Apparently, low-fat foods create inflammation, and that inflammation causes all kinds of health issues.
Wait—say what?
The “evil” fat is okay, cholesterol is no longer thought to be caused by the fat we eat, and the low-fat advice causes more health ills than it solves? I so want a do-over on those 30 years I spent struggling to stay on low-fat.
I’ve interviewed a lot of diet book authors and doctors, and they all blame something: Sugar, fat, processed foods, cholesterol, your blood type, genetics, bad timing, eating too much, not exercising enough, etc. Whatever the reason, we’re in big trouble across the world now with a rising obesity rate, but it’s not just about carrying a little extra weight anymore.
We know obesity leads to many types of health issues—strain on our hearts and joints, elevated blood pressure, Type 2 Diabetes, and plenty more physically as well as emotionally. A new study by The New England Journal of Medicine covering 195 countries over 25 years concluded that obesity contributed to 7 percent of deaths in the world.
We’re creating our own epidemic.
For all the expert advice, the supposedly magic pills and potions that “make the weight fall right off you” (always suspect), and the sensible plans for eating, we sometimes ignore it all and fall prey to the immediate satisfaction vs. that longer term goal we say we so desperately want.
Yet if you are like me, you can justify that burger, pizza, or triple-decker ice cream because you’ve been good and you deserve it – which indicates the real issue: “I want X, and I cannot say no to myself.” We get caught up in our emotional stuff, and we’ve convinced ourselves that the cake with butter-cream frosting and sprinkles will soothe whatever ails us.
It’s such a struggle sometimes, isn’t it? I hated it! So many moments resolving to do it differently or berating myself for failing or questioning my sanity and sense of responsibility, and NONE of it worked. We’re all different in how we approach things, but if the way I’d been doing it for 40 years had worked, I wouldn’t have still been struggling.
What worked? I needed external accountability to stay on task, and I really needed to work on the emotional stuff that drove my soothing behavior. When I stumbled, we talked about how I got to that point. If I slipped and chose food as a soother, we talked about options. When I didn’t want to talk about it, my coach helped me choose to face it. I couldn’t do it alone. I’d done it too long the other way, and I needed help to break that pattern.
Until we find a way other than food or drink to soothe ourselves, we will continue to struggle. What do you need to help you get to your goal?
If you need a little help, don’t hesitate to contact me. When you’re ready to lose, I can help you win.
