What’s going on when food calls to you?  When you feel like you just can’t resist the pull of pastries at the office, ice cream late at night, chips at a BBQ, a goody from the counter at Starbucks, chocolate cake from your favorite restaurant, or french fries when you take your kids to McDees?  Is it that you have a terrible lack of Willpower?  No, because I bet that you display PLENTY of willpower in other areas of your life.  I bet you get to work on time and do your job.  I bet you make sure your kids are clothed, fed, and get their school work or obligations done.  I bet if you know a friend in need, you go the extra mile to help.  I bet if your trash needs to be taken out, or a toilet is clogged, you take care of it.  I bet you always brush your teeth and use soap.  In other words, you have WILLPOWER when you believe your actions matter!

If you can’t resist processed/refined/chemical laden foods, it’s that you probably think that those calories can be burned off/ compensated for later (they can’t).  If you thought you were putting POISON in your mouth, or that your kids were, you wouldn’t eat it.  If you looked at cake or Doritos and thought, “Wow, that’ll make my blood sugar go thru the roof – there go my arteries!  I’d be dealing with a big crash in a couple hours if I ate that.  And all the damage that gluten and those chemicals would do to my insides – cancer on a plate or cancer in a bag; and another headache.  Plus, I’d be bloated and mad at myself later.  ”

It’s all about your mind and what you really believe.

Here’s some ammunition:  When you eat the foods listed above, NOT ONE GOOD THING HAPPENS.  The initial excitement and happiness wears off after the 30minute/temporary rise of serotonin.   You’ve exposed your body to large amounts of sugar and refined carbs (which break down to SUGAR), INSULIN has to be released in equal/effective amounts, and the Sugar and the Insulin rush around your body wrecking havoc:  the nerves on the backs of your eyes are damaged, the nerves in your extremities are damaged, triglycerides are formed, AGEs(glycated proteins) are formed and deposited in the brain, the skin and elsewhere; the chemicals from these commercial products cause everything from ADD to migraines to cancer, the hydrogenated oils  and insulin horribly and terribly damage  arteries, and to top it all off, there’s a cascade of negative hormones that get released; and in your mind, you feel bad.

Here’s a little info on Gluten:  it’s a protein in several grains that is notoriously hard for ANY of us to break down.  If you eat bread or pasta all the time, and think that because you don’t have stomach problems you must not have a problem with gluten, the odds are you’re wrong.  The New England Journal of Medicine has listed 55 diseases that can be caused by eating gluten (these apply to your children too), several have to do with the gut, several don’t:  IBS, cancer, depression, anxiety, migraines, headaches, and all Auto-Immune diseases.  Remember, I said 55 diseases, so that’s just a few examples.

Gluten also triggers Opiate-like effects in the brain that Stimulate Appetite.  Do you want that?? Do you want that to happen to your kids?

Meditate on, read about, learn the effects of crappy carbs, hydrogenated fats, and chemicals.  When you start associating that kind of food with the Health Destroying Effects they cause,  then your Willpower will magically get stronger.

Accept that Calories-In, Calories-Out DOESN’T WORK.  Believe that eating Real Whole Foods comprised of traditional fats, plenty of protein, TONS of vegetables, some fruits, some nuts and seeds, and some dairy, will make you thrive, get you healthy, and allow you to achieve your ideal weight.

It’s all about what you believe.

I’m hosting another workshop on Friday, June 14th, at 1pm, on Cultured and Fermented Foods.  My friend and fellow NTP Gina Phelps, who is a certified Cultured foods expert, and GAPS certified to boot, will be leading it with me.  Let me know if you’re interested.