I have been so excited for this post for a long time!  

The idea has been brewing for a while and now the time is finally here!!!  

We are going to spend the month of June focusing on a topic that we here at 

Earth Monkeys have become crazy about...

"Diet"....this should be a four letter word.  What you are not going to get this  month are posts full of gibber jabber on how to "loose inches, shrink your waistline, or drop pounds".  We won't offer you the latest fads, or give you a chart for counting calories.  This month is about health, not weight.  We are going  to focus on our own health, our kids health, our mental, physical and emotional health.  We want to motivate you to change your thinking on diets and food, we are talking radical here ladies!   You are going to get so many different perspectives this month, that we are sure you will all relate on big levels.  (I'm so exited I cant stand it!)  

-On any given day in the United States half of all women are on diets, and 1 in 4 men are on a diet.  

-2/3  of people who loose weight on a diet gain it back within a year, 

 and almost all gain it back in 5 years!  

-Half of all 9 and 10 year old girls say being on a diet makes them feel better, 

  and 4 out of 5 children are afraid of being fat. (this rattles me big time!)

-Americans spend over 40 billion dollars a year on dieting or diet related products.  (they should spend that on Earth Monkeys products instead!) ;)

These stats are very disturbing to me.  Not only does it prove that diets are basically not effective and are doing nothing to improve our health, but the fact that our kids even know what a diet is and feel better when they are on one, breaks my heart!

It may sound cliche', but think about the fact that you have one chance with this body on this earth, ask yourself: "is it more important that the food I eat taste super good for 10 seconds and wrecks my body, or that I nourish it with the best food possible so that it will last and serve me well?"  I once heard a girl say "I don't eat to live, I live to eat".  Let me propose...its time to eat to live!  I'm going to ask you today to make some commitments.  For some of you, I think you will feel a great sense of hope and a weight lifted with this clear direction and change in thinking we are proposing, for others, this may not be for you, and that's ok too.

1)  Remove the word "diet" from our vocabulary, lets break the cycle and make this a word our kids know nothing about.  It's time to commit to "being healthy" NOT being on a diet.

2)Start moving.  We will go into this more on another post, but for now, just Get off your butt and move ;)

3)  Lets stop comparing our outsides to other peoples outsides.  We are all different and it's time to stop thinking we all need to be stick thin super models.  It's time to focus on being healthy, not skinny.

4) It's time for a full on pantry/fridge makeover!  I'm going to give you a few things that we are all going to start with today, things we are feeding our families that are making us crazy unhealthy, and even killing people!

-Check the labels on all processed food and anything with Hydrogenated oils...put it in the trash!  Let me tell you why...

These oils are put in our foods because they are cheap and they greatly extend the life of our foods.  

The way they are processed makes the chemical makeup comparable to plastic and your body can't digest this.  They raise bad cholesterol,  and are linked to heart disease, Alzheimer's, encourage development of cancer, cause obesity, and cellulite (this should be enough for most of us ;).  And this crap is in everything, so be prepared to trash a lot of stuff!! Nuff said???

-It has NO nutritional value.

-It is linked to osteoporosis (by not allowing the body to absorb calcium) , obesity, tooth decay, and heart disease. (just to name a few)

-It has ove 100% of the USRDA of sugar which increases insulin, causes High blood pressure, causes heart disease and diabetes.

Did I just hear you say "well I drink diet"??? (uh ohhhh...)  

-The artificial sweeteners in that diet soda are linked to 92 different health side effects (major gasp!) including brain tumors, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disorders, epilepsy, MS, lupus, fibromyalgia, depression, and seizures.  It also doubles the risk of obesity and takes away your appetite for healthy foods.  (note: you can find lots of information online for helping quit the soda habit.  It is an addiction.)

Think  you are safe with Splenda?  Well it is NOT natural.  The FDA approved it without any long term studies even though it contains chlorine and the chemical makeup is close to pesticides.  (need I say more?)

High fructose corn syrup...dont let the adds fool you, it is not safe.  It is made from corn, yes, but it is overly processed and is 45%  fructose which is related to type 2 diabetes, obesity, HBP, heart disease, liver disease, and kidney stones...and it's in a ton of things...get rid of it all ;)

Your safe because you replaced your bad sweeteners with Agave, right?  Wrong.  I fell for this one until I did some research and found out it is HIGHER IN FRUCTOSE than even high fructose corn syrup!  It is overly processed with chemicals and is even connected to miscarriages!  So not cool.

I have found that the safest sweeteners are small amounts of real sugar, raw honey (the thick stuff) and Stevia.  

I have to quickly mention those "100 calorie snack packs"...seriously, they may be low in calories, but the ingredients are terrible!  Lets start being more concerned with WHAT we put in our bodies and not just how low in calories it is..lets all get into the habit of reading labels, and researching before jumping onto the latest "new thing".  My rule is, if I don't know what an ingredient is, I don't buy it.  Really!  You want a healthy snack?  Eat something real...like a fruit or veggie ;)

The amount that is suggested we eat in one day is equal to 1t and we as Americans are eating at least 2x that amount.  Let's look at why this is so harmful...

-It is linked to heart disease, HBP, stroke, heart failure, kidney failure, kidney stones...

This means when we cook at home, we should add only small amounts to our meals, and take that shaker off of the table, because we do not need more added.  This also means, if we are getting any of our meals at a fast food restaurant, we will NOT be able to stay within the RDA. (I have a million other   reasons to avoid all fast food, but I wont go off on those today...)





This is only the beginning!

I want to challenge you to do your own research on things like red dye, fast food, processed food in general, soy, corn...teach yourself to research things from every angle, and remember that if there is money to be made, of course that opinion will be for something.  Dig deep.  Let us know what you find!  So lets clean it out...remember, we are not counting calories, fat or carbs...we are getting rid of the crap that is harming us and the rest will follow.  Lets get our families out of this unhealthy rut that we are in as a nation.

This is in no way meant to sound "holier than thou"or preachy...its meant to be the start of a month long conversation with you all so that we can all learn and grow from each other. I am really hoping that this month will be totally interactive!  What are you going to change to improve the health of  you and your family? and What are you already doing in your lives to be healthy?  Are you in it with us to  "Get off your butt and get healthy"month?...are you committing to hanging with us and going through the process?  Talk to us ;)  Let us know in the comments beneath.