Written by: Chandra Zas, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Time and time again, I hear, “I just don’t have the time to shop, cook, and prep the homemade food that I know would be good for me. So instead, I grab food that is easy and healthy enough in order to save myself time.” These easy foods are, majority of the time, packaged and processed foods with a shelf life and a list of chemicals that profit big business and cost us our health.”
We innocently believe we save ourselves time by grabbing easy food, but in fact, we are paying in time and energy because our body and brain need to detox, repair, and recover from packaged processed foods. What about olive oil and salt? Those are packaged. I personally draw the line at packaged foods with more than one ingredient, like olive oil, chicken, etc. My one exception is fermented foods; I used to make them at home but now prefer to buy those from the store as long as there is no sugar or vinegar in the ingredients.
If you are reading this article, you likely are similar to my clients who come to me knowing that health is important to some degree. Hence, you try to eat vegetables and not too many sweets. And because knowing your health is important, you have shifted from buying normal fun foods like pizza, soda, and peanut butter cups to buying the expensive organic versions of fun foods like cauliflower crust pizza, kombucha, and six-dollar peanut butter cups.
You think you are on the right track, and in some ways, you are; many organic foods are better than non-organic ones. Often organic foods have fewer additives, more natural additives, or fewer hydrogenated oils... but that does not mean that the organic version of fun foods is actually health promoting. Maybe at best, it is less damaging. Added sugar and hydrogenated oils are two ingredients that I watch like a hawk. they are also two ingredients that, when cut out, make a noticeable difference in how my clients feel. They feel less inflamed, less fatigued, and less symptomatic when they cut out these two inflammatory ingredients.
Doing so is not an easy task. Our relationship with these fun and comforting foods runs deep in our cultural norms and our personal emotional coping. (I have a food and mood program that specificallyfocuses on our relationship to first our emotions and stress and then onto food).
The first step in my program is figuring out and looking at why we eat what we eat. Do you eat because you are sad, bored, stressed, or input any emotion? If so, then let's find alternatives to dealing with these emotions other than using food to “feel better.”
The second step is about learning which foods make each unique body feel energized or bogged down. Once my clients experience an increase in energy and long-term ‘feel good,’ they naturally want to eat foods that make them feel good.
The foods that make us feel the best... are wholesome one-ingredient homemade foods. Cue, the show-stopper thought, "I don't have time."
Who has time to make homemade one-ingredient-composed meals? Well, I’ll tell you it is not the people who are eating easy comfort foods, watching tv, and needing extra sleep. The people who have time to make homemade foods are the people who eat them; because once you regularly eat low-processed homemade foods, then you have more energy, need less sleep, and therefore have even more time in the literal day.
Vitality has a cascade effect either way you go, and you can turn the cascade around and reclaim your energy and time. Let’s circle back to this lie “convenient food saves us time” that our brain believes by default which, when unquestioned, drains us. You must know that marketers have done an incredibly great job at tricking us to think that foods labeled healthy are what they say they are ‒ healthy. Sadly the word ‘healthy’ can be misused again to benefit big food businesses and cost our actual health.
Fresh organic produce, proteins, and whole grains are foods that promote our health, but they are challenging to make profit off. The way I like to think about the foods I purchase is “follow the money” and see who is benefiting. Farmers growing organic foods have the smallest profit margins. The foods sitting in packages have the biggest (and they often have additives that are addictive... yup, to drive profit).
I eagerly put in my own time and energy with my food choices upfront and gain tremendous rewards for my health.
When we eat packaged and processed foods that have molecules and chemicals that our body cannot use, then our detox organs must work extra hard to eliminate or store them. Guess what happens when our body is working hard doing so? We are tired, have symptoms, and need rest.
I literally look at foods and think about the ‘work’ or the nourishment I am putting in my body.
If you're wanting to get more time, more energy, more creativity, and more clarity, the process is very simple: sign up for my food and mood program, where I help you fall in love with eating really clean foods that make you feel vibrant.
The cleaner we eat, the clearer we think. The less processed foods we eat, the more energy and time we have. So when your brain thinks that you're saving time by buying convenient foods at your local organic store, ask yourself, “how am I going to feel after this meal? Am I going to feel energized? Am I going to feel clear? Am I going to feel on?” Because when we change this decision process and when we really think about the foods that we're putting in our body as the energy source for our brain and for our human body, then we start to tap into a connection and a decision-making process that will truly energize us.
I watch my clients get lit up and turned on when they discover this simple and energizing new relationship with food.
I want to do a short plug for food changes because most people don't like the idea of diets, restriction, and deprivation, and I agree. How I help my clients is by helping them make the connection to how they want to feel long-term and by tapping into the desire of how they want to feel after their meal.
During my food reset, there's always a point where my clients come, and their eyes are big, and they say something like, “Oh my gosh, I can't believe how good I feel. I'm all in for life!”
This article is inspired by a free video, “The 3 Lies that Drain Entrepreneurs” click on this link to go check out my free video to learn more. I also have a free email course where I share many details of my food and mood process. Head to my website and scroll to the footer to sign up and learn more.
Chandra Zas, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Chandra Zas is helping entrepreneurs prioritize their health with the goal of super-athlete performance and presence, both in their business and their personal life. Her childhood lack of health made her realize at a very young age how crucial health is for being able to function fully and thrive. The same Food and Mood process that Chandra used to heal her health is the very process that her clients use to become their own body and brain expert, empowering them to perform at exceptional levels and achieve their dream work-life.
The leader is the one who is able to regulate stress under pressure. A high-performing mind starts with a healthy gut.
