"Why Can't I Stay Away From That Cookie?"

It seems so easy to avoid it. Yet I hear this along with some shame and guilt. Everyone seems to have a favorite processed food that they just cannot seem to break away from. They try every tactic, not buying it from the store. bringing their own healthy food to parties. Not going in the break room until others have eaten the food to make it seem less appealing. Yet they break and feel like failures. They know a lot about food and diets yet it doesn’t help them really change.

There is a lot behind this loaded question, but I will try to make it brief. Let’s start with the food industry. The food industry is about making money. They want to increase profits, which mean how do I alter the food to make more people like it. It is scientifically designed to taste great. They even tweak the recipe to maximize the results in your brain. Sugar is an addictive substance and our brains like high calorie foods. The food industry knows this and takes advantage of this formulating their foods make your brain happy. They  use science to keep you coming back.. This is not a guessing game it is very calculated. They will watch people’s brain while eating to make the recipe just right. They are strategic and want to ensure that they will get repeat customers. As in any business it is easier to get someone to buy again then to keep finding new customers from a business stand point.

We need to look at how these foods are marketed. The food industry also spends lots of time and money on their marketing. They have billboard to help you correlate, fast, cheap, delicious food with their product. They do everything they can to make this connection. Having more billboards that you pass by all the time.. Your commute could be a war zone for you. Having nothing to do, but sit in traffic and look at the signs. Seeing this advertisements works, if it did not work they would not spend money on it. They put time into how the package looks to make you hungrier or order more food. They have commercials to make a connection with you. The food industry will try to get their foods connected with happy emotions, celebrations, fun and community. Making you want that food in those situations, making you think you need it at some level. Additionally, on the flip side ,when you have negative emotions, upset, lonely, or sad you reach for their product as your way of getting to the positive emotions. Luckily for the food industry their product does make you feel positive emotions temporarily. Unlucky fro us that afterwards most people feel  the original emotion along with guilt and shame.

One more important thing to note is those foods that you cannot seem to break and make you feel so good. May have some memories tied to them. When you are reaching for that food you are really trying to go back in time, experience that emotion, remember that person, remember that moment. memories help drive the pleasure you experience while eating even more! We have a lot that we are fighting against to avoid our favorite processed food, but there is a way out.

We need to realize that this is too much to fight alone. That our diet setbacks, binges, lapses of judgement are too much for us to will our way through. (Yes, the more you avoid it your gut does change and your gut bacteria that crave and call to you to eat processed food die off, but still there is A LOT we are going against.) We need to realize that in our capabilities it is too much. If you are in deep you need grace. You need to allow yourself to not get upset and feel shamed because you eat a processed food. You also need to allow God’s strength to rule in this area. He has the power to say no and help keep you on course. God's strength is made perfect in our weakness and inabilities. He can put things in a different perspective. He reminds you of who you are. He reminds you that you are loved. He reminds you that you are enough. He reminds you that He is your Father. He reminds you that you are perfect. He reminds you that you are enough. He reminds you that you are loved. He loves to show up and transform lives!

We can only really take on this fight, by putting on our godly armor. In His strength, grace and love you can be transformed.

<3 Jessica