What Your Best Friend and Dinner Plate have in Common

One of my sister-in-laws said in a text recently, "When are we gonna learn that fake is never the answer?" This was a very profound statement to me (coincidentally, she is writing on HONESTY this week). From relationships to food, fake is never healthy. At my MOPS group last week the topic was relationships and at the core of a deep relationship is honesty, not being fake. So many life-giving things happen when we are real with ourselves and each other. What happened in the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve hid and were not honest with God. It even goes back to start of our humanity.

Kids are such great examples of being real. 

I don't think food is any different. We all know eating processed food isn't good for us, don't we? Why is it not? Because it's made up of fake ingredients. Sure, some things contain real food. An oreo has a teeny tiny amount of chocolate in it (the last ingredient on the list). Take a look at the first 15 ingredients, they all come from a lab. Ok, what's so bad about that? Well, every time we try to replace or make up our own ingredient to substitute a real one, we end up losing. It has never been proven to be healthier than the real deal. Why should we be surprised that God does a better job than us??

Fake food MAKEOVER! Taco Bell cheesy gordita crunch.....homemade version right there. Grass fed beef, real cheese sauce, homemade tortillas, seriously so good. 

Blood sugars stay completely level with every ingredient in this wrap having no sugar (fake or real) and not really registering on the glycemic index. 

The Wallstreet Journal recently posted an article about a new study on artificial (fake) sugars and how they acutally raise your blood glucose levels, rather than lower or remain the same. These sugars are found in diet foods, diet drinks/sodas, and most processed foods in general. Drink Diet Coke? Artificial sugar. Skinny Cow ice cream bars? Yup. Most diabetics use fake sugar because it's supposed to keep their insulin levels low (this is important) but if it actually increases those levels then we have a problem. Maybe this is part of the reason we have people dieting and gaining weight back rapidly, or not losing weight at all, or why diabetics have so much trouble controlling their insulin levels. We already know that drinking diet soda puts one at greater risk for obesity than regular soda. We know that the body gets confused when foreign invaders are presented to it, by transfering it to multiple organs and back into the blood stream, it gets deposited into our bodies and causes problems. 

So what's the solution? Honesty. Being real. 

The other day my husband bought some golden oreos. Not just goldens, but double stuffed. Yes. I kind of like those....honesty, here I go. So we sat down after our girls were in bed and I ate a few. They tasted good. But of course my tummy didn't feel so great the next morning (I have always had a sensitive stomach). Processed junk. I can't tell you the last time I ate those. Was it worth it? Debatable. Am I perfect with every ounce of food that enters my mouth? NO. 

Best friends always have a common factor. They are real! What best friend doesn't open up their heart? I always think of a best friend being the person you both tell people, "She knows pretty much everything about me." How about your spouse? My husband is the strongest human bond I have because he knows the most about me over anyone else! There's usually some mess but always the most reward.

Bonding with sisters. They are some of my best friends. 

This man. Love him. 

When I step into a life of honesty and being real (with people and my food), I cannot lose. It leaves me open for healthy change and going deeper. So when I share how I'm truly feeling with a friend, that creates an environment of bonding and health. When I put real ingredients into my body, I am doing basically the same thing. An environment is created for my body to thrive in the best way. 

What does this look like? It means that you ignore food packages with weight watcher points. At breakfast you put away the "sugar free" syrup and pull out the stuff that comes out of real trees, you eat real fruit rather than "artificial fruit flavoring" and you stop buying those diet drinks (please!). 

It also looks like starting your day with hearty protein and fat with fresh produce. It means drinking lots of water throughout your day. Those things ALONE will reduce your cravings, eliminate empty calories, and help you lose weight. If you want a sugary drink then make your own lemonde with real sugar and/or honey. If you're diabetic or hypoglycemic then it means you just eat foods with hardly any sugar or no sugar to keep insulin levels stable. Your health will dramatically improve. 

So let's continue on our journey of taking baby steps towards a fit life. It doesn't mean perfection but it does mean small changes, honesty, continually learning, and lots of grace. So keep going, it's worth it.