Eat What You Deserve

Unfortunately sometimes people in the raw food community think they are being helpful and motivational when actually they are being just the opposite. If you take someone who is eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) and introduce them to these new ideas about food it can be a shock to the system. The average person is trying to free themselves from fast food and microwave meals and looking for help. To have a raw food guru gushing on about how they only are eating banana mono-meals and going on extensive water fasts doesn't relate to your average working man who needs to make it through the day with enough energy to do grueling physical labor in an urban environment. While immediate extremism may work for some, I feel that most people do best with gradual changes of everyday habits. I think this is more beneficial for our bodies, as well.

I wanted to take a moment on this blog to say this: There is no guilt, there is no shame. It is not your fault. You may be obese, you may have severe health problems. Your body may be swollen and skin may be horrific. You are not to blame. Your body is responding to what have become cultural norms for food, medications, daily chemical interactions, and environment. It is amazing that everyone is not obese and knocking on death's door. It is a miracle that our teeth are not falling out from excess sugar. These things aren't happening to you because you did something wrong. They are happening because our culture hasn't been doing what is right. Sit down in any average restaurant across the country and you are consuming massive amounts of sugar, bad oils, and GMOs. There is nothing in your office's vending machine that is good for you, and nothing at the local mini-mart that you can feel good snacking on. It is a set-up, trying to make it seem as though you are predestined to fail.

But you are not predestined to fail, because you have free will. And you can choose right this moment to take active steps to make improvements and seek out the answers. No one is going to be perfect, and I don't think health is really about perfection. It should be about improvement. I have seen too many people give up, thinking they simply are the way they are when they didn't see a change they were looking for. I also assumed that I was just going to keep getting a little heavier every year of my life. I assumed I would be taking anti-biotics to suppress my boils forever. I assumed nothing would ever improve my skin, though I would continue to put on chemical product after product in vain. But I have lost 40 pounds and my skin is improving, and I haven't had a boil in years.

Make changes. Listen to your body. Do your research. Take things out of your diet (meat, gluten, dairy, soy, canola and vegetable oils) and replace them with better ingredients. Make your own pace. Make your own meals. Do not let anyone tell you what you are. YOU are not FAT. YOU are not WEAK. You can be in control, and let no corporation, bully, or negative influence let you think otherwise.