Obesity Caused by Eating Convenience Foods

Weight loss is a struggle for many of us. Most of us tend to opt for easy and convenient meals, that just so happen to be high in fat and sodium and unfortunately, not too great for the waist line. Fast paced lives leads to fast paced meals on the go. And when we have a moment in the evening to sit and breath, something to eat may come as a comfort.

Since the 1950’s the food industry’s that produce processed foods have grown in leaps and bounds. This shows how much our lives have changed and the roles within the families have changed. It is common for both the mom and dad to work out of the home and fast foods have become a welcomed commodity. Even preparing lunches for yourself and your children is easier with pre-packaged foods because it frees up so much time.

Obesity is a rising problem and very common, the fact that 2 out of every 3 people in North America are obese says a lot about how we are eating. After all of these convenient meals, the weight starts to creep up. Weight loss is a hard thing to do if you are unable to prepare yourself with healthy foods in the kitchen. Yo-yo dieting can get the best of us and it is hard to stick to a strict “starve-yourself” diet.

Convenience foods have many disadvantages. One to consider is that there is much less nutritional value. Processed convenience foods contain artificial flavors and additives and some are known to have carcinogenic properties. The FDA allows “additives” to be added to the ingredients without revealing what is in the additive. This is because the ingredients are considered (GRAS) Generally Regarded As Safe. All the label has to say is “artificial flavor/coloring”. These chemicals have been linked to causing cancer and that would be just another issue to deal with alongside the weight issues. Processed foods do not offer the nutritional value that our bodies need, so to eat packaged and canned foods we may often feel tired and need to take supplements just to keep up.

Many diets promise success but much too often fail to deliver. That is because dieting is a healthy life choice. It requires changing the way we think about food and about the way we eat and when we eat. But the key to starting out on this weight loss journey is to think about how we think and talk to ourselves. Proper food preparation and learning how to cook wholesome meals will benefit you and the rest of your family.

• Think of creating a meal that is easy and looks good. Plan ahead each days meals and buy the groceries for the week. By deciding ahead of time what you are eating takes half of the guessing game away. Many times, out of not knowing what to make, we just pick the easiest on the shelves.
• Cut up veggies ahead of time or at the beginning of each weeks grocery purchase. That way, you save time later when preparing a delicious, vitamin packed meal.
• Make healthy low carb choices to cut out the extra. By cutting down on carbs, you will lose weight easily!

• Buying local produce also helps to support your community farmers and cuts down on pollution because of it going less of a distance to be shipped.

So eating and buying foods that are good for you are actually good for everyone!