Everything is a Drug

I recently read an interesting and somewhat challenging book by Tim Ferris, "The Four-Hour Body." One of the revelations that I have come to agree with is that "everything is a drug." Ferris spends a lot of time talking about how atheletes and body-builders are typically way ahead of the medical community in understanding the things that transform the body. While I don't advocate putting harmful drugs in your system or violating federal laws and regulations - Ferris' fundemental principle is true - "everything you put in your mouth is a drug."

Very simply, when we begin to understand how different foods, vitamins, supplements and medications affect our body - we are much better suited to make intelligent decisions concerning what we eat and what supplements we take. It took me far too long to realize the negative affects that refined sugars and empty carbohydrates where having on my body. Too many cookies, or an extra piece of pie (I do eat them in moderation), and my stomach is messed up for the next 24 hours. Interestingly, these products don't have the same affect on my wife. Why, it's pretty simply - our bodies function differently.

Why do some people smoke their entire life with what appears to be minimal negative affects and others (like my brother) never smoked at all and get cancer in their mouth, or lungs? I am not advocating smoking, or drinking to excess or anything we know is bad for you - but our bodies react differently to the stimulus we expose them to.

I love Advocare - the company has great things to offer most anyone (if you haven't had Spark, you are missing the product of the century). I also realize the some people function best on Weight Watchers, Adkins Low-Carb Diet, etc. The key is learning as much as you can about how your body responds and also realize that - YES, one twinkee at bedtime will mess up a day of healthy eating an exercise. NO, its not fair - but it is the reality of what "junk food" does to our bodies.

So what things have I learned that are fairly universal:

• Eat your largest meals early and reduce the size as the day goes on - eating late has been a problem for every person I know who struggles on ANY diet program.
• Refined sugars and pre-packaged foods are killing us - all of us. Even if your body doesn't react poorly to sugary breakfast cereals, more and more studies are showing that the chemicals in our foods are killing us (and they are addictive).
• Even moderate exercise makes a difference. I started out just walking and I could quickly see a difference in my energy levels and reduced appetite.
• You have to commit for longer than a day, week, or fortnight. The real results for me started after about 3 weeks. My cravings stopped, my weight loss was steady and my body started to long for good food and exercise.
• Get an accountability partner - having someone push you and encourage you helps keep you on track when you are tempted to quit, or cheat.

I want to challenge you for just one day to do two things:

1. Keep a food journal of everything you eat. My friend Chris Davis turned me on to this. If you have trouble staying committed, you should look Chris up at Slim and Fit in Brentwood, TN.
2.  If you are only doing it for one day as an experiement, write down the following: a) Calories, b) type of food (protien, carb, refined sugar), c) Write down all the chemicals and compounds added to your food.

I didn't realize what things were killing me till I got home one day from being on the road in meetings and stuff. I went to Panera Bread for breakfast. My breakfast sandwich had 650 calories (few of them were good for me. A carb loaded bagel, fried egg, bacon and cheese). I had a good week so I thought I would have a scone to go with it (another 350 calories of empty carbs). Add my coffee, creamer, etc. and I had consumed 1,000 calories before breakfast was over. It was not a good day - I gained 2 lbs., my energy levels dropped, but worst of all, I had no idea what I had done to my body that day until about 10:30 pm when I started looking up the foods I ate.

Think of everything you put in your mouth as a drug and you might just think twice.

If I can help you in your effort to lose weight or get more fit. Drop me an email at trentwheeler@rocketmail.com, or visit my Advocare site at www.advocare.com/12044713