Think Before Every Time you Do These ...
The Real Costs of Convenience, Speed and Scale
* Every time we have all our food and dessert in larger portions served on an open kitchen counter, on a table by TV, or in a restaurant … We deprive our “body” an opportunity to walk towards small portions of food in the kitchen and to signal our brain to balance caloric intake and expenditure. Our “stressed” brains often prompt us to overeat and eat fast when there is no expense in securing the food or slowing down. And when watching TV with meals, a remote control ensures we don’t even have to move to change the channel or adjust the volume!
* Every time we use processed or restaurant food … , we deprive ourselves of (1) An opportunity to cook/bake, an enjoyable and essential skill/art and known to be among the most relaxing activities against depression, anxiety and stress; (2) Good raw ingredients we can use at home (instead of salt, sugar, artificial additives, preservatives, cheap ingredients and fillers used in processed/restaurant food); (3) Eating fresh clean quality meals prepared with love and caring (not overworked, underpaid staff common in many food factories and restaurants with poor hygiene); (4) Saving a lot of money, about 80% less than restaurant/processed food1.
* Every time we use an air conditioner in an otherwise warm room or car … We deprive our body of sweating, which is scientifically shown as one of the best ways for our body to detoxify and repair2.
* Every time we “escape” the stress of busy work days by spending our precious free time or weekends on shopping or watching TV/movies with our loved ones … We lose the precious little “free” time we have in modern life to listen, hear, think, heal, help, read, serve, learn, problem-solve, enjoy nature, and overcome bad habits.
* Every time We outsource parenting duties, like by sending our children to daycare centers or camps… We lose a chance to spend time with them, bond with them, know them better, and teach them valuable skills and life lessons.
* Every time We “hire” others to fix things in our complex life… We lose a valuable chance to learn new skills, save money and improve our brain’s neuroplasticity. We also deprive ourselves (our brain) of an opportunity to practice simplicity and contentment by “feeling” the real cost of holding on to assets.
In my book The ROGUE Brain, I explain how our modern brain’s relentless pursuit of Convenience, Speed and Scale (asset sizes/money) often sacrifices our resilience, health, joy, peace and wisdom…
To be Continued ….
On average, our own meal at home costs 35% (in ingredients, even if using organic local fresh ingredients) of processed/restaurant food and once we add tips, sales tax and also our own employment tax (because our spending money is net after paying taxes), and costs of gasoline and car depreciation (to drive to the restaurant), our home-made meal using fresh local quality ingredients can save us 80% of what we spend in a restaurant. Also, it’s true we spend time cooking but we also spend time driving to the restaurant and waiting too. Also we often cook standing which is a healthy balance for today’s sedentary seated lifestyles. Utility costs like gas for the stove are often negligible or less than ingredients’ costs.
Sweating acts as a trigger for Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs), which are cellular “bodyguards” activated when core body temperature rises to stabilize and repair damaged proteins, prevent cell death, and build resilience.