Trendy Boomers and How to Improve by Tom Matt
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I have this thought on a series of articles about the thought and actions of âLooking Forward or Backâ.
I talk about this on the talk show, and in my book, âMaximize Your Quality of Lifeâ, so I thought what a great idea, a series of quick hitters.
So many of our quality of life issues revolve around a myriad of topics, so in building on how to look forward with positive energy letâs talk about different issues, today I want to cover some issues that can help our eating plans and taking back our future, here you go.
Think about these for a second:
Do you think people over-eat junk food because they didnât get the letter about sugar?
Or we continue to eat foods that pack on the belly fat not because we donât know how bad those foods are, but because we canât resist them â and thatâs by design.
Nobody smokes cigarettes because they didnât get the note about lung cancer.
You see, there are powerful forces that are seemingly outside of our control that conspire to not just make us fat, but also to make us sick, tired and even depressed.
I call these forces âLifeâs Small Troublemakersâ and they inflict havoc on our ability to control our cravings, combat urges and avoid temptation and result in stretched waistlines, failed diets and drained energy.
But there is a series of simple steps you can take to send lifeâ small troublemakers scampering, take back control of your life and your waistline.
Let me explain.
Lifeâs small troublemakers #1: Addictive Food
Big Food has learned how to layer their products with just the right, scientifically determined amounts of salt, fat and sugar to produce what they call âsuper-palatableâ food â or what you and I would simple call âaddictiveâ.
Brain studies have shown that these foods are just as addictive as drugs, alcohol and gambling are. Itâs no accident that âyou canât eat just oneâ.
For example, your brain remembers the sensation of eating fresh baked bread; I know I love the smell, our neurons secrete a brain chemical called dopamine which virtually insures that when the basket at the restaurant is put in front of you magically in empties and the server is smiling and asking âneed more breadâ?
âUhm sure!â
The next time you feel yourself being hypnotically pulled to eat a particular food, just know that there is some mad food scientist smiling somewhere, eager to line his pockets at your expense, so turn the other way and donât give him the contentment!
Lifeâs small troublemakers #2: Food Labeling Tricks
Manufacturers have to list ingredients used in greatest amounts listed first.
So when manufacturers donât want you to know that the main ingredient is sugar, they deceive you by using a dozen different forms of sugar so they can list each one further down.
Underhanded, well what do you think?
For example, all of the following are sugar in disguise: agave nectar, barley malt syrup, dehydrated cane juice, dextrose, corn syrup, brown rice syrup, raw sugar, turbinado sugar, sucrose, maltodextrin.
You can avoid succumbing to food labeling tricks by, well, avoiding foods that have labels in the first place!
Shop around the perimeter of your grocery story and eat fresh, whole, real foods focusing on leafy green vegetables and grass-fed, pasture-raised or organic meats.
Lifeâs small troublemakers #3: The Gremlin in your Brain
The reward pathways in our brains are powerful motivators, and they will trick your conscious mind every single time. Personally I believe that my dopamine is the cause of my personal problems with being semi-OCD, it is ok to be differant, we all are. Frankly my children think I am a freak, so I am used to the feeling.
Whenever you hear yourself saying, âAw, just one wonât kill meâ, âI just donât have time to cookâ or âI can start my diet tomorrowâ, you can be sure thatâs the big fat ugly âgremlinâ in your brain, doing the bidding of your dopamine reward system.
These voices can sabotage your willpower, but there is a way to turn the table: next time you hear this voice, think of it as coming from someone â or something else, like a gremlin.
By externalizing this voice, youâll then realize something âelseâ is trying to manipulate you and you can train yourself to ignore these voices.
Lifeâs small troublemakers #4: Chronic Stress
Chronic stress may begin in your brainâbut it ends up packing on packing on fat, especially around your belly.
When youâre stressed, one way body responds is by churning out a big dose of cortisol.
Cortisol âinstructsâ the body to preserve fat around the middle, stimulates insulin â the primary hormone responsible for storing the food you eat as fat â and it also breaks down muscle, slowing your metabolic rate and making fat storage certain.
And cortisol sends a signal to the brain to ârefuelâ for an emergency, usually with foods highest in fat, salt and sugar. The result? You walk around stressed and starving and youâll eat anything in sight, particularly the stuff that makes you fat and sick.
Because itâs so hard to resist temptation when you are stressed, the #1 way to combat the effects of stress you can do is to take an inventory of your life, and figure out how to minimize stress as much as possible. Also consider doing some form of active relaxation, whether meditation, yoga, deep breathing or something similar.
Lifeâs small troublemakers #5: Cheap Food Available 24×7
The previous 4 lifeâs small troublemakers wouldnât make much of a difference if the food that makes us fat and sick werenât available.
But it is. Everywhere. And thatâs little demon #5.
Hunting and gathering? Forget that noise!
Just go to the nearest drive through or pick up the phone.
Make that a double-double with extra double please.
The easiest way to combat this toxic food environment is to remove temptation from your immediate environment so itâs NOT convenient.
For example, at home, get rid of all the sugary junk food that will tempt you when your defenses are
down. If an urge comes, youâll have created a practical barrier thatâs large enough to give you enough time for that urge to pass.
What to Do Nextâ¦
These 5 of Lifeâs small troublemakers conspire to make us sick and fat â but that does NOT mean we are all doomed.
Simply by reading this article and becoming aware of these lifeâs small troublemakers that silently influence you to get fat, youâve taken the first step toward building a mental defense to withstand their assault.
More next time, looking forward as usual to your comments 🙂
Peace,
T
Try these thoughts, in your own way, and like I said if in one month you donât see a change, you donât feel a little bit better about things, send me an email to
Tom@boomersrock.us or see much more content at Boomers Rock
Tom Matt is the host of the weekly talk show âBoomers Rockâ, heard on WGHN 1370 AM Saturday mornings at 9:00 in Grand Haven, Michigan, and syndicated on the Internet here at VoiceAmerica. His show is also heard on the Spartan Sports network SSN/247. This is where he brings experts in to discuss all issues that enhance our quality of life.
Tom welcomes comments and feedback, on his site www.boomersrock.us, please join our family and change the world! Visit our website, sign up and become part of the solution, its free and always welcoming/
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