Most Americans have the same problem when it comes to losing weight and staying well. The foods we like in our culture are, for the most part, terrible for us.
* Chocolate milkshake
* Chicken fried steak with steak fries
* Grilled hamburger with the works
* Mom’s favorite pie
I hope I’m not making you too hungry. You may not LOVE the items I just listed, but it’s a sure bet 90 percent of those reading this article could easily down at least one of those items RIGHT NOW!
The problem is, these items are sky-high in fat and other not-so-good-for-you ingredients, plus low in fiber. It seems like EVERYTHING that tastes good isn’t good for us.
If you don’t believe me, read the ingredient tables on all the “low-fat” foods at the supermarket. Almost all of them have much higher levels of fat than you would guess. Keep reading tables and you’ll likely get a little depressed. When I tried this exercise, I left thinking that carrots were the only truly low-fat item in the store.
One way to get the right idea about healthy food is to think about what we would eat if we didn’t have a supermarket up the street. Think about what great, great-grandma ate on the farm 100 years ago before all today’s convenience foods took over.
Chances are you would eat vegetables you grew in your backyard. You might occasionally dine on chicken you had raised yourself. Cows were very expensive in most areas, so it’s unlikely you would eat beef more than a few times a year. If you could catch a fish, you might eat that, and it wouldn’t be deep-fried!
Get the picture? That’s how almost all the peoples of the world ate until very recently. Humans were designed to eat vegetables and fruits mostly, with very little preparation and no additives.
Steer your diet toward that kind of old-fashioned thinking and you’ll be surprised how your weight goes down and your health improves.
And while you’re at it, remember that it’s been only fairly recently that people had automobiles. I’ll bet when your city was founded, most people walked everywhere they went. And that’s the other part of the equation. Get regular exercise to lose weight and improve your health. You don’t have to be an athlete, just get out and walk for a while several times per week.
Try these common-sense methods and you’ll be surprised how well they work.
