The Reprogrammed Systems Approach to Poor Health and Modern Disease is centered on two questions:
1. What is the healthy decision?
2. How do I get myself to make the healthy decision?
In Weeks 1 & 2 we focused in on the first question by understanding two primary pathways by which a healthy body with the ability to effectively regulate energy becomes dysregulated, dysfunctional, and on the path to a modern disease diagnosis. The intent of this walkthrough was to help you visualize a clear link between your decisions and the health of your body. The hope is that, given this information, you will have the ability to make better decisions.
Which leads to the second question, and the focus of this week’s post: given that we understand what the healthy decision is, how do we get ourselves to actually make that decision, and to perform it consistently over time?
To keep things simple as we get started, we will focus in on just one of the primary inputs driving poor health and modern disease: the decision to consume industrial not-so-foods.
We will begin with some reflection on our own decision patterns. As we do, please note, the point of this is not to ruminate on our failed attempts at being healthy or to judge ourselves; rather, the point of this exercise is to seek clarity on what has been hindering our ability to achieve our healthier selves.
Given this understanding of our intention, I pose this question to you:
What has been preventing you from avoiding industrial not-so-foods in the past?
Now, I understand that you may just be getting started on your own Reprogramming Process, and that you may have been making your way through life with a shallow understanding of what healthy and unhealthy food items are. If it is the case that you honestly haven’t understood that consuming refined carbohydrate, vegetable oils, and sugar is driving the modern disease epidemic, then I ask that you focus in on a more specific food item that we all clearly know to be unhealthy: french fries or corn dogs, cookies or ice cream, soda or energy drinks.
Before proceeding, just make sure that you are clear on the items that you know to be unhealthy, and yet allow to remain as a part of your diet.
Also, don’t think that you have to have just one answer to what it is that is preventing you from making the healthy decision. The modern world provides numerous obstacles to making healthy decisions, so if several items come to mind that are inhibiting your ability to say no to industrial not-so-foods, that is completely reasonable.
I am also going to assume that the answer to this question is not along the lines of, “Because I have no desire to have a healthy body.” I will assume that, if you are choosing to look at this content, then you are operating under the underlying story that you want to have a healthy body, but have been unable to manifest that desire because of your inability to make the necessary healthy decisions. I also just can’t get myself to believe that anyone really has no care for the health of their body. I understand that we come from different backgrounds and that having a health-focused mentality isn’t something that we are all used to – but if I were to sit anyone down who is in a reasonably “normal” state of mind (whatever that means), and ask them if they would like to go through life with a healthy or unhealthy body, then I would expect to hear only the first answer.
So, given that we all desire to have a healthy body, and given that we are aware of unhealthy foods that we allow ourselves to indulge in, I ask once again, what is it that is allowing this behavior?
That is, what is it that is driving the misalignment between our knowledge and desires, and our actual actions?
Do you have your answers? Good, write them down.
Let me pose a few common answers that we will use as examples moving forward:
1. I don’t have the time to eat healthy foods.
2. I could never give up ___ (fill in the blank with favorite industrial not-so-food)
3. I don’t have self-control
4. I am not the “healthy” type of person
Clarifying our story:
As we move forward, we are going to dig into this answer of ours so that we can clarify what it is that we are telling ourselves on a daily basis. This is important because words are powerful. The stories we tell ourselves about our behaviors set the stage for how we live our lives. If we are telling ourselves a story that may not be completely true, then we are continuing to settle for less than we are capable of. Moreover, if we are telling ourselves a story that may not be completely true, then we lose the power to address the reality of what is driving our problems.
I truly believe that there is room for improvement for all of us, if only we can get clear on what it is that is holding us back and to change that story to one that is moving us forward. By getting clear on why we make the decisions we do and sensing how this truth makes us feel, we can initiate the change that we want for ourselves moving forward.
With the rest of this exercise, let’s do just that.
Now that you’ve had some time to answer to your story, let’s dig a little deeper. Given what we have written down about what we believe is preventing us from making the healthy decision to avoid industrial not-so-foods, I want us to take a look back at the answer, and probe at the truthfulness of that story.
Specifically, I want you to think about the question, How true is this answer?
How true is it that:
1. I don’t have the time to eat healthy foods.
2. I could never give up ___ (fill in the blank with favorite industrial not-so-food)
3. I don’t have self-control
4. I am not the “healthy” type of person
Let’s use the story of “I don’t have the time” as a first example:
This one is tricky, because, I get it – there are a lot of individuals in this world who are overworked and overwhelmed. Most of us feel burdened by a full list of responsibilities. In a world where busyness is a source of pride and raising children with full resumes is the perceived standard, I would feel shocked if most of you didn’t resonate at least to some degree with this storyline.
And yet, there is much to be cleaned up surrounding the story that we simply don’t have the time to be able to make healthy decisions.
The thing is, there are a lot of people in this world, and we all have varying amounts of responsibilities. Some are working two jobs while supporting a family while others have nannies and trust funds. I get it – life’s not fair.
But, here’s the truth of it – at the end of the day, we were all given the same 24 hours, and however you decide to spend those 24 hours is up to you. If you decide to go through the drive-through for dinner – that’s your decision, no matter what you tell yourself contributed to that outcome. If you decide to go home and eat a pre-packaged, microwaveable meal, that is also your decision.
If, instead, you decide to stock up on real, whole foods, make sure that you have some with you wherever you go, prepare them in ready-to-eat meals, and don’t allow yourself to take any shortcuts throughout the week – that is also your decision.
So, a better way to state “I don’t have the time” may be to say, more accurately: “I don’t prioritize healthy eating into the 24 hours I am given every single day.”
That is, a better way to phrase it is to change the story of being a victim of life’s circumstances, and to write our story in a way that accurately depicts the control we do have.
Let’s look at one more example: “I don’t like healthy foods.” Or, similarly, “I’m not a ‘healthy’ kind of person.”
I completely understand – there are some foods in my life that I could never imagine giving up (chocolate chip cookies for one), and there are some foods that I could never imagine that I could ever, of my own free will, choose to allow to enter my digestive tract.
And yet, when I think about it, I know that there is a long list of foods that I used to be completely devoted to, and have completely left my life. These are foods that I used to crave so intensely, and today, I walk right past without a glance. Any of the standard packaged cookies or chips are a good example of mine for this category.
Moreover, there is a long list of foods that I spent most of my life thinking were the most awful, most revolting substances – foods that would ruin a meal when someone else decided to add them in, or foods that I wouldn’t go near for fear of losing my appetite. And guess what happened to many of these foods? Today, I absolutely love them! Onions are a perfect example for this category.
Given this experience, I have given up the belief that our dietary desires are hardwired, and instead, now understand that dietary desires are completely flexible and change over time based on our eating patterns.
So, a better way to state the storyline of “I could never give up ____” may be: “I choose to cling onto these unhealthy foods.”
Once you have clarified your storyline and are certain that it is accurate, I want you to try one more thing:
After stating, just to yourself, your storyline about why you do not align with healthy eating behavior, take a moment to consider how you feel about that statement.
How does it make you feel to state that you don’t prioritize healthy eating? How does it feel to state that you simply choose not to eat healthy foods? How does it feel to state that you are choosing to cling to foods that you know are not good for you?
Given your understanding of what this means for the trajectory of your health, do these answers sit well with you? Or, is there a feeling of discomfort – that something isn’t okay here? Maybe, there is a feeling arising that you want to make a change.
Moving Forward with a Story of Our Choosing:
Let’s recap:
First, we asked ourselves what is keeping us from aligning our actions with the knowledge that industrial not-so-foods are unhealthy.
Then, we got clear on the truth of the story:
Is it really that we have no willpower, or is our willpower failing us in specific situations or at specific times during the day leading to the consumption of process foods?
Is it really that we have no time to prepare healthy meals and thus fall to eating pre-packaged foods, or are we choosing to simply not prioritize healthy decisions amongst our busy schedules?
Now that we are clear on what is holding us back from this big leap towards a healthier body, we can begin that step by writing a new story – one that sets the stage for a better vision of our better selves.
We’re going to do this by writing three parts to this new story. The first part is going to be a general statement and is intended to be the goal that we reach for as we make our way through the following weeks, months, and years. The second part is going to get more specific and is intended to be dynamic – the story that changes depending on what we are focused on at the time. Finally, with the third part to our new story, we will tie in how we will make the important change to our old stories.
First, let’s start simple. Our old story has to do with the inability to say no to industrial not-so-foods. Our new story is all about having the ability to consistently make the decision to avoid industrial not-so-foods, while choosing a diet based on real, whole foods:
Part 1:
I choose to eat nourishing and delicious meals made of real, whole foods.
I choose to avoid industrial not-so-foods and the path to poor health and modern disease.
Second, let’s get clear on what this really means given your unique knowledge level, experience, and life circumstances. Drawing a clear line between what constitutes a real, whole foods and an industrial not-so-food is not as straight forward as we’d like. Moreover, having the ability to put this knowledge into practice by consistently avoiding all these processed ingredients – well, that is a monster of a challenge in itself.
Instead of taking on this challenge all at once, we are going to work on building up our own understanding of what it really means to eat a diet based on real, whole foods. To do this, we need a dynamic storyline – one that is going to steer us in the right direction, while constantly adapting as we grow.
Part 2: For a good starting place, begin with one (or more than one) of the following:
I choose to avoid refined grains.
I choose to avoid vegetable oil.
I choose to avoid sugar.
I choose to avoid industrial meat, eggs, and dairy products.
I choose to make time for meal prep.
I choose to ask for help with preparing healthy meals.
Finally, let’s write into our new story how we will take action to erase the old one.
Part 3:
When my willpower fails me and I reach for ___, I will instead do ___
When I feel like I don’t have to time to prepare a healthy meal, I will do ___.
When my friends are all eating ____, I will instead do _____.
Have your story? Write it down. Repeat it to yourself. Write it where you can see it.
I choose to eat nourishing and delicious meals made of real, whole foods.
I choose to avoid industrial not-so-foods and the path to poor health and modern diseaseI choose to say no to any food item with refined grains, sugar, or vegetable oil.
When I know I will not have time to prepare a healthy meal, I will prep a real, whole foods based meal to have on hand. When my willpower fails me and I head towards the drive through, I will have a handful of nuts and feel grateful for the healthy meal waiting for me at home.
Great, we now have our story that we can repeat to ourselves every single day. And now what? Are we done? Have we just solved the problem?
The answer, unfortunately, is of course not. While I did say that words are powerful, they are not all-powerful. We cannot control our behavior simply by telling ourselves what it is we want to do.
Instead of telling you that we just solved our problems, I am going to press upon you that you do not mistake this exercise, along with any strong feelings of motivation that may have arisen, for actually achieving success with your actions.
This exercise is only a step in your Reprogramming Process. If you are going to reach any milestones, you have to now focus in on the most important part of the process: aligning your actions with your story (for more: What goes into Making a Decision?)
Instead of solving your problems, I hope that this exercise has helped set the foundation for achieving success as you move forward. I hope that you found some clarity as to what is really holding you back, what you desire, and what you are capable of achieving.
To finish up, I want you to take a moment to give serious thought to one more important part of this exercise:
This story is not expected to guide you on a straight line towards success. Instead, my hope is that you will repeat it to yourself throughout the day, and call upon it as a reminder when you are facing tough challenges that threaten your ability to make the healthy decision. With this story supporting and guiding you, my hope is that you can navigate yourself forwards down the path to good health.
Making life changes is tough, but if we are going to make it through this life with a healthy body supporting us, then we are going to have to embrace the challenge of learning what it means to have the ability to consistently make healthy decisions. Because of this, I ask that you add one or more line to your story:
When I fail to align with my desire to choose real, whole foods and to avoid industrial not-so-foods, I will forgive myself, learn from my mistake, and make the healthy decision the next time.
For more on making healthy decisions, check out the Reprogram Your Mind page.
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Finally, make sure to follow along next week as we continue with this topic of aligning our actions with our understanding of what it is to make the healthy decision.