Ever since I was a young child I have had a rather skeptical temperament. Looking back over the course of my lifetime I can recall dozens of different situations where I was very quick to question the validity of what I was being told or lead to believe. And what I found was that many of the things that I had once believed to be true were actually lies manufactured with the clear and explicit intent to keep me ignorant to the truth, to keep me in line, and keep me under control.
When I was a young child, I confess that I was awestruck when I was first told about the existence of good old Saint Nicholas. Now, whether or not I actually believed that he was real is debatable because I honestly can't remember. What I do remember though is that I always had my doubts...
Gotcha! The Diet Trap...
When I was a young child, I confess that I was awestruck when I was first told about the existence of good old Saint Nicholas. Now, whether or not I actually believed that he was real is debatable because I honestly can't remember. What I do remember though is that I always had my doubts...
When I was about seven years old, I came up with this brilliant plan to prove whether or not "Santa Clause" was real. So on Christmas Eve night I went up to my room at my usual bedtime and pretended to fall asleep. After a few hours of patiently waiting I heard a noise come from our living room downstairs! I opened my eyes slowly to make sure the coast was clear before I slipped out of my bed and tip-toed down the staircase.
I arrived at the bottom with ninja-like stealth and then proceeded to crawl through our dining room to get to the living room where our tree was located. When I arrived at the archway I was a bit stunned to hear what sounded like the voices of my Mother and Father..."It couldn't be, could it?!" I had come too far to turn back now; I had to see for myself.
I slowly stuck my left eye past the archway to take a look at what was going on. My suspicions had been confirmed. What did I see? None-other than my own mother placing the presents under our tree while my father delicately polished off the chocolate chip cookies that we had specifically prepared for Santa... along with the milk!
I slowly stuck my left eye past the archway to take a look at what was going on. My suspicions had been confirmed. What did I see? None-other than my own mother placing the presents under our tree while my father delicately polished off the chocolate chip cookies that we had specifically prepared for Santa... along with the milk!
That was it, the mystery had been solved and I had seen enough. I tip-toed my way back up the stairs without being detected, I slipped back into my warm bed and fell into a deep, peaceful slumber.
What is so interesting about this story for me is that it perfectly sums up my unique drive to stop at nothing to find the truth. Even at such a young age when I learned that the whole thing had actually been a lie, I was not the least bit upset. In fact, I remember feeling sort of relieved to know the truth. The pressure that I had been putting on myself mixed with the stress that was caused from my constantly questioning the existence of such a being had been eating away at me for so long that when I finally learned the truth I felt liberated -- like everything was finally right in the world.
Ever since then you can imagine that I have pretty much questioned (read: challenged) the authority and validity of pretty much everyone and everything you can imagine: parents and teachers, police officers, doctors, babysitters, vaccinations, abortion rights, human rights, popular diets, illegal drugs, prescription drugs/medications, fast food, meat-eating, the relationship between gas mileage and personal driving style, human addictions, the human propensity to hold tight to relationships that are obviously not healthy, our broken health care system, you name it...
As a result of my questioning everything, I have developed a rather unique ability to see through the glitz and glamour of the various popular belief systems that exist in our culture today and I am able to clearly see them for what they truly are: Santa Clause-like hoaxes designed to keep people ignorant to the truth, keep them in line, and to keep them under control.
Hmm... Sound familiar?
Gotcha! The Diet Trap...
At this point, you're probably thinking, "He could pretty much break off and discuss literally anything that relates to human beings and their particular vices right now." And you'd be right, I could. But for the sake of time I am going to skip all that other stuff (for now) and focus instead on a subject that is near and dear to my heart. I want to talk to you about what I believe is one of the most elaborate and dangerous hoaxes that exist in our world today: commercial diets.
Fact: More people die from diet and lifestyle related diseases today than any drug (legal or not) in the entire world!
According to The Boston Medical Center, approximately 45 million Americans "diet" each year, and together they spend roughly $33 billion on weight-loss products in their pursuit of a trimmer, fitter body.
What that means is approximately 45 million Americans today are voluntarily prescribing to one form of fad "dieting" or another. Dieting has essentially become a national pastime in this country. And because of the deceitful ways these dieting programs are being marketed, it is really no wonder why so many people feel compelled to try them.
Three years ago, when I was actually part of this growing epidemic of poor health, I tried every fad diets you could think of. Inevitably my penchant for truth and justice finally broke free and I woke up to the reality of what was truly happening to me. When I looked in the mirror, I knew right away that before I could ever get the chance to help other people overcome their own weight issues I would have to set an example by taking care of myself first.
Today I feel confident that I have proven beyond any doubt now that fad diets do not work. After three years of dedication, hard work, relentless study, trial and error, I believe that I have finally come up with a real solution that will effectively help people overcome this "dieting" problem once and for all.
What is the solution...?
Education!
I believe that first and foremost, everyone, regardless of their current weight, health or fitness status, needs to spend some time and become properly educated about not just the foods they are choosing to put into their bodies every day, but also about what their food is actually doing once they've finished eating.
Why everyone? Because regardless of your current weight, health or fitness status, everything you eat today will ultimately have an impact on how you will look and feel tomorrow. It's common sense.
If you are overweight and you decide to eat healthier foods, this decision will most likely lead you down a path towards being much more trim and healthy. The same can be said about a thin person. If you are already thin and you choose (or continue) to make poor food choices today, then eventually that will take you down a path of being overweight and/or unhealthy. It does not matter who you are, nobody can escape the repercussions of their past food choices. All you can do is decide to make better choices today in the hope that it will lead to a better future tomorrow.
Second: I believe that the population as a whole needs to start appreciating the fact that this modern world we live in is not a god / nature / universe-given right, it is a privilege! A privilege that I believe has been taken for granted. Due to this lack of respect and appreciation, our country is now experiencing an obesity and health crisis that is unparalleled to any other on earth. For the first time in human history, we might actually have to see our children perish before we do.
As I mentioned earlier, millions of people are putting stock into these fad diets. Over time these people become discouraged and believe that their health is no longer their responsibility. What's worse is that regardless of whether or not an individual actually manages to achieve his/her initial goal of losing weight, almost everyone who goes on one of these fad diets will eventually wind up reverting back to their old junk food diet. Most of them will actually put on even more weight than before they started! Why are people sabotaging themselves like this? Because these dieting systems have failure built right into them.
What most people do not understand is that like cigarettes, processed foods and fad diets are chemically engineered to keep you hooked and coming back for more. The companies that are in charge of them have basically zero interest in selling you healthy food. Their main concern is the selling and marketing of a product. Their bottom line is profits, and you can bet that these junk food and diet companies make a lot of dollars doing just that. But in terms of actually helping their clientele achieve or maintain a level of health that can be sustained throughout ones lifetime, most of them make absolutely no sense.
When you really stop and think about it, commercial diets are nothing more than a way for people to avoid having to take responsibility for the food they are putting into their bodies. And yet day after day, millions of people expect that if they just follow a certain diet for a short period of time they will get thin... and then they can go back to life as it was before...
This is a completely backwards way of thinking, and it needs to stop.
So what can you do if you're stuck in this predicament? Like I mentioned before, I believe that it all begins with proper education. In order to break yourself free from this current dieting paradigm you really need to learn and understand what a diet really is.
Simply put: A diet is nothing more than the food and drink that an organism consumes in order to sustain a healthy, long and vibrant life. Now, compare that definition of a diet with what millions of people are choosing to consume every day and you'll start to see the problem. Instead of eating the kind of food that we were naturally designed to eat, many people are choosing instead to eat food that is unnatural and harmful.
Eating like this is not a way of life; it is a way of death.
Based on personal experience, I believe that the best way to achieve optimal health and an ideal body weight is to purposefully shift your diet back to the where mother nature intended.
How do you do that?
Well for me, the simplest way to figure that out was by asking myself, "What would I do if I were suddenly transported to a remote area of the world where I did not have access to the convenience of supermarkets and processed junk food? What would I eat? How would I survive? Could I survive, or would I just give up and throw in the towel?"
After thinking long and hard about these questions I realized that for me to get my life back on track I needed to start making small adjustments that would eventually get me to a place where I was already living that kind of all-natural lifestyle.
By living in balance with nature, I matured into a new person that depends much more on myself, and much less on the comforts and convenience of modern-day living.
By living in balance with nature, I matured into a new person that depends much more on myself, and much less on the comforts and convenience of modern-day living.
My hope is that after reading this you can better see, appreciate and understand the tremendous responsibilities that go along with the privileges we have all been given to eat what we please.
We only get one body; please don't take that privilege for granted.
We only get one body; please don't take that privilege for granted.
Peace & Love,
Corey Barton