An Obesigenic World.

I've been reading through "Dr. A's Habits of Health" these last few days and it does a very good job of pointing out the fact that we live in a society saturated with advertisements for "tasty" but cheap JUNK foods, reduced activity levels and increased stress.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I can't help but conclude, we live in an obesigenic world.

"Obesigenic: likely to cause someone to become excessively fat"

I do not think it is merely coincidence that both times I lived in the United States I have put on an excess of 15+ lbs. I used to say "I don't know why but living in the US just doesn't suit me! I can't stay healthy." I still make the foods I love, my soups. I still eat healthy things. So why the weight gain?

Well, part of it may be the stress of my environment. I have had to deal with great amounts of change. Challenges in work. That's one factor.

Another factor can be that whenever I live in the US, I drive a car. Outside of the US, I have always lived in cities that do not require a car. I walk everywhere and anywhere that can not be walked to, I walk to a train or a bus. I was more active in daily life.

But the biggest factor, in my opinion, is the availability of cheaply made, seemingly delicious, unhealthy foods. When did "deep fried" become code for "delicious" sweet readers? I feel like it is expected of me to "ooh" and "aah" when I hear "quadruple-layered, cheese on the inside, cheese on the outside, extra mayonnaise, deep fried in high fructose corn syrup, with a twinkie in the middle" products being advertised every 12 seconds on the television. Really? THIS monstrosity is what is considered delicious these days? Oh dear. Derrald looks at me like I've lost my marbles when I sit down in front of my wilted spinach with freshly squeezed lemon juice (right from my mother's lemon tree) and exclaim "Mmmm. Delish!!" Seriously. Spinach rocks people. If you'll let it. It's all about your mind. Training your mind to understand what is good (and actually quite delicious!) and what is not.

Don't get me wrong. I love a piece of cake as much as the next guy (probably more) and I can "chocolate' you under the table any day of the week. I'm just saying they make it difficult for us. Knowing this can empower you. You can make adjustments to your environment to help yourself. Find places to walk, activities that will expend more energy instead of less, and don't believe them when they tell you it's more outrageous and therefore, more delicious!!

Sadly, it's not financially encouraging to eat healthy. They charge you your first born son just to buy a bell pepper... . Unhealthy foods should not be cheaper but they are. It's not fair. So you have to be strong, friends. When I'm at the supermarket I try and remind myself that my health is WORTH the money I pay for the pepper. If I buy the yummy vegetables that I like and make fun recipes, I am happy. Money well spent.

Doing the 5&1 has helped somewhat by taking the choice out of it. It gives you time to adjust. Suddenly, just the thought of eating that Cinnabon I shared with D in the airport sickens me. What a horrible cinnamon roll. It was so greasy. Why was it greasy? One day I will make my own cinnamon rolls and they will be delicious. I will know what is in them. I will not gorge myself on them. I will enjoy them as part of my balanced diet. But until that day, I'm happy remembering how good the crunch of fresh iceberg lettuce feels, how tingly the taste of fresh tomato, a little salt and some olive oil tastes, and how many ways there really are to cook chicken.

I leave you with an image of the lemons we brought back from my mother's tree in Danville, CA. 

Stay strong friends!