How to Think Thin Blog

I’ve been neglecting this blog for several weeks in order to concentrate on preparing my garden for this year’s crop. So it seems appropriate to begin this post with a quote from Rudolph Steiner, the brilliant scientist and holistic thinker who developed the concepts used in biodynamic farming.

When asked why people have such difficulty in remaining committed to healthy goals, Steiner responded that:

This is a problem of nutrition. Nutrition as it is today does not supply the strength necessary for manifesting the spirit in physical life. A bridge can no longer be built from thinking to will and action. Food plants no longer contain the forces people need for this.

Steiner gave his famous lectures on holistic agriculture in 1924, long before our stores were filled with processed junk food. He recognized that even then, after only a few years of chemical agriculture, the nutritional value of food grown on unhealthy soil was making it difficult for people to have healthy minds and bodies, which are needed to make good decisions and carry them through.

Since then, things have worsened considerably.

Studies have shown that fruits and veggies grown in the United States are no longer as nutritious as they were just 50 years ago, although the current nutritional labels on foods do not reflect the latest studies.

Why does this matter to someone who is trying to lose weight? Because the hardest part of maintaining a nutritious diet isn’t a matter of knowledge (what should I eat, when should I eat, and how much should I eat?) but a matter of will: I know I should eat the salad instead of the hamburger, but I want the hamburger.

If my ability to remain true to my commitment to lose weight is determined, in part, by the quality of the food I ate yesterday, as Steiner believed, there is a good chance that my will is not strong enough to overcome my temporary desire, and I’ll eat the hamburger. I will feel guilty afterwards, and give myself a negative lecture, but this won’t prevent the hamburger from doing its damage and making me even fatter than I already am.

On the other hand, if I persisted in a healthy diet yesterday, eating only the best food that was available to me, my will-power will be stronger, and it will be easier to say “no” to damaging food.

For this reason, I strongly suggest that you commitment to lose weight should have two equally important components:

1. A spiritual component, using meditation, prayer or other spirit-enhancing exercises to increase the power of your will, and;

2. A nutritional component, in which you use your knowledge of nutrition to choose the best foods for yourself and your family, which will, in turn, make it easier for you to maintain your commitment to lose weight.

Even though the nutritional value of our crops has declined, broccoli is still more nutritious than macaroni and cheese from a box. Fresh fruits and vegetables should always be the main components of any diet, and highly processed foods like white flour and sugar should be avoided. These changes will, in themselves, lead to weight loss.

To improve your health even more, I suggest that you find a local farm offering subscriptions for their produce, usually called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Almost all farmers and market gardeners that participate in CSAs are concerned about rebuilding the soil through organic methods, and the food you receive will have much more of the health-giving properties that Steiner knew to be so important.

As Steiner said, a healthy will-power is dependent on a healthy body - and health comes from food. Good food. Long-term weight loss can only be possible when the will is strong and the mind and body are healthy - so make a commitment today to find the spiritual and nutritional help you need to regain your health.

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