just my opinion.  Sure I may throw in some links, or smart stuff I read, or a few known truths, but ultimately I am just pouring out what I feel..  While some may not read this, or others may read it and go, "whatever," my hope is that some will read it and think "interesting, maybe she has a point."

My Stef Cooks Clean Facebook page is devoted to clean eating recipes and pictures.  It's about the food!!  It's about how easy it is to cook and to cook healthy.  My blog on the other hand is about my journey with food, health, exercise and wellness.  So I reserve my right to say it how I feel it.  However, I do not want to shame, condemn or make to feel inferior anyone who choses to read my blog.  If you are reading this you are a friend, and I don't want to do any of those things to a friend.  What I want to do is educate, mostly because I wish I knew then what I know now.  I wish someone told me 10 years ago all the mistakes I was making in diet and food.  I wouldn't have destroyed my metabolism nor filled my system with so many toxins (and I am not talking pesticides here).  I wish someone would have done for me what I hope to do for someone else.

DIET - noun - The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.
           verb - Restrict oneself to small amounts or special kinds of food in order to lose weight

There is nothing wrong with the noun form of that word, but I LOATHE the verb form of that word.  And no, it's not because I've done it for a lifetime and still have weight to lose, ok, yes it is :)  And because it is a viscious cycle that chained me to obsessing about food.  Not just obsessing about eating it, or not eating it, but everything about it.  From now on I want to focus more on the noun form in my life, that is what most people need to change, not the verb.

Disclaimer - Now I know everyone who reads this blog doesn't have weight to lose, many of you are the perfect weight.  And for those that are, wouldn't you prefer to stay that way?  You may think that eating eating certain foods disguised as healthy is one way to do it, but ultimately, you are also being sabotaged.

The problem with changing one's diet isn't so simple, because there are bazillion dollar weight loss and processed food industries out there to sabatoge you.  It's like with illness, the money is not in the cure, it's in the medicine, so neither want to cure obesity or unhealthy habits, they just want to give you hope that quick fixes, magic pills and sugar-free/fat-free products will do it, while you just lose some weight to gain more back or are left with nagging headaches or irritable bowel and don't know why.  All the while they are getting richer!  It's kind of hard for one person to fight that entire system.  Though honestly, I believe the more we educate people on food, the more chance we build an army, and the better chance we have of winning, at least our own battles.  But I am getting ahead of myself.  I absolutely do not have the means to take down an entire corporate world of food and greed, but I do have the power to not let them control me ever again.

I came to writing this blog because of witnessing some of the younger girls at the restaurant I work at on weekends.  They are all very early 20's, and all trying to get their bodies ready for summer.  They have gone back to the gym (which is never a bad thing), and they have opted not to partake in the restaurant food (even better, if you are someone who works there 6 days a week and eat there 6 days a week!  Eating out is not a sin, but when it becomes the staple of your diet, it is absolutely not healthy...no matter what you think on that menu is healthy, it's nowhere near as healthy as cooking your own meal).  However, to replace those meals they are eating fat-free peach yogurt, grocery store brand granola, Planter's Nut-rition peanut butter, and veggies (good) dipped in fat-free ranch dressing (bad).  Other than the veggies, do you know that every other item they are consuming because they are trying to lose weight has SUGAR or CORN SYRUP in the top 3 ingredients??  They are only hearing "yogurt is good for you, fat-free will make me skinny, peanut butter is good for you," and these are gimmicks they are made to believe.  They are frustrated as to why they aren't losing weight faster (an education for another blog), and they feel like something is wrong with them.  Very unhealthy thoughts being put in the heads of young girls, and I think it is disgusting!

So my main point of this whole blog is this:  Read your labels.  I am not saying you have to go out there and buy all organic, grass-fed, cage-free products.  I'm not saying you have to overhaul your entire families way of eating (though if you can, bravo).  All I am saying is read your labels so that you aren't duped into staying overweight or unhealthy.  If you are anything like me, you have spent tireless hours obsessing over what you are eating and your weight, but it doens't have to be like this.  Stop buying the fat-free/sugar-free food.  Stop restricting your calories - that is the #1 thing you are doing to destroy your metabolism.  Break free of the brainwashing.  Eat real, healthy foods and move more and you will find you feel better, and weight is coming off, and you won't be obsessed or stressed, which is another thing that sabotages weight loss, and I don't just mean emotional stress, severe calorie restriction causes the body massive stress.  Don't fall victim to the corporate greed in food and weightloss, educate yourself on what you are putting in your body to sustain health, stop obsessing and stressing, and eat and move!

Planter's Nut-trition Banana Granola Peanut Butter Ingredients

Trader Joe's Natural Peanut Butter Ingredients  (If you can't get to a TJ's, Smuckers makes a Natural Brand that is just as tasty and healthy, and can be found in your grocery store, in the same section, for maybe a 10 cents more)