has let to a speedy, minor revolution in my food consumption. My dad mentioned he was planning to give up smoking and I recommended he read Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking, which I've always seen as an incredible piece of writing because it helped me really enjoy quitting smoking. Who'd have ever thought that, eh? His claim is that he'll help you quit cigarettes and you'll really enjoy it. Bullshit, I hear you cry. It's true though. It's a very clever book.
When I looked on Amazon to buy him a surprise second-hand copy, Amazon's clever targeted 'People who bought this also bought this' box suggested The Easyweigh to Lose Weight by the same author. It was only three quid so I snapped up a copy of that for myself with the view that if it was as profound as his quit smoking book I might be able to finally shift not only this belly but also my compulsive eating habits.
Carr's method is to provide clarity on your motivations for doing certain things which you're fundamentally aware are bad for you but do them anyway because you think they're good. There's an element of brain-washing we and the media do which is so subtle we don't notice it happening. All smokers know that their addiction will probably kill them but they've convinced themselves to believe that they're getting a reward every time they spark up. It's much the same with eating the wrong foods, although his way of getting to the point in this book was via a discussion on creation theory and whether God exists or not, and I must say that I skim-read the last page or so of that section to get to the point. I think he ran the risk of alienating many of his readers by doing this when his point could have been made without involving spirituality, but I'm glad I stuck with it because some valid insight came from the read. I've still got 50 pages left and I know it can only get better because of what I've already gained.
First, I've realised something very important. I was inclined by the author to ask a question and I've asked it again and again since then: Why would I give my body second-rate food when the best food is available? Animals in the wild will only eat other food if their preferred food isn't on offer. Why would I actively choose to put anything but the best food through my body if best food in the world is readily available to me?
Next, the best foods available are fruit, vegetables, pulses and the like. Processed food loses much of its nutritional value in the processing so unprocessed foods are perfect.
I've realised that dairy and meat products are alien to our system, are difficult to digest and we're not able to make best use of them. This came as a surprise because, particularly growing up as a vegetarian, I've been indoctrinated to believe that meat is a crucial part of our diet and because it's suddenly (in the grand scheme of things) more available and mass-produced, so we feel obliged to eat it. Twenty years ago, meat was a treat for Sundays and occasional weekday meals; now it seems we're inclined to have meat as part of every meal.
Satisfying a strong hunger is so much more rewarding than satisfying no or gentle hunger. When you've had to go for a long while without a meal, doesn't the final eating taste so much better and give you much more pleasure? On reality shows like I'm A Celebrity, after days of eating rice and beans, a small piece of chocolate can elicit orgasmic reactions from men and women alike.
There's a few other observations that are part and parcel of the whole package and have helped build this attitude change. I'm hopeful I can stick with this new regime because it's not a diet and although it does involve a big change in my diet overall, I don't see that as a bad thing because there's so much rubbish I've wanted to cut out anyway so it's a good thing. A great thing!
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