Garbage Eaters

It seems our society is becoming more aware of how the food industries are affecting our lives. Maybe we are just fed up with all the disease and obesity. Maybe it is due to the fact that social networks and blogs allow the masses to have a voice and rely less on mainstream news sources. Maybe it is from all the documentaries revealing the truth. Or it might be all of the above. Regardless, it pleases me to see people making smarter choices and finding ways to educate themselves rather than just sticking to government issued diet suggestions. I mean, Congress wants to allow tomato paste on pizza to be counted as a vegetable for school lunches.  Really?! How is that okay?

I am not saying I’m perfect – late night frozen pizza on the weekends may or may not be my guilty pleasure. But if it hadn’t been for finding ways to enhance my athletic performance, I’d still be blindly shopping the food isles without so much as a glance at a nutrition label. Educating myself on ingredients has led me to abandon most of my former favorite foods which was sad at first.  However, after switching to low or no processed foods, they don’t even taste good to me anymore.

It is one thing to allow sodium laden, trans-fat filled, corn syrup loaded, and petroleum colored “food” as choices, and another one entirely to allow manufacturers to deceptively “fortify them with vitamins” and label it as healthy. Between being bombarded by processed products that are falsely disguised as food in the grocery aisle and the cheap fast food on every corner, we don’t  stand a chance.

I could go on and on about our food system but it is easier to just keep it simple. I have a list of ingredients I avoid completely and make it a rule to only shop the outer perimeter of the store. Luckily, by avoiding most of the isles in the middle, you also avoid the most harmful processed foods. All the fresh meat, dairy, and produce surround them and, aside from choosing hormone/pesticide free, they are most likely your best choices.

Should you decide to venture down the cereal or snack aisle, I encourage you to read the ingredients on every label. If there are more than a handful listed, or if you can’t pronounce something, keep walking. Here are the most common culprits to avoid:

Trans fats – manufacturers are now required to eliminate trans fat from products but are still allowed to use it if it is under a certain amount per serving. In order to get around this, they usually just make the serving size smaller. Look for partially-hydrogenated oils in the ingredients and stay away from this heart killer.

Sodium – It is no secret that we love salt. But many processed foods have an unnecessary amount hidden away which increases our intake without our knowledge.

High fructose corn syrup – It’s nothing more than cheap sugar. It is in everything and I do mean everything, from breads, beer, and bacon to cereal, spaghetti sauce, and soft drinks. This sweetener upsets the metabolism and increases the risk for diabetes. No thank you.

Artificial colorings – Isn’t it nice when the color of your food makes your eyes glimmer? Not when the additive that makes it look so pretty is linked to tumors, asthma, and ADHD.

There are countless preservatives beyond these that are used in our foods. Obviously, the government is doing nothing to change things. So, we’re on our own. It’s up to us to choose what we put in our body.

Hobby is Just Another Word for Distraction

I’m Kim and currently sun-starved in Seattle. It is the beginning of winter gloom, but luckily it is December. Holiday cheer and bright lights serve as a pleasant distraction from my lack of vitamin D absorption. Festive, over-indulgent parties, full booze and edibles certainly help too. But once December ends, the distractions are few and far between. Yeah, I know: resolutions. Thing is, I don’t really do resolutions.

 

Sure, they make you feel better about partaking in all those parties. For a bit. But it just seems like a giant shock to your system to suddenly switch gears. That inevitably leads to failure, at least for me, having reached my late twenties without having had found much success with the once a year push for resolve.  I’m really not as pessimistic as this sounds. Really. I am, however, all about finding balance which is why I compete in triathlons and incorporate yoga into my daily routine.

 

Having a sport or two to focus on forces me to make better choices. Of course I still imbibe (maybe a little too often) in drinks with friends and the occasional late night pizza binge but the rest of the time I am pretty damn adamant about choosing healthy non-processed foods. And not just in January, but ALL year long.

 

So that brings me back to finding a distraction from winter gloom. Since I incorporate these habits throughout the year, I need something fresh to keep me occupied when it feels like 20 below and all I want to do is huddle under the covers. With my on again, off again dating life, I think it’s time to blog. I know. I’m a little late to the game; who doesn’t have a blog now? But better late than never! Right?

 

I already love micro-blogging (read: obsessed with Facebook and Twitter), so long form blogging seemed like the logical next step. An outlet for my random thoughts about life, rants about proper nutrition, struggles and triumphs in training, and maybe some juicy details about my  on again, off again dating life.

 

I’m not sure who will read this, maybe just me. I do hope to spark some inspiration or discussion with others who also feel  like they are navigating their late-twenties blindly but realize that it is possible to at least get through this and sun-deprivation with a positive outlook on what life has to offer.