YOU'RE BEING SET UP TO FAIL....RANT OF THE WEEK

I don’t want to SHAME anyone for their body. I want to HELP you feel better in the body you’re in, and to make the most of what you’re working with.

The reason we struggle to reshape our bodies to carry more muscle mass and reduce fat mass is because we are working in a rigged system. This is not a conspiracy theory, it’s not an excuse, and it’s not a way to pass the blame to someone else.

I saw a video once that REALLY stuck with me and it illustrates the point I’m trying to make. It was two groups of middle school students, sitting at a table that had a divider between the two groups. One side could not see what the other side had on their table.

Side A had three students and a laptop.

Side B had three students and a stack of encyclopedias and a dictionary.

See where this is going? The two groups were asked questions and had to look up the answers.

Make a guess which group found their answers first? Every. Single. Time.

Side A.

Side B became super frustrated because no matter how hard they tried, they could not look up the answers in the books as fast as the kids with access to the laptop.

Health, nutrition, and weight loss are currently in the same boat, but reversed.

We live in a society that has made access to unhealthy, non-nutritious, ultra-processed foods SO EASY and SIMPLE, it is actually harder to find healthy, nutritious options anywhere other than a grocery store. And even then, the plethora of unhealthy options still crowds the store shelves as well.

To add insult to injury, food companies also add extra sugars, salt, and fats to deliberately make those foods more addictive so you CRAVE them.

So, you eat a candy bar. An hour later, you’re hungry again. You eat some chips. Still don’t feel satisfied. Eat a cupcake or grab some snack crackers. You’re still hungry/not feeling satisfied and finally after getting half a pizza eaten you feel full.

Well, number one, those foods were INTENDED to make you want to eat more without actually helping you feel full. They are DESIGNED that way.

Number two, none of those foods has the nutrients your body needs. They have disproportionate amounts of MACRO nutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins), but none of the MICRO nutrients your body needs to function correctly. Don’t get me wrong, you NEED protein, fats, and carbs. They are called macro-nutrients for a reason. But if you don’t have proper amounts of micro-nutrients, along with phytonutrients, water, fiber, and other chemical compounds found in whole or minimally processed foods, the entire system is compromised and nothing works correctly.

This is why I’m saying we are living in a society that is designed to make you crave unhealthy foods.

And don’t get me started on the MARKETING of those unhealthy foods. Have you ever counted the number of food commercials there are during a sporting event on TV? Scrolling on your phone? Listening to the radio (for people who still do that)? The ads that come up when you just open up your browser?

Every single food commercial has normalized eating ultra-processed foods or fast food as an expected part of daily life. Once in a while you’ll get a commercial for avocados or milk, sometimes cheese.

Kids TV shows, eating hot dogs and hamburgers. Or pizza. Or cookies.

It’s not that these foods individually are “bad foods”. They were simply meant to be an occasional snack or treat as opposed to an all-day, every-day eating pattern.

This is what I mean about the marketing. You and your family are being marketed to every day about how “normal” and “expected” and “fun” these foods are. You’re hanging with friends or family, enjoying yourselves, eating pizza or chips or cookies or whatever, and no one has a care in the world.

The reality is these foods are intended to make you CRAVE them, and it’s supposed to seem completely normal and expected that these are your go-to eating options, as opposed to the fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds, whole grains, or lean protein options.

All of this is to say that, there’s a REASON it’s harder to eat healthy than you might think. How you grew up, the content you see every day, the easiest options in your area all play a part in what you eat. This includes the foods that are engineered to make you crave them the most.

It’s a complex and frustrating situation we live in today. There’s no easy answer for how to solve this problem. Telling a busy mom on the go to just “eat healthier” isn’t a simple solution. And it’s made worse when we are surrounded by a system designed to make us fail. That encourages unhealthy eating. That normalizes regularly eating junk food as opposed to having it occasionally.

And that is my rant for the week.

Feel free to read through my other blog posts, or you can also grab my FREE booklet: Healthy Meal Hacks for Busy Moms.