Check or Wreck Yourself!

Once I committed to dumping Diet Coke, I started to check other foods I was eating, and quickly learned that I was in jeopardy of wrecking myself for life! Hence the title. I consider myself an educated person, but I was earning an F in food knowledge. My goal is to share the most crucial steps I took on the road to Real Health, Wealth, and Happiness, and pass them along to you so you can join me!

1. Fat Free-The first thing that blew my mind was how bad packaged fat free foods are. I bought many fat free foods thinking I was decreasing my calorie intake, but found myself reaching for an extra handful on several occasions to help me feel full. The reason? They took out the fat when heart disease was on the rise and replaced it with addictive processed sugars. Plus fat free foods are often loaded with artificial flavors, extra preservatives, and other toxic chemicals. Luckily many are on the way off the shelf.

2. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)-The number of children with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes is rising at an alarming rate in the United States. The amount of sugar people consume in the U.S. has increased from 20 teaspoons per person per year to 150 pounds per person per year. The problem is HFCS is everywhere in foods like barbecue sauce, ketchup, jelly, snacks, drinks and more. A few weeks ago my husband and I went on a date night and ate at a very well known barbecue restaurant in Cincinnati. I decided to splurge and get some ribs. The sauce was so good, and I just couldn't stop eating. At the end of the meal we were walking out and they had bottles of sauce for sale. I thought it must be made of high quality ingredients. #1 HFCS! Wreck myself! Capri Sun is another one I see children drinking all of the time. The packaging boasts 25% less sugar, #2 ingredient HFCS, and still has 16 grams of sugar.

3. Antibiotics in meat and dairy products-Some meat and dairy products are chocked full of antibiotics to help animals grow bigger more quickly. Antibiotics are also used to treat animals that live in cramped quarters and easily contract infections. Some research suggests that people can become over exposed to antibiotics, which causes antibiotics to be less effective when they are given to people. Plus I decided I didn't want my family to eat meat from sick animals.

4. Artificial Sweeteners- I mentioned reasons artificial sweeteners can be harmful in my post about Diet Coke. The problem is they are in thousands of foods and drinks, so you really have to start examining your food labels. Some studies link artificial sweeteners to cancer, but the most alarming problem is how addictive they are, which is why is makes it so hard for people to stop drinking or eating things with these sweeteners in them.

5. Sodium-When we got back from our date night I was a couple of pounds heavier, which was no coincidence. The amount of sodium that is in some processed foods, fast foods, and even restaurant foods is astronomical, and causes you to retain water. I gained fifty pounds when I got pregnant with my second daughter and was retaining tons of water. The culprit? Frozen meals, fast food, and processed foods.

Your goal sometime during the next two weeks is to look in your pantry and refrigerator and check the labels to see if any of the foods you have contain excessive amounts of these 5. Then start to turn over items you are thinking about buying at the grocery store and check those labels. Begin with reducing the use of 1 of them, and then continue to reduce the use of all of them. There are still times when we slip up (like date night), or make an impulse buy without researching it properly. My husband hasn't fully committed to all of the steps, but he is starting to buy in after continuing to lose weight and to feel better when we check ourselves. Take the next step on the road to Real Health, Wealth, and Happiness, and you won't wreck yourself. We are here to cheer you on, so let us know how you are doing and leave a comment!