New Year Food Revolution
The new year always brings with it a chance to review the past, take stock and make new, positive goals for the future. It is often a time when people make resolutions to do better with their diet, their exercise habits and generally in taking care of their health and the way they look. For some this may well lead to a much improved future and a significant change for the better. Those of you who have mastered the new year's resolution...a heartfelt well done! This blog is for those who have yet to excel in this area. It is for those who have tried numerous times to make a change in their life and not fully put the wheels in motion, those who find themselves recommitting themselves each year to remarkably similar goals!
The following segment is taken from my recently released book 'Nutrition's Playground':
'The human being is unique because of our conscious mind and our ability to respond to memory and to project our thoughts towards planning for the future. As a result of this ability we can be greatly influenced by past choices and occurrences and by what we hope to achieve in the future. Memories of choices and experiences from the past regarding food can have a powerful influence on our choices today whether positive or negative. The physical health and shape of our body today is a testament to the choices we made in the past regarding food and exercise. However, poor past choices and our resultant physical condition at this time do not need to continue affecting our decisions in the next few minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or years. Just because you grew up and your family made their gravy for a Sunday roast with gravy granules does not mean that you must continue reacting to their preference throughout your life. Just because your mother preferred a particular brand of chocolate as comfort food when she was feeling down does not mean that you must rely on this same method of dealing with your emotions when they are low. Past food choices do not need to dictate future food choices. The additional challenge is that over time choosing particular foods or brands causes you to become accustomed to specific food products. These habitually eaten foods provide a specific experience that may bring about physical or emotional responses that induce pleasure or comfort. Therefore it is clear that family traditions, learned habits, beliefs about food and the physical or emotional response we have to food can also greatly influence our buying decisions. Once again we may be making our food choices predominantly in reaction to the world around us even if we are being influenced by experiences of the past.
There is one more aspect that must be understood because if it is overlooked it can undermine our chances of success. This process is often an unintentional ‘get out clause’ created by the mind because of limiting beliefs about our ability to succeed. The best way to understand it is by example. A very overweight person may identify as their highest priority that they want to be slim and attractive again, however almost in the same moment as setting this intention to move towards a positive objective their thoughts roll into the phrase ‘but it is going to be really difficult.’ There is a significant problem when a positive intention is followed by a ‘but’. The ‘but’ phrase that follows in almost all cases negates the positive intention and shifts the focus and emotion away from the goal that mattered most. The ‘but’ phrase that follows provides a justification for future failure or low adherence to the actions necessary for success.'
Let's set aside the idea of resolutions this year. Let's avoid allowing a 'but' attitude to cause us to falter. Let's try something different. We would like to set a challenge from the team here at Natural food Finder to create a new year revolution, not resolution. Wherever you are, whoever you are we invite you to begin this year with a concerted effort to buy the best food you can afford on your current income. Ideally seeking organic/biodynamic, local, seasonal, produce, grass-fed meats, pastured fowl, free range pork, wild caught fish and other high quality foods. There are over 150 recommended food suppliers on our website covering hundreds of foods to help you with this achievement. You need not try to change everything in your diet in one go. Start with one main food category as listed on Natural Food Finder. Perhaps all your fruit and vegetables will meet the best standard or perhaps your meat and poultry or even your dairy. Whatever you decide, make the decision once and then stick to it. We need to revolutionise UK eating habits and continue the shift in demand for naturally, nutritious food before the corporate giants take it out of our hands by putting high quality, local food producers out of business.
Join the real food revolution of 2011 by registering for free and adding a comment at the end of this blog. Let us know what you will change about your food or diet this year. Thanks and have a great new year!
