How to stop eating crap

What's wrong with 80% of the food in the grocery store aisles? It's crap. That's right. Crap. Marketing and advertising wrapped up in a pretty box or bag. Yes, there is some good there, but you have to look hard and you have to be educated. You have to do this because the food companies out there are not going to do it for you. Here's a little tidbit - they want to make money. They make money when you buy their products, their boxes and bags.

So - how can you stop eating crap? 

Well, first of all, let's try to define crap, at least my definition of it. I write this after teaching a Healthy Shopping 101 class at local Publix last night when I introduced the word "crap" to attendees. As in, this food is crap. This marketing is crap. And the ever popular, this aisle is crap. I guess you had to be there...

Crap is processed foods. Crap is high-sodium, high-calorie, high-fat, high-sugar processed foods that come in a box, bag or can. They do not have to fit ALL of these categories, just one or two. Crap is not natural. Crap is loaded down with high fructose corn syrup [don't even get me started on that, that's enough for a whole blog, okay making a note, next blog will be on hfcs, ugh]. Some examples of crap:

• Cereals
• Frozen meals
• Most soups
• Most canned veggies and fruits
• Most protein bars

So - let's talk about 3 ways you can stop eating crap:

1. Substitution - This is when you are used to eating a particular food and you get addicted to eating that food. When you decide to lose weight or live a healthy lifestyle, that food has to go. So you find a substitute. For example, if your weakness is ice cream, like mine was, then you find an alternative for ice cream. Mine was cottage cheese, specifically, blending cottage cheese with frozen fruit and pudding mix to make a concoction that resembled ice cream. If your weakness is chocolate candy, like mine was also, then you find an acceptable protein bar. Another substitution - baked potato with butter and sour cream. A healthier alternative would be a baked sweet potato with butter buds and cinnamon. See what I'm getting at? Let's move onto the next way...
2. Moderation - This is when you have already made the substitutions and you are eating healthier foods, but you still need to cut back. For example, a protein bar replaced my daily candy bag of M&M's, but still, a protein bar is not natural. For a while, it was a good substitution for me, but continuing in my weight loss journey, I had to give it up a little bit. Moderation. Moderation means cutting back. Instead of having a protein bar every day, I would have one every other day. Then, after weeks or months of that, I would cut it back to once a week or so. Just because a food is healthy, you can STILL overeat a healthy food. Moderation means balance, not eating the same thing day after day, finding healthy alternatives and eating them moderately. And the last way...
3. Elimination - This is when you have already made substitutions, you have already made moderations, now it's time to really cut back. Plateau's are a good reason for elimination. You lose 20 lbs. but you cannot lose the last 10. You lose 50 lbs. and have 50 more to go, but you cannot get past a certain number on the scale. You are close to making your goals, but can never seem to reach it. Elimination. That's right, cut-throat, eliminating the food from your life. This can be permanent, this can be temporary. I have had to do this several times from my own life. It's okay. You will live through it. For example, I had to give up chocolate for a period, to get me to the next level. There are a couple of things I had to give up in order to get me where I wanted to be - examples - peanut M&M's, ice cream, cereal, protein bars. Now, some of those I can eat in moderation, some I cannot. The ones I cannot are trigger foods for me. Meaning if I have one, I have to have another or something like it, and it triggers me to eat poorly. 

Most people fail to stop eating crap when they completely skip #1 substitution and #2 moderation and go straight to #3 elimination. Some people can do that, most cannot. If you cannot go cold turkey and give up what you are used to eating, don't be discouraged, take it slow and start with #1 substitution.

You can stop eating crap. You know you need to. So do it. 

I'm here to help you.