I am from the Hi-C and Spaghettios generation. Soda was a dietary staple and buying Pringles in the can was almost mandatory in our weekly shopping trips. Mom and dad worked and I needed to eat. Awful stuff but it has given me a deep appreciation for real food and how it makes my body feel compared to prepackaged, processed "food" items.
My epiphany happened the day I chugged a can of soda to quench my thirst. A friend and I were walking home from a trip to the mall and we were parched. We stopped in a grocery store and only had some change between us- just enough for a few cans of soda. After drinking it down, I was still thirsty. In fact, I was thirstier. Why did I not feel satiated? Oh, yeah, it's a can full of SUGAR and CHEMICALS! Seems obvious and simple but it was like a light bulb turned on in my head. I started reevaluating everything I was putting into my body and realized most of it was not REAL FOOD nor the fuel my body needed to thrive and work at its utmost potential. It was like I was dumping garbage into my fuel tank.
This epiphany only woke me up to what I was consuming every day and it was a long, arduous process to figure out what was really healthy and what was not. Today, every trip to the grocery store I see supposedly "healthy food" processed and packaged and therefore no longer FOOD. The food industry has duped the American public into believing what it is consuming is real. American consumers read "Weight Watchers" and "Lean Cuisine" on high sodium, preservative and chemical laden prepackaged meals and think it must be healthy. It's part of a diet plan! Contrarily, artificial coloring and chemicals such as ASPARTAME and BHT lurk in the ingredients and they can wreak havoc on our digestive systems and actually hinder us from losing weight not to mention potentially cause cancer or other diseases.
I urge all my friends who have struggled with losing weight and/or having a more healthy lifestyle to start by educating yourself on processed food and moving to a more whole foods diet. It doesn't have to be expensive or difficult! If you need more support, leave me a message and I can consult with you in your own kitchen! Together we will go through your cabinets and pantry and identify problem "foods" and I will offer you healthy alternatives to your favorite dishes.
You can start by checking out this article about a no preservatives diet
http://www.livestrong.com/article/324884-no-preservatives-diet/
and here are a few blogs that outline the chemicals to watch out for in your food
http://fromfat2skinnyin1year.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/weight-gain-additives/
http://www.3fatchicks.com/how-preservatives-can-cause-weight-gain/
