US Food & Beverage System

 Milej Soboty!

("Happy Saturday" in Polish)

Over the years, while training and competing as an ultra endurance athlete, I developed a deep appreciation for the taste of a cold, refreshing beverage. Many times, during long self-supported training days, you simply don't have room to carry enough food/bev to sustain an all-day ride or run. Add in unexpected/unplanned delays, challenging weather variables and this can play an active role in accessibility. I don't consume soda in my regular diet (giving up toxic diet sodas as a staple over a decade ago), however, I could tell you exactly where I was when I gulped an entire iced cold Mexican Coke (in my opinion: the only 'true' Coke recipe) which hit the spot or an iced lemonade after a particularly hot cycling climb or marathon run.

With food & beverages readily accessible in many parts throughout of America, if you have the resources (whether that be in the form of your finances, family/friend contributions, government programs or other sources), you never really have to go thirsty or hungry. Many Americans don't know what it's like to experience actual hunger or thirst. 

Interestingly, though, many Americans often feel hungry and get overweight, despite ingesting thousands of extra calories per day. Besides "garbage" calories found in the majority of the standard American diet, what are some of the other self-sabotaging diet culprits? Pharmaceutical drug hormone interference, accessibility to better options (also known as “food deserts”, widely prevalent in the US), lack of quality healthcare and an unrelenting stress load, to name a few top ones!

Weight loss is often a happy side effect of making both lifestyle and dietary changes. Ask any of my previous clients! I've counseled dozens of athletes and given numerous nutrition talks... beginning a decade ago and this sentiment still rings true today. Today, per the CDC, 40.3% of adults age 20 and older are considered obese, with many others overweight. It's easy to see, based on simple observation, body sizes are much bigger than ever these days. As I taught my young son: it's not about 'looking a certain way' / 'fitting into a certain size pants', it's about how you feel and long-term health. And frankly, if your diet is 90% heavily processed, you will not feel good. And double whammy - you won't look good most of the time - which a lot of people deeply desire, even if they don’t admit it.

But as many podcasters have pointed out for a while, there's no money in healthy people, so the US Gov't likes to keep bogus dietary guidelines, promote pharmaceuticals... because ow-wee.... there is money in sick, overweight people! Sad, but true.

Big tech companies are the US Government's favorite partners in crime... for example, here's one slick "Amazon Takeover" move: adding Cheerios to Whole Foods cereal aisle when they acquired them in 2017. Talk about going backwards in time with nutrition! I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I noticed that archaic yellow box on the shelves. At that time, I mostly stopped going to Safeway, because of their "anti-health" approach to foods and how they showcase Frito Lay and market sugar-filled soda on their end caps. In my eyes, the Amazon takeover proved that Whole Foods was now a bonafide sellout.

Amazon and other big Tech companies have not only infiltrated and added to disease in the US, but now they dictate and control shipping with the USPS, affectionately disguising them as a "partner". Aw, yes, partners in crime! (Have you woken up to the criminal interdependence of big tech and government at this point? Maybe ready to do something about it? I sure hope so.)

If you're curious as to some of my influences in my nutrition work, you can check out my ultraheidi & nutritionbyheidi Instagram accounts for photos that tag famous and not-so-famous influencers and companies. In the nutrition field, like many of my influencers, I've definitely been an underdog in the US, often making recommendations that would actually help, but aren't followed. If you live in the US, for nutrition, you're set up to fail, even with the best intentions. Many of my clients moved back overseas to their homeland, where at least other countries are taking action with nutrition polices (including regulating ingredients & additives).

In summary, when you do get into a diet system that works well for you and your family, it's actually nice to incorporate fasting, and choose to delay ingesting sugary treats, because, gosh, they taste extra good and you can consume them with gratitude, when you do indulge!

May we all come together and eat in harmony, with gratitude.

With Aloha,

Heidi