Does It Go Bad? (part 1)

It's a simple question I ask people about the food they're eating when they ask, is this good for you?  Well does it go bad???  Now there are plenty of foods that are great for you that don't go bad within a week or so, please don't think I'm suggesting some kind of new shelf life "diet" (I'm not.)  I am here to simply begin an internal dialogue with you about the food you or your loved ones are eating and serving - ESPECIALLY if you're trying to lose weight.

I'm going to tackle this conversation from all different angles, and if you're interested in contributing your $.02, please email me at Stephanie.e.bff@gmail.com 

Let's look at food for what it really is, energy and survival. Yep that's it. Now don't get me wrong there's a huge emotional component to food, however i'm not talking about that today.  Here's a really quick summary of what food is to the body, in terms of what we're reading on the labels.  Macronutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates) are essential for life, and micronutrients (vitamins & minerals) although not imperative for survival in the week-to-week or month-to-month, they are very important for many reasons.  For the sake of this post and to keep it simple, I like to imply that micros are the little cogs that make the big cogs (macros) work efficiently.

A long shelf life with food usually equals preservatives, additives, inflammatory fats, and higher sugar content.  What does that actually mean?  I'll continue with the analogy of big cogs and little cogs.  Picture a mail room where your body's macros and micros get sorted, the mail is essentially your food, water, vitamins, and minerals.  What does it do with all the junk mail?!  How is it supposed to sort through the crap that doesn't naturally exist?  It doesn't know, so it does what we all do with potential real mail, but likely junk mail...  we put it to the side and let it collect over time - bogging down our system.  There's actually real science here I'm not talking about, but I'm doing this on purpose...  you're still reading, aren't you?

This is for all my people out there investing in weight loss in the form of calorie/point counting, meal replacement shakes, and prepackaged frozen meals, etc.; I encourage you to ask this very question about the nutrition you're about to consume, invest in, or serve, does it go bad?  This should lead you down a rabbit hole...What's the shelf life? Where do the macros come from? Are there only macros and micros in this food product?  What are all the ingredients and can I pronounce them?  Am I getting healthier by consuming this product vs. simply losing weight?  Is this something I can sustain?

I'm not suggesting people be perfect in their daily nutrition and only consume whole foods, trust me I KNOW HOW HARD THAT CAN BE in the beginning!  I'm suggesting that if you're spending $100-$500+ a month on something you cannot sustain or do not enjoy in the long term to lose weight, you should contact me or your local holistic health coach.  Get rid of the confusion, it's much easier than you think.  AND it begins with HEALTH. 

In an effort to keep this short, I'm going to stop here, but there's more to come!!!  Also, I have to pack some leftovers...  Cook once, eat thrice!  #thrive9er