Bad Habits and Weight Loss
We all have habits. Unfortunately, more and more people seem to be living with more and more bad habits. Take a look at the video below…
Listen how Jack describes the shopping experience at the grocery store. Does it strike anyone else as odd that his words are still true in today’s world? It’s as if nothing has changed. The bad habits that Jack identified still plague our society today. I’m always shocked at the garbage that I see loaded in shopping carts. It’s amazing that many of these items can even be passed off as food.
You Can’t Eat What You Don’t Buy
When pondering your own shopping habits, it is useful to fall back on the advice of past poet John Dryden. In his words,
We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.
Now think how these words can apply to someone who is trying to lose weight. If you never buy junk food, how will you eat it in the middle of the night? You can’t eat what you don’t buy. By simply changing your shopping habits at the grocery store, you can begin to change your life (our habits make us).
As I’ve said before, often times the best advice is the most simplistic. If you want to lose weight, stop looking for quick fixes and temporary plans. If you really want to lose weight permanently, be prepared for a lifestyle change. Start with the basics. Shop the perimeter of your grocery store. Shop your local farmer’s markets (great way to often save money). Eat real food (ex. plants, animals, fish, etc.).
If such foods were all you ever bought, it is actually difficult to become (or stay) overweight. No one becomes fat by eating too many carrots and apples, and no one opens your mouth and forces you to eat junk. And just in case you didn’t know, healthy foods are often far tastier than even your favorite junk food.
Personally, I don’t count calories and I don’t count nutrient ratios. I don’t count anything. I eat healthy, fresh, real food throughout the day. I eat to live, rather than living to eat. I find joy in life and activity, not by pigging out at the dinner table. I don’t eat cheat meals simply because I don’t like feeling like crap for the rest of the day. I prefer the taste of real food and also feel much better (physically) afterwards. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you need a cheat meal. If you are eating the way you should, you’ll be eating tasty meals all along.
I’m not suggesting that we all become fanatics, but don’t live your life waiting for the next cheat meal. I enjoyed some ice cream on my son’s birthday this past weekend. I’m not a food freak. I do however prefer the taste of fresh/real food over any artificial/processed junk. Eating real food is one habit that I’ll keep for the rest of my life.
Ross
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Right on, Ross. I like your comment on how healthy food is tastier than junk food. That is so right. I used to like eating at Wendy’s once in a while for fries and a chicken sandwich. Now, I realize just how bad the stuff tastes. The only “cheat” meal I have really ais ice cream once a week (organic, not sickeningly sick, and really good). I wouldn’t eat a Big Mack if you payed me. Not only would I feel like crap, but it tastes like crap. How people can eat there as often as they do is beyond me.
Well said! You couldn’t pay me to eat that crap either. I honestly don’t know how people manage to eat “it” (it = unidentified foreign objects)
i used to eat a lot of double cheeseburgers at mcdonalds when i was fat. toward the end of my eating there, i couldnt tell if i had just eaten the double cheese or rubbed it on my face. i just felt greasy and wanted to take a nap.
i saw that video before, and i couldnt belive it at first, but its true the perimeter is much safer and healthier.
and definitely cant eat what you dont buy.
although the water, and spices are in the aisles lol
you gota make a trip to no mans land!
I think moving out played a massive role in my weight loss. It is very true that when you live by yourself you shop for yourself, and the only time I even have the option to make a bad choice is when I’m in the local grocery store. If I can fight temptation for those 20 minutes I know I’ll eat healthy for the next couple of days! I now see crap food for what it really is, crap. It might seem like ‘good’ food tastes bland and boring at first, but that is only until you learn how to cook. Even just the basics will make a drastic change for the better and is kindof fun too!
Totally agree, people make it hard for themselves on their own.
It’s strange but since I’ve started training I hate the taste of fast food. I used to eat plenty of chips (fries) and burgers etc before and loved them, but my body just doesn’t like the stuff nowdays.
Right on Ross. I like that line, “You Can’t Eat What You Don’t Buy”. I am guilty of peeking in people’s carts in the store. Typically the size of the individual is proportional to the amount of chips, cokes, and candy in the cart. It’s sad.
Man, I’m always telling people that real food tastes way better than the fake stuff in the grocery. Junk tends to be either overpoweringly sweet or overpoweringly salty. Real food is earthy, minty, sweet, sour, savory, peppery, spicy, etc. I can make 10 different meals from ground beef, onions, and something green just by altering what spices I use.
Cheers
Scott Kustes
Modern Forager
You’re totally right but I can’t help but love the taste of burgers and having cheat meals (sometimes even cheat days, yeah I know) Although I love the taste of real and unprocessed stuff as I feel good and more energized throughout the day but sometimes I feel like f*ck it I want to eat this artery clogging, mouth-watering cheeseburger sounds delicious too. But there are a lot of things that I really hate now like high fructose corn syrup, that sh*t is nasty and leaves a sticky feeling in your mouth and I had ran out of water one day and thought one of my dad’s cans of Dr. Pepper wouldn’t hurt. I was wrong, I felt gross, sick, stomach hurt, it was weird. But I’d be lying if I didn’t like all those pizzas, cheeseburgers, wings, and delicious fries.
I totally reviewed your whole article, and while what you’ve said totally made some sense, but there are some who may not see the whole world as you would.
First, I know that yeah, junk food is bad, but who says it was totally bad? The only reason it’s unhealthy is because people eat it repeatedly. Just because you have a cheeseburger (and just one!) doesn’t mean that your’re going to fatten. You shouldn’t feel bad about what you eat, even if you crave it.
I excercise and eat right, but if I want some fries, then why not? And I don’t eat it everyday, and I will not eat it everyday. I cook real foods and stay true to what I’m supposed to eat…I think there is a word for that: Self-control.
If you’re a person who can control him/herself, then you would understand that life is all about moderation. You only live once, so why not? I personally believe that moderation is the key to life, as well as good physical activity. I read this article and it just offended me to read that you should feel like crap just because you ate one burger.
I know that you’ve worked hard to hone your body to new heights, but at the same time, is your body going to actually fatten because on one chips, one ice cream, one this, one that?! If self-control kicked in, then maybe you wouldn’t be saying that junk food is bad. Like I said, junk food is not necessarily bad; it’s the ones who take it profusely.
I just want you to know, Ross, that everyone is different, and no one feel bad about what they eat. Life’s too short to feel like crap.
Ren - First, you’ve GROSSLY misinterpreted what is written above. My statement above was related to physical feelings, not emotional or mental. My body however does not respond well to junk food. I prefer the taste of healthier selections, and also prefer how I feel afterwards (ie. satisfied, not bloated or stuffed, etc.). I often see people eating greasy foods, and then observe them complaining about an upset stomach, sluggishness, nauseous feelings, etc. These are the “crappy” feeling I’m talking about.
The message to this blog entry is twofold. First, by simply adjusting daily habits, one can live a much healthier life. In addition, real/natural foods actually taste much better than the processed foods that fill supermarket shelves. You will physically feel better. I’m not talking about mental/psychological feelings. That is an entirely different subject.
Ross
Alright, I greatly apologize for the comment made. I understand that natrual is better, but everyone’s appetite is different. I guess I have a diffent approach to losing weight, and you do too.
So what exactly is considered processed or “fake” foods? For example is cheese considered fake, how about protein shakes? And are they bad for you?
Much of your intake should consist of those foods that used to walk, fly, swim, or grow from the ground.
So how would you describe a balanced meal plan through out the day? In other words what would be a sample meal plan?