If you have tried to lose weight or improve your diet, you know how hard it is. You can start with the best of intentions, but eventually old eating habits gain control again.
The poisonous food environment
The food environment we live in could not be better designed to make us sick. Changes in the way we eat have come about gradually fueled by industry, government policies, and the way we live. Today the Standard American Diet, which includes high amounts of processed carbohydrates (flour and sugar), meat, dairy products (especially cheese), sugary drinks (especially pop), and packaged pre-prepared foods, is referred to as the SAD diet. This diet is so common and so available everywhere that we have a difficult time imagining any other way to eat.
The poisonous social environment
Fun times with other people mean fun food. We go to a baseball game and eat hot dogs and drink pop or beer. We watch football games at a grill and bar while we drink beer and eat burgers and fries. At work there are candy dishes on people’s desk, pastries and cookies in the lounge. We go with friends to a barbeque and eat lots of red meat, potato salad loaded with mayonnaise, and drink sugary drinks. You get the picture.
Friends and family reactions
When we try to eat a more healthful diet, too often our friends and family work against us. “Oh, come on. Just this once won’t hurt you.” “Are you turning into some kind of health nut?” “So how are you going to get your protein?”
Help from a community
It is nearly impossible to make lasting changes that go against the food culture in which we live if we are trying to do it alone. We need a supporting community. Here is what health and nutrition experts are saying about the need for support when making dietary change.
From the authors of The Whole Foods Diet book: “If you live alone, or if your partner or family is not making the transition with you, it is essential that you find support on the journey. Almost every one of the doctors and nutritionists we spoke to while writing this book cited support as a factor that is critical to the success or failure of this kind of transition.”
From Joel Fuhrman, M.D., author of Fast Food Genocide: “Our nation as a whole is eating itself to death. It is essential that we find smaller groups of support when attempting to move away from the deadly dietary norm. If you have a real and tangible positive social group, you are much less likely to be affected by the artificial ones created by advertisers, marketers, and technology.”
A local and real support group
That’s what Healthy Together Friends is—a small and real support group of people who become friends through their common interest in healthful living. This website is dedicated to providing a link to this community and to some of the resources needed to improve the health of people who live in Berrien County Michigan or nearby.