Our energy, appearance, and success all affect our mood.  When we have an abundance of energy, and feel attractive and successful, we feel great.  When we experience a lack in one of these areas, we don’t quite feel like ourselves and hopefully we step in to do something about it.  The only problem is that when we think of each of these factors that affect us, we think of them as isolated issues and as Roger Snow, Owner and Operator of Rocky Mountain Grain Products says, “Nothing is in isolation.”

Roger paints a very vivid picture of depression and notes the interdependent roles that energy (our well-being), appearance (our self-esteem), and success (fulfilling our purpose) play.  The trap can gradually sneak up on a person over time and it is one that many people easily slip into.  “Most women that I’ve come across that are suffering from chronic depression are overweight and part of their depression comes from being overweight.  They’re overweight and do not like their appearance, so in trying to do something about their appearance, they eliminate breakfast.  They think, ‘Well, I got to cut some food consumption back, so in the morning I’ll just have coffee and a cigarette.’  So they take in coffee and cigarettes all morning, and don’t take in any nutrients.  Then, they don’t have any energy.  People who have trouble with stress often don’t have enough energy.  People without energy are not very successful at work, they have difficulty being successful with their children and their homes, and they get way behind in all their work, dragging themselves around without energy.  Eventually, they succumb to their hunger because they’re just starving, and when they do they always look for something that's huge.  So what’s huge?  Potatoes, pasta, bread, and rice, so that’s what they eat… all the wrong things.  Maybe they’ll try to be ever so dedicated to their diet again, and they’ll hold back for a long time until they eventually get extremely hungry and then what do they choose again, bread, potatoes, pasta, and rice, all the wrong things.”

Choosing to eat carbohydrates, such as bread, potatoes, pasta, and rice, is what Roger calls energy boosting.  When we are very low on energy, we get really hungry and want energy NOW!  Carbohydrates satisfy that need because they release their energy fast.  The only problem is that they release more energy than we immediately need and so the excess energy gets stored as fat.  They are the wrong things to eat if you’re trying to lose weight. Roger continues, “After a few years of this they notice that they’re still getting fatter, not skinnier, and they’re not being very successful with their children, their not being very successful with work, their home life is even worse and they get more and more depressed.”

“So what’s the solution, Roger?  How does one turn it around?”  I ask.  Roger says the solution is very simple, “If someone like that phones me, and I can get them to eat hemp hearts for breakfast in large quantity (at least 5  tablespoons), they’ll notice the first day they do that they’ll have lots of energy.  People with lots of energy are more likely to be active.  People with lots of energy are more likely to be successful at their work or with their families.  People with more energy are more likely to be able to handle stress.  People with more energy aren’t even tempted to eat those energy boosters that most people use hourly almost, so it’s easy for them to avoid the coffee and the sweets, and the snacks that put people on an energy roller coaster.  And because hemp hearts are really high in protein, I tell them you won’t even be hungry at lunch time and people who can get past lunch without eating are going to find it easy to lose weight.”  With greater energy you will feel more capable of creating a successful life and with more energy you’ll be able to change the way you eat and naturally lose weight.  As life lightens, so will your mood.  Try hemp hearts for simple life solutions.