Friday, June 11, 2010

[Article] NutriSystem vs. Weight Watchers vs. Going Raw

"What's the difference between eating raw foods and going on the NutriSystem or joining the Weight Watcher's program?"

There are many large differences, let's start with calorie counting and why it's meaningless. The Weight Watchers program mostly focuses on a 'points' system based on calories. If you don't have too many calories, then you'll lose weight. That's all well and good, but it's not a permanent fix, and it will not make your unhealthy food cravings go away, nor will it treat other chronic conditions caused by unhealthy eating.

Calories Are Meaningless

Calories are neutral. You can eat ten thousand of them and still be skinny, and you can eat five thousand of them and still be overweight. In fact, studies have used this phenomenon to try to write off being fat as genetic.

Genetics do play a role in how your body behaves, but they do not control you. You control your genes, not the other way around. Your genes can actually be activated or deactivated. For example, if you have the 'diabetes' gene, then if you eat a lot of refined sugar you will become diabetic. If you don't have the gene, then you can eat a lot of refined sugar and not become diabetic (although you will eventually develop other issues.)


Something You Don't Need To Lose Weight; A Calorie Journal


"Anyone who has tried to lose weight has heard the age-old formula: eat less, exercise more. This is intended to create a calorie deficit, where the body is using up more than it's taking in. The idea is to coerce your body into burning stored fat, but for many people low-calorie dieting ends up burning them out long before the fat is gone. This is not because of a lack of self-control or willpower. It happens because the very fundamentals of low-calorie dieting are downright wrong." ~ Natural News


"How can calories be neutral? That's the opposite of what I've been taught my entire life!"

Think about it this way;





Celery

It's been shown that you actually burn more calories eating celery than you get from the amount of celery you're eating. That means if you eat ten thousand calories of celery in a day (assuming that much of one thing won't make you sick; which generally is the case when we're talking about eating that much of one thing), then you'd actually lose weight.

Now while that particular phenomenon only applies to celery, there are other similar phenomenons to take into consideration.

Enzymes

When you eat something right off the bush or tree that it's growing on, it's full of enzymes that are alive. (They die slowly over time, or very quickly if you cook something.) Those enzymes are strings of amino acids that your body uses to build muscle, digest food effectively, regulate your metabolism, and construct all different cell tissues throughout your body. There are a growing number of people who have discovered that eating weeds is better for them than store-bought food because they're loaded with enzymes, and are actually stronger and more vital plants than the food that's been grown in cultivated land.

Refined Sugars & Simple Carbs

When you're body is exposed to simple carbohydrates and refined sugars (soda, pasta, white bread, flour, candy, conventional desserts, etc) a number of things happen;

The sugar is absorbed through the roof of your mouth and goes directly into the brain. This causes hyperactivity in the brain which will last for hours after bedtime and contribute to sleep disorders. The sugars will damage teeth and gums.

Insulin

When these sugars and simple carbohydrates hit the blood stream your body will be overwhelmed and the pancreas will begin to produce insulin at a rapid rate. This is a stress on the pancreas. This also inhibits the release of growth hormones, which in turn depresses the immune system. (Your immune system is what keeps you from getting sick; not just in the form of colds, but in the form of cancer.)

Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat sweets high in sugar, you're making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases cause more deaths than cancer. But who cares about that - it'll make your life miserable in the mean time which is much more scary than death itself. Think; shortness of breath, dizziness, frequent doctor visits, chest pain, nausea, anxiety, weakness, and so forth. Imagine if that was your life; all the time.


If the sugar is in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup, it will actually stress the liver as well, and over time, these two organs (pancreas and liver) will begin to stop functioning correctly. (That's when the doctors prescribe insulin shots; tons of fun.)

What's horrifying about this is that the average American (the average sheeple) consumes an astounding 2-3 pounds of sugar each week. But I suppose this is not surprising considering that highly refined sugars in the forms of sucrose (table sugar), dextrose (corn sugar), and high-fructose corn syrup are being processed into so many foods such as bread, breakfast cereal, mayonnaise, peanut butter, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and a plethora of microwave meals.

Neutral Calories

Are you beginning to see why calories are meaningless? If you eat 5000 calories of vegetables and fruits right off the bush every day, you're going to be doing great. If you eat 5000 calories of High Fructose Corn Syrup, TransFats, Artificial Sweeteners, MSG, and other toxic junk that doesn't qualify as food then you're going to be chronically ill, overweight and miserable. The number of calories just doesn't matter. Eat when you feel like eating! That's what I do, and that's what the healthiest people on the planet are doing. You do not have to starve yourself or feel like you're depriving yourself.



So that's some of major differences between Weight Watchers and Raw Food. When you go raw, there is no calorie counting, do depriving yourself when you're feeling hungry, and your chronic issues like muscle pains, headaches and stomach aches will go away as well. Also, going raw makes a difference for life that you can maintain and be happy with. Counting calories is just a temporary help that will not actually heal you.

"What about the NutriSystem? Why not just get my food sent to my door and feel assured that it's good for me?"

Firstly, because it can't be good for you. You want to eat food that is alive and full of enzymes. Not food that has been loaded with preservatives and laid around dying for weeks before it got to your door. Food is found in nature; not in factories.

NutriSystem promotes itself as an "effective, safe, and customizable weight loss program" that lets you "lose weight and still eat the foods you love."

What's ironic about this is that NutriSystem is a big liar, whereas those things are actually true for Raw Food. It's effective, it's better than safe, and there are no limits of customization because there are thousands of plants in nature! What you see in your grocery store is only a tiny fraction of all the food out there!

If you're thinking, "but I don't want to eat only salad everyday" then you have the wrong idea. Find a raw food group in your area on meetup.com and then attend some potlucks. You'll be amazed at all the wonderful things there are to eat raw. I've even made a how-to video on how to make one of my favorite all-raw treats.

Still thinking, "But the NutriSystem just sounds so much easier..."

Why NutriSystem Fails

Well, here is what they don't tell their potential customers;

1. NutriSystem won't tell you: "Our food tastes bad."

People struggle enough with weight loss when they're eating things they enjoy eating. How can you be expected to lose weight when the food you are eating is not even fit for pigs? Unless NutriSystem's plan is to make food so bad that it makes people despise eating, they have failed in the taste department.

Speaking of which, if you're not enjoying your meals, they could be causing you to gain weight because of the mood you're feeling when you eat them. You form millions of new cells every hour, and how you feel effects how these cells are formed.

Substituted 'Foods'

2. NutriSystem won't tell you: "We won't send you the foods you ordered."

The absolute biggest beef with NutriSystem is that they are substitute-happy. They will quickly and without warning substitute up to half of your selected food order. This can be devastating for those with specific dietary needs based on health issues. It's also bad form to send meat-laded substitutes to vegetarians, or foods that are allergy-triggers for those with allergies.

3. NutriSystem won't tell you: "We will send you subsitute foods for substitute foods."

NutriSystem is really good at making a bad problem worse. When substitute food is returned, don't expect foods from your original selection list to always be sent. They will instead send even more replacements and substitutes.

Dead, Lifeless 'Food'

4. NutriSystem won't tell you: "The food does not taste fresh."

How could it? The food is pre-packaged, can spend weeks in transit, and then has to be reheated by the customer. There is nothing healthy about 'food' that is weeks old and then popped into a microwave. It's dead food multiplied by three.

5. NutriSystem won't tell you: "You will have to pay shipping for returned orders."

Many customers have had problems with not being reimbursed for returning wrong orders. What gets worse is when a return order is the second or third wrong order, and a customer's shipping costs and frustration are equally elevated.

6. NutriSystem won't tell you: "Our portions are secret."

Know how much bran cereal you are getting from NutriSystem? "One bowl." The nutrition information they include incorporates nutrients from the added skim-milk, not just the cereal. Why pay for bran cereal from them when you can portion out your own 100-calorie serving (3/4 cup) of bran cereal? Why pay for bran in the first place when the weeds growing on your front lawn are better for you?

High Sodium Content

7. NutriSystem won't tell you: "Our pre-packaged foods are loaded with sodium."

Anyone knows that pre-packaged foods are full of sodium. Sodium is a preservative, and without it, some foods could not be packaged. And it is not loaded with potassium, which is needed in an equal portion in order to hydrate your cells.

Expensive

8. NutriSystem won't tell you: "Our food costs way more than it would if you bought it at the store."

And it costs even less to grow your own food in your yard, on your balcony, or in your kitchen. You'll be healthier and happier for eating something really fresh.



Nutritionally Incomplete

9. NutriSystem won't tell you: "Our food is only part of what you should be eating."

The NutriSystem, even though it can cost you between $50-$70 a week, is still not nutritionally complete. The customer is expected to buy fresh foods on their own, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and milk. And for that price, you could just go to the store and buy enough vegetables, fruits and nuts to provide all the nutrition you need for a week.

Lack of Nutritional Education

10. NutriSystem won't tell you: "Our system does not teach you how to eat better for a lifetime."

By not educating their customers on truly nutritional practices, NutriSystem is best serving their bottom line, and not their customers. If you want to learn about how to lose weight, save money, and gain a level of energy that you've never before experienced in your lifetime, read this blog and stop buying corporate bull crap.

Obvious Food Conspiracy

If you've been paying attention to the actions of Monsanto, and systems like the "NutriSystem" then you know by now that the food industry as well as the pharmaceutical industry does not have your best interests are heart. If you're interested, here is a poem I wrote about it.

Raw Meals

"What should a healthy meal look like?"

Here are some examples;




















A rich and tasty kale salad with a berry, kiwi and fruit ball dessert.
A delicious avocado and garbanzo bean salad followed by a rich mushroom salad topped with olive oil and a blueberry smoothie.
Mache salad, fresh cherries, and mango pudding.

2 comments:

  1. Star ratings reflect scores of 1 to 5 assigned to Nutrisystem in seven categories by nutritionists, specialists in diabetes and heart disease, and other diet experts on a ratings panel assembled by U.S. News.

    ReplyDelete

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