Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

Don't be so hard on yourself if you fail with your dieting efforts.  You were setup to fail before you even started. Saying this is NOT a free ticket to raid the closest pizza joint.  But no matter where you come from or what walk of life you have chosen the fact is we live in a nation that drives us toward perceived success in all things but health.  Our society is built to fail when it comes to living healthy.

That is why more times than not, diets fail. This is the overview of a multi-part blog post to help you see the big picture as to why it is all too easy to give up on living healthy. The goal is to bring about awareness of the influences on your daily lives where desensitization prevents us from succeeding at living a healthy lifestyle.

What's that again?

A study (yeah I know... yet another study) commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  entitled "Sodium Intake In Populations: Assessment of Evidence" confirms that there is no evidence substantial enough to limit sodium consumption to less than 2,300 milligram daily for Americans. Researchers concluded that one-and-a-half to three tablespoons of salt per day is not detrimental to a person's health, contrary to past belief.

The report also discusses emerging debates about the proper level of dietary sodium intake. "Despite efforts over the past several decades to reduce sodium intake in the United States, adults still consume an average of 3,400 mg of sodium every day," the researchers wrote.

It often amazes me to see all of these studies published on the web or pitched in the media that persuade people to into choosing one food choice over another. Eggs are good for you with one particular study and then they are bad for you with another study. Many of these "Studies" are all part of the marketing machine and more times than not, aren't ground in truth. Personally I know that many foods out there can be good or bad for you based on the foods they are combined with.

But there are some foods no matter how you combine them that will have negative affects. Enough so that they are BANNED from most countries because of the ingredients they contain. It is one thing to try to determine if something is good for you based on studies. It is another thing when countries make foods illegal and charge hefty fines to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars per offense. I always knew that pre-packeged foods were not good for you because they were "processed". Do you know what they were processed with?

In a recent post I mentioned a pivotal "moment of clarity" most people experience when they resolve themselves to lose weight.  Mine was somewhat embarrassing to say the least. However... as clear as that moment was... it came with another reinforcing experience that definitely sealed the deal with my need to live a more healthy lifestyle and to achieve a healthier weight.

Often for work I would travel to Boston, MA.  One of my offices was there since the product management team was run from that location.  I would travel there 2 to 3 times every other  week.  I would take the long drive from Bristol Connecticut to one of the outer lying towns near Boston and take the T rail into the city. I would get off at Government Center station and walk 4 blocks to the office.

Most people should already know of the many health benefits of eating fish. If not then click here. Fish is a staple food within ones diet to promote a healthy heart and brain with high amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids.  

One factor that may discourage people from adding more fish to their weekly meals is the expense of buying fish. A recent trip to Stop & Shop and Price Chopper yielded these prices: