Just 9 days til Christmas – I feel the energy in the air!!  Along with a giant To-Do list in my notebook.

I’m going to blast some facts at you, because : All Behavior Is Belief Driven.  Think it’s hard to walk past platters full of doughnuts, cookies, or bagels without eating any? It depends on your belief:  do you believe that flour and sugar are literally toxic to your brain and body, or do you still look at food as calories that you can work-off or starve-off later?

Fact: flours that contain Gluten (a group of proteins that are in grains) have ADDICTIVE properties, they literally stimulate pleasure centers in your brain that make you want more.

Fact:  no human being on earth has the digestive enzymes to break down glutens from wheat, barley, or rye.  Think you don’t have a problem because you’re not a Celiac?  Celiac disease is an AUTO IMMUNE reaction to the glutens. That happens to some people.   For the rest of us, the damage accumulates over YEARS:  the undigested proteins leak thru the gut wall, inappropriately; our immune system responds to the foreign objects, and where we’re most vulnerable (joints, brain, nervous system, thyroid, etc) gets attacked.

Fact:  sugar has ADDICTIVE properties. Studies show that it’s MORE addictive than Cocaine.  In 1700, the average American ate 4 lbs of sugar a year; in 1800 it was 18 lbs;  in 1900 it was 90 lbs,  in 2009, it was 180 lbs.   

Imagine the power that foods containing both Gluten and Sugar possess.  Think you can have just a little?  Maybe,  there’s actually still some people left that can have a bite and walk away, but they’re in the minority.  Most people have their appetites seriously triggered, and it tends to stay triggered.

Fact: in 1890, 3% of the population was overweight,  in 2010, 70% of our population was overweight.

Fact:  Gluten and Sugar are conclusively linked to Cancer, Heart Disease, Obesity, Migraines, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Auto Immune Conditions, Depression, ADHD, ADD, Anxiety, and just about every disease out there.

Fact: 70% of Illnesses today are PREVENTIBLE.  70%.

There’s a sweet, sweet girl who’s wisdom I follow, her name is Charis.  She wrote one of the most profound statements this past weekend.  She said to spend time before the New Year thinking about what you manifested this past year.  OMG I LOVE THAT.  Our life, our body, our thoughts, our “luck”, our relationships, they’re all exactly what we made of them.  Evaluate where we are, where we want to be, and how to get there.  If it’s a different place, it won’t be doing the same old thing, that’s for sure.

We only have a few weeks left of the Change.   Nothing changes if our thoughts don’t change.  Nothing.  Actually, I should say, nothing PERMANENTLY changes.  Will powering through situations is do-able, for a little while.  Then there’s the backlash.  Remember that quote I used the other day, ” for every diet, there is an equal and opposing binge”?

Practice making the association between every bite you put in your mouth and your health, your energy, and your resilience.   If you have children, help them make that association too.  We live in a world that promises happiness if you drink diet coke or eat pop tarts and frozen pizza.  We’re bombarded with ads promising quick fixes with pharmaceuticals.  We see pictures of beautiful people indulging in alcohol, chips, and candy, sending the message that if they do that and look that good, we can do that and look that good.  It’s not true.  Our body, our brain, and our spirit need Real Whole Food, sleep, exercise, and love.

I’ve got 3 quotes for you; if you really want to change, write them down and meditate on them.  Post them on your lamp your mirror your steering wheel;  practice positive, productive thinking.

(1) “Most of us have practiced doing things the wrong way for years, we can’t expect everything to turn around in a few weeks. ”  Joyce Meyers

(2) “Change your thoughts and you change your world.”  Norman Vincent Peale

(3) “Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life.”  Golda Meir