Mystery Food and Changing My Relationship with Food
Here is the truth. When I struggled with morbid obesity, I never gave the first thought to what was in the foods I bought at the grocery store. If it appealed to my taste buds, I bought it. If I liked the packaging, I bought it. If it seemed like I would like the taste of it, I bought it.
I rarely turned the box over to scan the ingredient list. Instead I ate the food happily without regard to what I was putting into my body.
Things like orange cheese puffs, chocolate peanut butter cereal, oddly colored candy, and crackers with no nutritional value appealed to me and I ate them.
Those foods contributed to me looking like this picture.
Although I had joined Weight Watchers dozens of times and heard knowledgeable people talk about how important it was to eat healthy, whole foods, I never truly believed it would matter in my weight loss attempts.
How wrong I was.
In 1997, when I took charge of my health and responsibility for my own obesity, I took a long hard look at the foods I had been purchasing and eating. Honestly, I felt a little guilty when I read the food labels of orange cheese puffs. The label looked like something from a science experiment in my chemistry class.
Words like partially hydrogenated soybean oil, maltodextrin, protein concentrate, monosodium glutamate, lactic acid and more leapt from the label, causing me to realize, perhaps for the first time, that there was more to foods than just the picture on front of the package.
As I began trying to lose weight by really changing my relationship to food I confronted not only the emotions surrounding my problems with food, but also worked on developing a new attitude towards food. If I had to use a dictionary to decipher words on the label, I tended to avoid the food. Foods that had recognizable ingredients or whole, natural foods were those I worked hard on enjoying and choosing.
Sometimes when I am at the grocery store I think back to the old days when my food was so full of processed ingredients that they no longer resembled their food of origin. Whenever I speak to groups I always remind them that if they look at a food and say “What in the world is in that food” then they may be wise to avoid that food altogether.
How are you at foregoing foods full of chemical additives in favor of more natural, wholesome foods?
Be well!
Diane
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May 09, 2012 @ 02:36:00
I really didn’t used to read food labels when I was in college. Now I just try to buy very little or no snack foods…”snacks” will typically translate to nuts or granola bars in some cases. I find that cooking at home with fresh vegetables/meat also allows me to avoid food with chemical additives. Thanks for your post!
May 10, 2012 @ 17:09:00
I didn’t read them when I was in college either – I just ate on the run. And then once I got married I ate and ate whatever I could get my hands on. I am still a work in progress though – but I do the best I can!
May 09, 2012 @ 02:40:00
I’m for natural and wholesome foods now that I have been made conscious about all the bad stuff one can find in foods one don’t recognize like the one in the picture showed in this post.
I too was like you – ate food that appealed to my taste buds without thinking twice what was in it.
May 10, 2012 @ 17:09:00
It’s good that our tastes can change isn’t it Marleen? I am so proud of you!
May 09, 2012 @ 03:14:00
My guess: FunYuns? (in your blog post photo)
I don’t buy really any packaged foods anymore, at least not any that have ingredient lists. The only stuff in packages have one ingredient: I buy bags of almonds & walnuts, bags of brown rice and quinoa, containers of oats, jars of natural peanut butter, cans of sardines and tuna…just those kids of staple stuff. We don’t eat baked goods, cereals, canned vegetables, snack crap, granola bars, popsicles, cold cuts or any of that garbage.
May 10, 2012 @ 17:08:00
You are right jnwalsh1 – those are Funonions (sp?) that I had my hubby bring home from his work vending machine. I can’t believe I ever liked those things. I love your staples – very similar to what we have around here!
May 09, 2012 @ 04:16:00
The food system has evolved far beyond anyone’s capacity to eat expressly clean. Even the most mindful and disciplined eaters must comprise from time to time or even more often. I like to think I do the best I can with the tools, time, and finances I have available to administer my eating day. But it’s the best I can, not perfection. I know you know this well Diane. Among my biggest fears in life, and I mean this literally, is that to food and fitness obsessed life that many people attempt to live, is turning into the latest form of prejudice in our nation….
May 09, 2012 @ 04:40:00
Love this Diane! It is amazing how much we change as we change our lifestyle! I just ate when I was heavy. Now, major label reader & eat mostly whole foods. I am not perfect & like Roy said, I have budget constraints but I do my best…
May 09, 2012 @ 05:04:00
It makes a huge difference in the way I feel for sure. When I eat healthy food with alot of additives and fake ingredients I feel terrible. When I eat healthy whole foods I feel great. They are both healthy…..but there is a difference. For example Fiber one bar or an apple. Not the same.
Healthy bread or fresh milled bread….not the same.
May 09, 2012 @ 05:17:00
When I look at the “foods” most people eat in restaurants or out and about, it’s no wonder that they look as they do!
May 09, 2012 @ 05:47:00
I try to eat healthy “whole” and unprocessed foods for the most part. But I do like to have some convenience foods for “emergencies” like the black bean burgers in my freezer.
May 09, 2012 @ 07:37:00
About 3 years ago, hubby and I began getting chemicals out of our lives. It wasn’t easy at first; most of my pantry had to be emptied out. Now if we eat chemical-laden food, we can taste the chemicals in it. That only took about 3 weeks of clean eating to happen.
There is no place we can eat out unless we just want salad (no dressing). I’ve had to change my entire way of cooking and baking. We gave up the microwave in the middle of this when we discovered it zapped nutrients from our foods. It’s been painful (smile) because I have to cook more and plan ahead (i.e., potatoes take longer in an oven). The trade off is that food does taste so much better.
While changing our eating habits limited a lot of choices in our life food-wise, we feel SO much better it is a bit unreal. A lot of aches disappeared along with morning congestion or runny noses, matted eyes and other symptoms we thought were cold symptoms. Joint pain left along with flu-like symptoms. It has been an eye-opening experience.
There are times we can’t get away from chemicals (i.e., office meeting-lunch, church fellowship, etc.). When we do indulge, we pay the price even if we limit what we eat. But I would NEVER go back to processed, chemical-laden foods, ever again. The changes are too dramatic!
May 09, 2012 @ 08:07:00
As I’ve become more aware of my food choices, my husband and I have eliminated pretty much all processed foods from our diet. Every Sunday, we spend the morning cooking from scratch all the food we’ll need to get us through the week. It’s time intensive, but I can’t think of a better way to spend my time than on nourishment for my body (and spending time with my husband who works along side me). It’s not proven, but there is some evidence that it is the additives and gmo’s in the foods we eat that are contributing to the obesity crisis in our country. We are also trying to eat organic as much as possible, although it can be expensive. This year we joined a CSA (community supported agriculture), and will be getting farm fresh organic produce all summer long. Can’t wait!
May 09, 2012 @ 08:41:00
I have cut way back on processed foods, but not completely. I think that is the end goal. Right now, though, I figure that if eating fiber bars, instant oatmeal, and sandwich thins helps me cut calories and keep from bingeing on chips and fried foods, that is better. As a newlywed, who is working full time and we have a new puppy- I’m having trouble making the time for exercise also. So sometimes I like the convenience of packaged foods that have been processed. This is a work in progress, right?
My blog: http://agingersgenesis.blogspot.com/
May 09, 2012 @ 08:58:00
Diane, I find too that unless I make some type of measurable change, my weight stays the same (not obese, but a tick or two above a healthy BMI and a constant struggle). Also I’m making a concerted effort to avoid high fructose corn syrup, which is thought to be a trigger for obesity for some. So many of the packaged and processed foods just don’t taste as good as you think they will, yet we eat them anyway. Thanks for an insightful post!
May 09, 2012 @ 12:48:00
Thanks for introducing me to this site! Awesome! I have cut out most processed foods. My oldest daughter (4) has a severe food allergy to red food dye, and my youngest (18mos) is allergic to soy and lactose intoerlant. At first I was really angry that I had to read all of these labels, but as I learned more I learned of the deception in the food labeling laws AND I learned that it wasn’t so bad to make my own food. Now we buy cheese (although we opt for the less processed cheeses in blocks…no single wrapped american cheese in this house), I do still occasionally buy cheerios or kettle brand chips, mustard and sometimes mayo, but I make ALL our own bread, salsa, ketchup, spaghetti sauces, pizza sauces, taco seasoning, jelly etc. It’s not so bad
I am about to embark on making our own yogurt!
May 09, 2012 @ 15:39:00
This is why Mother Nature invented crock pots.
With one of the plastic liners, you can cook enough food for an army in them with ZERO cleanup. I just put in some frozen turkey or chicken, a bunch of veggies, some chicken stock, spices, turn it on low, and walk away. Hours later, bam — dinner for four days. Take out the liner, throw it away, and that’s it. No added fat, no frying, no angst at all. Crock pots are wonderful, and you never have to shop outside of the meat and produce sections to use them.
May 10, 2012 @ 16:58:00
Crock pots are great and I use mine frequently. It saves us so many times from going out to eat or buying junk.
May 09, 2012 @ 15:53:00
The further I am in my weight loss, the more I notice that I have started naturally progressing away from more processed type foods…the foods I used to eat because they “tasted good”. My mind has gone from, “How yummy!” to “that is never going to sustain me.” I love that! I still have a ways to go when it comes to eating clean, but I seem to be making that transition gradually:)
May 10, 2012 @ 16:57:00
It was a natural process for me too because my body started rebelling against highly processed foods. You sound like you are doing a great job at making this a lifestyle change!
May 09, 2012 @ 17:24:00
Eating the same way as your “before” is how I wound up at 379 lbs this January. May 1st, I started counting calories and have stayed under my 1600 calorie limit for now 9 days in a row. 1600 calories is not that much when you’re used to eating fried starchy foods. Now I am trying to eat less processed foods to get more bang for my calorie buck. So far, so good.
May 10, 2012 @ 16:57:00
It is hard to adjust to eating less but over time it does get easier – I promise! I’m glad to see you are keeping your calories at a safe level – keep up the great work.
May 10, 2012 @ 05:23:00
These types of foods are addictive for me, so I need to stay away from them. I have purged my house of all snack foods and sweets and most processed foods. It does help with the cravings, and out of sight, out of mind.
May 10, 2012 @ 16:56:00
That philosophy helps me too – put it out of sight or get it completely out of the house. Then I find myself forgetting about it.
May 10, 2012 @ 11:01:00
I can completely relate. When I was over 180 pounds, I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I could diet for a while but all of a sudden my size 8 pants had to be traded in for a size 12 or 14 and I was always, always shocked. There was no reality around how much food and what types of foods I was putting in my body. Ten years later and 70 pounds lighter, I crave whole foods. It’s what my body wants so that I can feel my best.
I recently read something online about a lady who was worried because her breast milk was orange. She didn’t know that the orange Gatorade she was drinking was the problem. And her little baby was getting all of that food dye! I wish everyone would stop and think about the foods they are eating and make a decision to choose those that nourish.
May 10, 2012 @ 16:55:00
I had never heard of breast milk changing color depending on the mom’s diet – wow – that just goes to show how our food really affects every part of our bodies. Thanks for sharing and congrats on your weight loss Amy!
May 10, 2012 @ 16:59:00
So glad you found the site helpful Christie – isn’t it great? I love Attune foods. You are exactly right – it is really a good thing to make your own foods because you are controlling what goes into your bodies!
May 10, 2012 @ 17:00:00
Thank you for reading Eileen! I sometimes think the hardest weight to lose is when you just need to lose a few pounds to get into the healthy range because you look fine, you feel good, but you know that you really should lose a bit. I agree with processed foods not tasting that great – especially when you are used to eating healthier most of the time!
May 10, 2012 @ 17:01:00
It is about choices Nicole and it sounds like you are making the transition slowly and deliberately which can really help you sustain it!
May 10, 2012 @ 17:02:00
I do similar things Karen – cook ahead, plan ahead, and freeze foods. It really helps us stay on track and saves us a lot of money! I wish we had a CSA around here but the closest one is over an hour away.
May 10, 2012 @ 17:03:00
Good point Dr. J!
May 10, 2012 @ 17:03:00
Never go back – that is one of my mantras for life and weight loss. Just push those old habits out the door right? Thanks for sharing Nan.
May 10, 2012 @ 17:03:00
You are definitely better off with those types of emergency foods rather than relying on fast food!
May 10, 2012 @ 17:04:00
Thank you Jody – I am a major label reader too.
May 10, 2012 @ 17:04:00
Jeanette – I can tell a huge difference in how I feel too. The more junk I eat the junkier I feel.
May 10, 2012 @ 17:05:00
I know I have to compromise Roy. It’s just part of life seeing as though I certainly can’t grow all my own food, etc. It is about doing our best and not expecting perfection because like you said – that just is not realistic or emotionally healthy.
Sep 28, 2012 @ 09:38:00
I have just started six meals and high in fiber food.