A wise mentor recently observed that I am seeking freedom. I trivialized it at first, thinking how very mid-life-crisis-ish of me to be yearning for freedom as I near the half-century mark.
But it’s true.
Ever since, I’ve been thinking about my aspirations and desires, and rolling each of them forward. And each one liberates me in some way. I’d like to liberate myself of the contents of my house; I’d like to liberate myself from my financial obligations–live smaller and within my means; I’d like to liberate myself from my growing aches and pains; I’d like to liberate myself from my alarm clock; I’d like to liberate myself from my emotional dependence on others for happiness; I’d like to liberate myself from my obesity.
So my goal is to celebrate my very own Obesity Independence Day next year, on July 21, 2015:
<150 pounds by the time I turn 50. I know I can do it. I sure hope I do.
One of the things that’s keeping me motivated to eat whole, healthy food, is learning more about it. I mentioned earlier that I’m reading The Science of Skinny, by Dee McCaffrey. I’m about a third of the way through and I just finished reading about sugar and flour. It was fascinating to learn about how sugar and flour are refined. By the time we take a bag of sugar or flour off the shelf at the grocery store, the product we are buying (and consuming) has no resemblance, molecularly, to its original source. The nutrients have been stripped away, and along with it anything that is recognizable or useful to our bodies. Our bodies are simply not designed to deal with these foreign substances! Not only that, but ingesting them lights up and stimulates the same areas in the brain as drugs like cocaine and heroin. We’re all addicted.
And guess who knows this better than anyone?
You guessed it, the food industry. Here is a link to a TEDx talk about how the food industry (like the tobacco industry before them) is brainwashing us and more alarmingly, our children. As soon as my boy gets home, I plan on sitting him down to see this as well. I’m hoping his teen brain might feel stirred to rebel against the corporate manipulation infiltrating his body. He is after all an adolescent, and like his mom, seeking independence.
Happy 4th of July.
I wish you well in your own pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.
Why It Matters 