The Pitfalls of the Monsanto Protection Act

Through the dubious practice of attaching irrelevant riders (provisions) to bills in order to force them to get passed, a biotech law was quietly placed into HR 933, a national budget measure approved by Congress since it was needed to keep the government going.  Though over 250,000 people quickly signed a petition asking President Obama to not sign the bill and to have the rider taken out, he did on March 26th, 2013.  We now have the “Farmer Assurance Provision”, which has also been called the “Monsanto Protection Act.”

In essence, this part of the “Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013″, according to the International Business Times, “effectively bars federal courts from being able to halt the sale or planting of controversial genetically modified (aka GMO) or genetically engineered (GE) seeds, no matter what health issues may arise concerning GMOs in the future.” Monsanto themselves helped create the wording of the rider in conjunction with Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, where the company’s headquarters is located, reported the NY Daily News. It is quite alarming when companies are allowed to help create the very laws they are supposed to be regulated under.

This shouldn’t affect anything since we have already been able to verify that GMOs are safe to eat, right?  Not quite. GMOs have only been used as commercial crops for 17 years. That is not enough time to thoroughly assess the long-term effects. The American Academy of Environmental Science warns that “several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food consumption including infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, insulin regulation, cell signaling, and protein formation, and changes in the liver, kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal system.” More testing definitely needs to be done but with laws like the Monsanto Protection Act, the results may not matter.

Some argue that humans have been already genetically altering plants for thousands of years through the process of selective breeding. This is misleading.  In selective breeding, with some exceptions, only plants that are closely related enough to be in the same genus can cross.   There are some that occur between two different genera (on their own or with a little scientific help from natural resources like gibberellic acid), but they are still within the same family. Only plants that nature affords the ability to crossbreed are able to do so.

With GMOs, the sky’s the limit. Scientists are able to cross whole kingdoms by adding genetic material from animals, bacteria and other organisms right into the plant DNA. Allergens can be introduced and you would not know that they are there. There are also other assorted problems like increased pesticide use as Roundup-resistant weeds spring up and the threat of a crop being wiped out from lack of diversity.

There are currently a few different ways that you can avoid being a guinea pig for GMOs. First, you can grow your own food using seeds that are heirlooms or open-pollinated. These are varieties that run true to type, meaning that as long as it has not been pollinated by a different variety, you can save the seeds and it will have the same characteristics.  They are not genetically modified by scientists and help preserve plant diversity. Hybrid seeds may not contain GMOs, but you cannot save the seeds and expect the offspring to be the same. eFoodsDirect sells a Survival Seed Vault that contains 20 different kinds of heirloom seeds.

However, not everyone has the time or space to grow their own foods. They have to depend on food available to them at the grocery store…food that currently does not have to be labeled as containing GMOs. The Non-GMO Shopping Guide suggests you can try avoiding products containing the commonly modified commercial crops, which are canola, corn, cottonseed, most Hawaiian papayas, soybeans, sugar beets and some zucchini and yellow squash. You will also want to avoid dairy that does not specify that it is free from hormones and sugar unless it is noted to be pure cane sugar.

A final way is to buy foods that are labeled as organic or GMO-free . In order to carry the designation of organic, products must be grown through natural means – no GMOs, no chemical pesticides, etc.

Here at eFoodsDirect, all products carry the Nutriversal Seal of Promise. Striving to be GMO-free and using all-natural products are part of this commitment to quality. You can store them for years, allowing you to bypass genetically modified foods as they test the safety over time.  This is the only way to ensure that you can avoid these harmful GM foods in the good times as well as the bad.

One small consolation is that the measure of the rider is only for six months. We can hope that it will expire once the time limit is up if it isn’t somehow removed before. However, this door has been opened and it will be easier to extend it now that it already exists. Write your Congressperson and the President with your concerns.  Petition for foods to be labeled. Fight the Monsanto Protection Act with your pocketbook by growing your own heirlooms and buying GMO-free food.

Connor Adams Sheets, “‘Monsanto Protection Act’: 5 Terrifying Things To Know About The HR 933 Provision” International Business Times, March 27, 2013 http://www.ibtimes.com/monsanto-protection-act-5-terrifying-things-know-about-hr-933-provision-1156079

“Genetically Modified Foods”, American Academy of Environmental Medicine, May 8, 2009 http://www.aaemonline.org/gmopost.html

“Tips for Avoiding GMOs”, Non-GMO Shopping Guide http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/tips-for-avoiding-gmos.html

David Knowles, “Opponents of genetically modified organisms in food, or GMOs, rail against provision that would limit the courts’ ability to stop food producer Monsanto from growing crops later deemed potentially hazardous”, NY Daily News, March 25, 2013 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/food-oversight-curbs-spending-bill-outrage-article-1.1298967

What to Buy in April to Be Prepared and Save Money

Having a fully stored, prepared home does not mean that you have to take a second mortgage out on that your family, but also your finances.

Knowing when to buy something can mean the difference between saving hundreds of dollars or doing without. Each month, I focus on what we should all buy to take advantage of deals and specials, while stocking up on our preparedness supplies.

This month it is April and a welcome to spring in many areas of the country. Shake off the coldness of winter, check your supply and maintenance lists and pick up anything on this that you still need.

Tires and Car Care Supplies

Keeping your car in tip top shape and ready to help you evacuate is important. If your car is not currently at its best, price compare on car supplies. Tires will be an especially good deal as stores try to take advantage of the fact that the warmer weather makes people start to think of vacations and road trips.

Home Building Supplies and Tools

Retailers encourage Spring home renovations by putting tools and supplies on deep discounts, so now is the time to pick up anything you need for shelter building or for general supplies. Also take advantage of the increase in free project classes than many of the national home supply chains offer to build appropriate skills.

Cookware

Need a couple of extra pots and pans for your supplies? Buy them now in April. Why? Cookware is a popular gift for graduation and weddings, two events that start happening during the next few weeks, so stores will put them on discounts. Be sure to select sturdy cookware that will hold up whether you are cooking at home or on the go.

Sneakers, Hiking Boots and Sports Shoes

As people start heading back outdoors in April, the stores respond by posting sales on sneakers, hiking boots and sport shoes. You should always have a few extras when it comes to footwear, as you won’t get very far without it.

Now is also the time to stock up on several sizes for the kids. In the event that it becomes difficult to shop in the future, your kids will still be covered even when they grow into a new size.

What’s in YOUR Wallet?

In this blog, explore all of the various ways to be prepared for an emergency.  Disaster preparation has several levels, including financial.  Some folks keep emergency cash at home, which is a solid plan. Stashed in a safe, under a mattress, behind a picture frame, or anywhere we might think to keep it. But the caveat is we need to be able to get home in order to use it.  Are you ready for a contingency? As eFoodsDirect states, “Our vision is to empower all people to be independent, secure, and prosperous.” I can buy into that statement, can’t you? Keeping some emergency cash on hand can help us reach that goal.  So I ask you, what’s in YOUR wallet?

I’m stealing a catch phrase here.

But, having a debit card is like magic. Swipe of the hand, press four numbers, punch the green arrow button and voila! Money gets swapped through a mathematical procedure, passed as digital numbers, added and subtracted from their proper places all in an instant. In a store with self-checkouts, I can swoop in and be out with a fresh caffeinated beverage in mere moments. “Best thing since sliced bread,” said I. My affinity for my little black-stripped plastic friend grew daily. I could buy anything, zero-hassle, using a small plastic terminal and my debit card.

Then I had an awakening.

A friend at work had his car towed away – yeah, he had parked in a dumb spot. “And I was only there for a couple of minutes,” he swore. The local towing vultures had it impounded across town. “$180.00 to get it out?” I could overhear the phone call from my cubicle. “Cash only?” He peeked over the wall and asked if I might drive him over to bail out the jailed jalopy.

As we got into my car, I admitted to eavesdropping on his conversation and asked if we needed to stop at his bank. “Oh, just head straight to the tow yard–I’ve got enough.” Being a cash-free guy myself, I was shocked to hear he had enough cash on hand to cover this unexpected outlay. My friend explained that he always kept $200 in a separate part of his wallet, just for emergency use. A light bulb came on for me that day.

What if I had to get to an ATM and it was out of cash? A run on the bank? The power was out for a week? Maybe a paycheck delay? Or a hacker who electronically stole my funds?

The proverbial balloon hadn’t gone up. There wasn’t a run on the bank. We were both employed, and the world was peachy. No economic crisis in sight. But my friend had enough RIGHT THEN to take care of a minor crisis without relying on a little plastic electronic debit thingy.

Since then, I have tried to follow his formula. His thought was that $200 would be enough to get him out of nearly any jam he could imagine. One hundred-dollar bill and a pair of 50s didn’t take up much room in his wallet. And he didn’t keep it with the other currency he might have on-hand to avoid the temptation to use it in a non-emergency.

I am still in love with my debit card. But I think I’m better off now than before.

When an Earthquake Strikes: My Personal Emergency Preparedness Misadventure

I’m happy to be posting my first blog entry on eFoodsDirect, and I thought the topic should be about how I started down the road that led me to caring about such things as food storage. For many people, emergency preparedness is one of those hypotheticals that may never turn out to be necessary. Even though I live in Southern California, I never really expected to experience a crisis that would leave me without the basic essentials of life–but it happened.

Back in my pre-internet days, I took up home canning as a hobby. I had a sizable garden plot at a community garden and found myself with an overabundance of fresh vegetables. So I did what any self-respecting urban homesteader would do: I preserved my garden produce for a rainy day. I branched out into canning soups and stews and meats–some as convenience foods and some just to learn the techniques and build my confidence.

Late in the evening of January 16, 1994, I stashed 6 jars of newly pickled cauliflower in the upper kitchen cupboard dedicated to my garden bounty and home-canned goodies. I remember thinking to myself that if we ever had a big earthquake there was going to be a rather large mess since I didn’t have secure door latches. Less than 6 hours later, there certainly was. I lived 5 miles south of Northridge, California.

When the terrible shaking from the quake and its nearly immediate huge aftershock settled down, and my heart was no longer threatening to explode from my panic, I took stock of my situation. The electricity had failed, so I had no lights other than my single flashlight. I had no heat since the furnace blower was electric. To make matters worse, all the gas lines in my very large condo complex had ruptured and the gas was shut off, so even with electricity, there would be no heat or hot water or functioning stove.

My food supplies were, simply put, gone. Everything in the refrigerator was spilled or destined to spoil. The cabinets had shaken open, and every single bottle and jar was shattered. All my dry staples had spilled with such force that the bags and boxes had broken. It was all gone except for a few metal cans of vegetables and packages of soup mix. Every last canning jar had been pulverized on the floor, leaving a dangerous mixture of glass shards and wet food debris six inches deep. The city issued a boil order for tap water, even though most residents had no means to boil water anymore.

I made it through the next 36 hours on autopilot. Numb with shock, I picked up the glass fragments with my bare hands by flashlight as fast as I could so my two cats wouldn’t step on them, never feeling the pain of hundreds of tiny cuts on my fingertips. I chanced drinking tap water, ate a box of crackers, filled a dozen trash bags with the debris of my broken life and considered myself fortunate that at least my building hadn’t been red-tagged as uninhabitable.

Thanks to the hospitality of a few good friends, I was able to get laundry, hot showers and hot meals over the next month while the gas lines were slowly repaired. The city gradually returned to normal, but no one who went through the experience was quite the same afterwards; we stayed jumpy and easily startled for a very long time. But most of us came out of it a good deal wiser, and I was one of those.

I resolved that I would not be caught without these emergency preparedness essentials again:

• potable water (water that is safe enough to drink) or the means to make it potable
• a means of cooking or at least heating food
• easily prepared food in secure packaging

Over the years, I have tried various approaches to ensuring that I am better prepared for disaster. Now that I am in a small apartment and not the house that I had the good fortune to be in for several years, I have to downsize and scale back on my preps. Fortunately for me, eFoodsDirect offers just the right combination of products for my needs.

I’ll be ordering the Grab and Go Accessories Pack to start. State-of-the-art water filter? Check. Portable stove? Check. Then I’ll be ordering at least a two week supply of food. I’ll expand from there. And I’ll be blogging about my goodies as they arrive and I try them out.

Oh, and here are two smart changes I’ve made: I don’t store my glass jars of soups and pickles and tomatoes more than 12 inches from the floor anymore; and I installed child-proof latches on my cupboard doors. That pickled cauliflower was a heartbreaking loss, and our next “Big Enough One” is due any year now. My mom didn’t raise a complete fool.

KiP 16: Life After a Disaster

Knowledge is Power:  In a TEOTWAWKI situation, life will change forever as we know it.  Can you imagine life without any electricity?  With no electrical power, you will have to live like your ancestors did–the Native Americans and Pioneers of the sixteen, seventeen and eighteen hundreds, and the Wild West with no TV’s, VCR’s, microwave ovens, cell phones, hot & cold running water, computers, refrigeration, etc.  However, surviving out in the country away from the big cities and towns is a great asset when it comes to surviving a natural or man-made disaster.  And knowing how to live with Mother Nature greatly increases your chances of coming out alive after a disaster.

Depending on the type and severity of the disaster, thousands to millions to billions will die.  During and after a disaster, you can expect some, if not most, of the following over a very large geographical area, if not worldwide:

• Anarchy
• Arson
• Bank runs
• Blackouts
• Civil War
• Crime waves
• Death, misery and suffering
• Displaced families
• Epidemics
• Family separation
• Famine, Starvation, Cannibalism
• Fire storms
• Food lines
• Food riots
• Forced inoculations
• Forced relocation
• Foreign / UN Invasion
• Gang warfare
• Gas lines
• Homelessness
• Hyperinflation
• Increased diseases and infections
• Indefinite detention
• Internment camps – F.E.M.A., Refugee, Relocation
• Joblessness
• Lawlessness
• Martial Law
• Mass migration
• Mass riots
• Misery, pain and suffering
• Mob rule
• Neighbor fighting neighbor
• Pandemics
• Panic buying
• Plagues
• Pollution and sanitation nightmares
• Prostitution – STD’s
• Race wars
• Rape gangs
• Refugee migration
• Shock
• Socialism
• Suicides increase
• Terrorist attacks
• Tyranny

Within 72 hours after the disaster strikes, you can expect society to begin to collapse into total anarchy with all hell breaking loose.  And depending on the type of disaster, further destruction can continue from days to weeks to months to even years.  For example:

Major or mega earthquakes can have numerous destructive aftershocks.  Q – Is your main shelter earthquake proof?

Volcanoes can erupt for very long periods putting very large amounts of volcanic ash into the atmosphere for months.  Q – Do you have plenty of food for the duration?

Numerous solar storms can hit the Earth repeatedly, causing crop failures and severe sunburns.  Q – Do you have an underground shelter?

Lawlessness Gangs will take advantage of the situation to rape and pillage survivors. (Mad Max scenario)  Q – Do you have plenty of weapons to defend you and your family?

People who are not prepared can revert back to their basic animal instincts after being deprived of basic securities like food and water.  With a person who is starving, their psyche under an adverse, post disaster situation can change drastically for the worse with a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde complex.  They will start to do things that, under normal conditions, they would never think of ever doing.  These people can get to a point where they would kill their own neighbors or family members for their food.  These are the types of people to seriously look out for.

With all this, you can also expect usually within thirty days unexpected family members and/or friends showing up on your door step wanting or demanding food and shelter.

Within the first ninety days, (depending on the type of disaster) hundreds of millions if not billions would be dead worldwide.  More would be dying from starvation, lack of clean water and shelter.  Cannibalism and rape gangs would be widespread.  People will be in hiding in fear of their lives from these gangs.

Daily Life – During day to day survival activities, people will be doing much more physical labor just to survive.  Everyday, people will be hauling firewood and water, building defenses, gardening, digging latrines, etc. With aching muscles, it will be difficult for the first few months.  Trying to survive each day while on the watch for looters or gangs will be definitely challenging.

Prepare now for the upcoming disasters before it is too late or face the consequences when the time comes.

Be Careful Where You Park Your Money

A few months back I got a hefty package from my brother which represented pretty much all that was left of my late father’s once sizable fortune.  The package contained 60 sheets of commemorative stamps from the 1930′s, 40′s and 50′s, all in mint condition. This was my share of the estate; each of my four siblings was sent a similar packet, and each of us was surprised to learn that what looked like an impressive treasure actually turned out to be worth very little.

My father was no stamp collector. He had bought them presuming they would increase in value over time. They did not. Neither did a lot of things he thought would be great investments.

The irony is that my father was an investment professional.

By the time I was in college, my dad’s company, Waterman Realty and Investments, was  riding the California real estate boom of the late 1970′s. He owned rental houses and apartment complexes all over Anaheim.  Money was coming in hand over fist.

My parents were no fools; they understood the real estate boom would not last forever, so they looked for ways to diversify. They were smart enough not to put their money into a savings account at the bank. If a bank was paying 3% interest and inflation was eating up 11%, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that a savings account was a good way to lose money fast. So in addition to plowing their cash back into more houses, Mom and Dad invested in scores of uncut diamonds and other precious gems. They went to estate sales and bought up entire collections of stamps and numismatic coins. They even paid $10,000 for a rare Persian rug they were assured would soon appreciate to twice that amount.

My parents were following the conventional wisdom of the day. The mid to late 1970′s were inflationary times filled with uncertainty, and financial experts were recommending people protect their money by parking it in the very same investments my parents were into.

My mother had a particular obsession for a certain type of investment, and it was an obsession I shared: Collector Plates.

Way before the Beanie Babies bubble, there were collector plates. What gave the plates cachet was that the manufacturers would press only a limited number, after which the factory broke the molds. This assured a certain amount of scarcity, and almost as fast as some plates sold, demand would shoot up, along with their value.

Among my collection were replicas of Norman Rockwell paintings and scenes from The Wizard of Oz.  But my favorites were four Disney Bicentennial plates that I picked up for $12.50 each using my Disneyland employee discount.  Those plates were in high demand, and sold out within two weeks. In no time flat their value shot up to $300.00 a piece.

I should have sold them then.  The last time I looked, they were fetching closer to what I paid for them. The plate mania died out for one primary reason: collectors bought those plates by the dozens to show them off, but soon ran out of room in their homes to display them all.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

You may not remember the recession of 1981-82, because it pales in comparison to the depression we’re going through now. I remember it because by that time I had moved to another state and was working at a piano store when suddenly people could no longer afford big ticket items like pianos and organs. Or cars. Or houses.

Just like that, the bottom fell out of the real estate market. My father was over-extended and ended up having to sell most of his properties at a loss and retire.  Still, despite those losses, my parents were able to buy themselves the biggest RV on the market.  This was now their home, and they lived their dream as they shuttled between Alaska in the Summer and Nevada in the Winter.

Sadly, most of Dad’s investments didn’t pan out. Over time, Dad unloaded the gems, but for less than he paid for them.  He also found that numismatics were far less liquid than expected. And he never could find a buyer for that rare Persian rug, even at half what he paid for it. Almost three decades later he donated it to BYU for the tax write-off.

Mom died in 1997, and Dad split what little jewelry she had left between us grown children.  I had assumed my parents had been living off proceeds from some leftover rentals, so I was surprised to learn their only income had been their social security benefits and Dad’s military pension. They had not exactly prospered from their investments. When Dad died, he left a pile of credit card debt and that stack of commemorative stamps.

My brother’s plan was to sell the stamps, then split the money with the rest of us, but the dealer he spoke with couldn’t offer him much and didn’t really want to buy them anyway.  Stamp collecting as a hobby had peaked by the early 1960′s, and as the serious philatelists die off, younger ones have not replaced them.  That leaves a lot of product out there, but not a lot of buyers.

We are again in a time when the dollar is in decline, so it doesn’t make sense to hold onto cash.  Your money is best protected by converting it into something tangible. But make sure you put it in something of real value, something people will want. Better yet, put it into something people will need.

The very first investment you should consider in uncertain times is an adequate supply of long term storable food.  With inflation bearing down, the food you purchase today may soon be worth considerably more than you paid for it.  Acquire as much as you have room for now. What you can’t use, someone else may be willing to pay you for one day.

Learning from Cyprus

Preppin’ for Trekkin’

Camping, hiking and/or trekking offers endless opportunities for fun, adventure, and fitness. Being prepared for any situation is imperative for subsistence as well as fun. No matter what event you’re planning, an emergency food supply is the most important part of the planning stage to ensure comfort, nutrition, and survival in case of unforeseen occurrences.

Mountain biking, hiking, snow shoeing or cross country skiing are all possible endeavors one might take this very day. Spring is on the way all across the country and most of us  have experienced a bit (or a lot!) of spring fever.

Packing up our equipment, I am sure we have likely remembered to pack the proper weather gear, the base layers, layered clothing and headgear we need for safety and comfort, but what about the food?

As most of us know, we should always remember to pack as if we might get stuck overnight, if not longer. The Colorado motto for its weather  is “Wait ten minutes and the weather will change”, and it’s is all too true. You may leave a sunny valley floor one hour, but you may end up an hour later in eight feet of snow, mud, or cloudy peaks. Dirt trails may become impassable within minutes and we may find ourselves far from our cars or trail heads with night fast approaching.

Have you ever seen the movie 127 Hours? A young man leaves town looking forward to an adventure-filled weekend with his mountain bike in the beautiful wilderness and ends up in a tragic situation. I won’t ruin it for you, but it embodies the statement, “expect the unexpected”.  Regardless of your plan, plans change, and do so completely outside of your control.  The wisest choice is to pack foods that can sustain you for an afternoon or a week in one option.

Many of us are limited by weight and ease of preparation to the repertoire of foods we can pack in our  backpack. Most canned foods are too heavy, impractical to lug around and require can openers and heat to make them more palatable. They are also bulky and sway your backpack in every direction, creating a loss of balance, sore shoulders and an uncomfortable cushion to land on in case of falls.

Dehydrated and freeze-dried foods are the way to go if you want be truly prepared for an adventure.  There are various selections that can cover you from a package of dehydrated fruit as a snack to an entire meal that only required you to add water.

Packaging is your biggest concern when it comes to bringing food along your hiking and camping experienced.  You will want to choose products that come in mylar or other oxygen-free bags.  They are light, and more importantly, space-savers.  Plus, these food packages remain good for up to fifteen years, so money isn’t wasted if your food supply isn’t used right away.  You can save your extra just-in-case food from trip to trip.

Being prepared for any situation or emergency is a tenet followed by all adventurers.  Beauty in the wilderness is appreciated when the body is fed and taken care of. Emergencies happen. No matter where you live, be prepared.

Check out which foods you can picture yourself enjoying at the top of a mountain, edge of the desert or the shore of a lake, then make plan that will keep you fed for both the expected and unexpected twists of your adventure.

Choosing a Grain Mill

An integral part of your food storage arsenal should be the grain mill. These devices allow you to freshly grind up grains, legumes, spices and seeds right when you need them.  The shelf life of whole foods is longer than that of ground ones and helps keep the flavor intact, per the Whole Grains Council, so you can prepare what you need and preserve your food supply’s longevity overall.

However, there are several different options available.  Think about whether you wish to use it in your daily cooking or save it for emergencies and what types of foods you wish to grind up when purchasing a grain mill. Each will allow you to control whether you want the results to be fine or coarse, though less expensive types may not be able to produce the finest flours, as Jodi and Julie mention on Food Storage Made Easy.

Grain Mills, http://www.fantes.com/grain-mills.html

What to Buy in March to Be Prepared and Save Money

How do we make sure that we have our emergency preparedness under control at home without jeopardizing our current finances? The secret is to find ways of saving and taking advantage of low prices when the opportunities arise. Work from your wish list, and check your favorite stores often, so you can pounce on the deals.

Not only should you check your favorite prepping suppliers, such as be prepared while saving money.

Cold Weather Apparel

Cold weather apparel, coats, heavy sweaters and such, are absolute steals right now–if you can find any left in the store. You might have to hunt them down in the back, but it will be well worth it. Whatever hasn’t sold so far may be discounted for up to 90% off!

Travel Gear

Stores are getting ready for the summer travel season by discounting luggage and travel bags, including some bags that would be appropriate for camping and bugging out. You’ll continue to see deals on luggage next month, but start shopping now, since many stores will put last year’s gear on deep discount along with sales on this year’s models.

Frozen Food

March is National Frozen Foods Month. It is. I like to keep a good number of frozen food items on hand for emergencies or lean times. A well-stocked freezer can keep food well for many days, or even months if you tend to it. Just make sure to date and rotate your stock as needed.

This month, you’ll see not only sales on frozen food, but also plenty of coupons. Combine the coupons with the sales to get your frozen food for pennies on the dollar.

Have you found a great deal on prepping items this month? Please leave us a comment and share.

New to Prepping? Start Here!

Congratulations! Making the decision to begin your emergency preparedness trek and set up your home and your family for unexpected hardship and disaster is a wonderful thing. You will find that being prepared can really give you peace of mind. The next time you hear about an impending super storm, a financial crisis, a food shortage or other possible emergency, you’ll be able to sit back with the confidence of knowing you have given your family the very best chance to survive with a minimal impact to everyone’s health and welfare.

Disaster prepping can seem overwhelming, but going slowly and having a plan makes it easier. There are many different situations to prepare for. Knowing what you might need for your family, and how much of it, is the first step.

First figure out where you want to start in terms of what you want to protect your family against. The preparation for many possibilities overlap, so being prepared for one possible outcome will probably leave you prepared for several others as well. For example, stocking long-term food supplies can prepare your family for everything from loss of income to an approaching storm that leaves you snowbound for days.  In fact, a food storage is essential in most emergency situations and a great place to begin.

Trying to be prepared for every possible situation at once can be overwhelming, so start by preparing for the emergency that seems the most likely, or the one that you are most concerned about, and start there.

Situations that you might want to be prepared for could include:

• Weather-related disasters, including winter storms, hurricanes, tornados, and flooding
• Additional natural disasters, such as fire or earthquake
• Chemical or germ warfare
• Pandemics or other medical emergencies
• Loss of income
• Economic collapse
• Food scarcity
• Terrorist attacks
• Loss of power or communication networks

Once you have identified the area or areas of most concern for you and your family, start developing a plan of action. What supplies do you need to start stockpiling? In the event of the disaster or emergency, what should each family member do? Is there any special training that would be helpful? Does your town or state offer assistance or advice? Search helpful articles online, read books, and talk to other preppers to help you prepare a solid plan. Create your list of tasks that need to be done to prepare, and then work toward checking everything off, little by little, as you can.

Prioritize the items that will make the most impact. For example, to prepare for a loss of income, you might first want to save up an emergency fund. If you are preparing for an evacuation, having a bug-out bag for each family member plus multiple routes to safety may be high on your list.

When you can, use ready resources to get your preparations done quickly, such as freeze-dried meals or already prepared back packs. You’ll cut down your preparation time and give yourself peace of mind.

There are two big things to remember if you are new to emergency preparedness: the first is not to panic or become overwhelmed, and the second is to take advantage of the knowledge of others.

KiP 14: Survival Partners

Knowledge is Power: When it comes to surviving a post TEOTWAWKI situation, there is a very big psychological plus to being with like-minded, survival oriented friends that you can trust with your life.  Without these good, close, like-minded friends, survival will be extremely lonely.

Living and surviving under adverse survival conditions in a post disaster situation, your stress levels will be elevated.  So dealing with all the stressors of surviving a disaster, it is crucial to have family and/or partners that you can trust unconditionally.  Sharing these burdens with close family and friends will be a great benefit and lessen the stress.  Like I’ve said in a number of my blogs, there is always help, safety and strength in numbers when it comes to surviving.  So when it comes to selecting partners to survive with, there are two basic types of partners you would want to consider to survive with:

Family members – Include grandparents, mom and dad, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, cousins, sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, and grandchildren.

Close friends – not acquaintances, is the other type of partners you want to consider to survive with in a post disaster situation.  Not all families’ members are suited to be partners in a post-disaster survival situation.

When considering family and/or friends as survival partners, it’s very important to keep in mind the following factors when choosing:

• Choose only family and/or close friends that you can trust your life with or the lives of your family and/or children.
• Choose only family and/or close friends that believe in the same or similar philosophy, politics and religion that you do.
• Choose only family and/or close friends that you can trust to keep their mouths shut and not be braggers.
• Choose only family and/or close friends that do not have a history of alcohol, drugs or tobacco use.
• Choose only family and/or close friends that support themselves so as not to be a burden on the others.
• Choose only family and/or close friends that agree to work for the common good of the group; “Teamwork”.
• Choose only family and/or close friends that have knowledge, survival skills and weapons that would benefit and help everyone survive.
• Every partner must be willing to keep a very low profile.
• Every partner must be trained in disaster First-Aid at a minimum.
• At least two trained as Ham Radio operators.
• And remember, the more partners you have, the more food, supplies and space you will need.

With safety and strength in number, you will want to seriously consider having a good strong basis of at  least twelve to no more than twenty armed survival partners, aged 13+ at your survival place.  These partners should all have the same concept and goal in mind, and that is to survive.  The group members should be large enough to defend off would-be attackers and gangs who would try to steal your supplies, yet small enough to be mobile if needed.  And with these numbers of partners, this will give you 360 degree security 24/7 which is crucial in surviving.

Silence means Security, so loose talk can and will get you, your family and/or your partners killed.  So stay away from groups such as military groups, large survivalist groups, unauthorized militia groups, etc.  Always talk face to face, NEVER talk about your partners or activities over technology (cell phones, e-mails, etc.), you never know who is listening.

Security Note:  With time getting short and folks and families wanting to join an existing survival group of strangers, BEWARE of such groups, especially the leaders.  Before anything, meet and get to know all the members of the group and their backgrounds.  If you feel comfortable, and they ask you to join and put your supplies at their camp, make sure you keep total control over your own supplies until the time you go into survival mode.  Keep them secured where you’re the only one to have access to them.  Unfortunately, there are some groups out there that only want to take other prepper’s supplies, so please BEWARE.

Prepare now for the upcoming disasters before it is too late or face the consequences when the time comes.

You Know We’re In Trouble When Walmart Is Hurting

It’s been a bit of a side hobby with me to take note of “The Signs of The Times” concerning our failing economy. Ever since this thing the establishment prefers to call an “economic downturn” sideswiped America five years ago, we keep seeing clear signs that things are not turning around the way we’ve been told to expect.  But I have to admit this latest piece of news surprised even me.

A week ago Friday, Jerry Murray, Walmart’s VP of Finance, admitted in internal company emails that February sales for their stores so far have been “a total disaster.”

Ever since this (ahem) “downturn” hit America like a two-by-four in the face,  sales at most major stores started dropping like stones, and many merchants went out of business entirely.  But all this time Walmart was coming out a clear champ, as shoppers were forced to become more price conscious. If you found yourself standing in the middle of a nearly empty mall wondering where everybody had disappeared to, you only needed to drop in at your local Walmart for the answer. The place was bustling.

And at a time when many formerly dependable stocks were plunging, Walmart stock kept going up, up, up. Now suddenly, even Walmart stock has been taking some hits. It’s enough to challenge your faith. What’s next to fail, Mom and apple pie?

My first thought upon hearing this news on the radio was, “if Walmart is complaining, just think how bad it must be for everybody else.”  And sure enough, that’s just what Walmart’s U.S. CEO happened to say next:

“That points to our competitive landscape, which means everyone is suffering, and probably worse than we are.”

Frankly, I thought it would be a long time before Walmart began to feel the crunch. And truthfully, Walmart isn’t really hurting.  They are just alarmed. Walmart still brings in billions and billions of dollars in business, so I wouldn’t expect them to go belly up tomorrow. But when Walmart complains that people aren’t spending money, that’s a sign that people aren’t spending money. As Murray put it, “We have to fight against the tougher economic environment to earn a bigger share of a smaller consumer spending pie.”

Like I say, it’s a sign of the times. Signals like this tell me things are going to continue to get worse before they get better.  Whatever the future holds, now would be a good time to start getting ready for it.  Long after the public abandons its appetite for gadgets and fashion, they will still have an appetite for food.  Make sure you have plenty on hand.

The price of groceries will continue to rise; there is no avoiding that reality.  As of now, EfoodsDirect.com is still able to provide today’s food at yesterday’s prices.  Stock up while you can.

http://www.efoodsdirect.com/

Don’t Be a Peter Panic

I am the only 21-year-old I know that has a personal food storage. I’m sure there are others like me out there, but my friends disagree. I have been teased from here to South Africa (literally) for my month-supply of emergency food and water. But the joke is on those who think they will just mooch off of their parents or me, because if and when what they call “paranoia” turns into “preparedness”, I am only sharing my genius arrangements with those who have appreciated it.

It only took one emergency situation that I wasn’t prepared for to teach me the importance of planning for the what-ifs. Waking up early is unpleasant for those of us who are not called “morning people”, but trust me when I say it is far more unpleasant when you are waking up early to someone screaming the word “fire”. That morning, the moment my groggy brain processed the word that was ringing throughout my apartment, I scrambled out of bed and ran into the kitchen to find my roommate Emma standing in front of the stove, staring in horror at the flames that had once been her breakfast.

She noticed my presence, shouted “my eggs caught fire!” and ran out the front door, slamming it shut behind her and leaving me alone with the disaster.
I took a step toward the sink, but something about that didn’t feel right. I took a step toward my room, thinking I needed to grab my camera, but that also didn’t feel right. I took another step toward a towel, but then a brief image of an episode of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air came to mind where a kitchen fire was made worse with a towel, and I stopped. At that point, I realized two things: I was both laughing and crying at the same time, and that I had absolutely no idea what to do. I was a Peter Panic.

Luckily, my distress ended there. Em ran back into the apartment, followed by three of the guys that lived across the hall from us. They burst in, looking more like knights in shining armor than anyone at the Renaissance Fair, baking soda poised and ready to go. After a brief pause in the doorway to assess the situation, the one nearest the fire walked over to it, filled his lungs, and blew out the flames in one breath.

Our relief and gratitude was short-lived; after the crisis had been averted, the guys sat Emma and me down on the couch and gave us a long lecture about fire safety and staying calm under pressure. After our talking-to, they made their way to the door. The one with the baking soda turned back, set the box on the counter, gave us each a significant look, then walked out.

That was the first time that being prepared became real for me. I absolutely hated the feeling of being so helpless. After that, I kept thinking of other scenarios that could happen just as easily as our little fire had. With every situation that came to mind, it became very obvious that food storage would be helpful in each one. I slowly began building one (specifically including massive amounts of baking soda), and now I’m at the point where I know that the feeling of helplessness that I so despise will be replaced with peace of mind that I have the basic needs of survival. From a simple emergency like over spending my paycheck and cutting myself out of a grocery budget for a couple weeks to a severe one that leaves me immobile and out of communication with family and friends, I’m covered. The knowledge of just simply having that extra insurance has an incredible effect on the psyche of a person living in a world as fragile as this.

The unique thing about eFoodsDirect is that you are able to get an entire food storage in one foul swoop; meaning that the peace of mind also comes in one foul swoop. Getting the situation-appropriate amounts that come with wide variety, nutritional value, quality taste and a long shelf life does not leave room for worry. Once you get it, you’ve got it, and that is all there is to your food storage shopping experience.

I’m not paranoid, I’m just a planner. I had never planned what to do in case of a fire, and look what that got me: charred eggs and loss of street cred with my neighbors. If there is anything I hate more than losing face, it’s the feeling of panic. While the reality is that you never know when you’re going to need some back up food, the reality is also that it doesn’t have to be a grueling process to get yourself prepared. Make a plan now so you don’t have to panic later.

What to Buy in February to Be Prepared and Save Money

There is no need to spend a lot of money in order to be prepared. You can make sure your family is taken care of and watch the budget at the same time. One of my favorite ways to do this is to shop smartly, watching the trends and making sure that we buy what we need at the right times. By taking advantage of purchased through sales, we can automatically afford the things that we need.

Here are the best things to buy in February that will leave you and your family prepared.

Boats

If you are looking to acquire a boat, you’ll want to be prepared for a purchase this month. That is because two factors are coming together to make boat prices their lowest for the year. The first is that it is now boat season. As boat owners get excited for the new models, they will be looking to sell the ones that they currently have, which means you can buy a good used boat for so much less.

The second reason is that winter is the off-season for boats. With the exception of the latest and greatest models in boats, the demand is down, and this reduces overall prices.

Gas and Charcoal Grills

Not many people think about purchasing gas and charcoal grills in February, which means that if you have the foresight to do so, you’ll get some big discounts. The stores want to unload any grills that did not sell last summer, in order to start putting out the new models. Chances are that your store, has grills in storage, if not on the sales floor, and will give you a hefty discount if you ask.

Cell Phones

Cell phones can be a lifesaver when trying to keep in touch with loved ones. If you need to upgrade your cell phone or get additional phones for other family members, now may be the time. There are a number of two for one deals out there this February.

Winter Clothing

Pickings might be a little more slim than they were last month, but the discounts are even greater. Stock up on extra coats and other winter clothing to protect your family and loved ones. An unexpected idea for winter clothing: most Goodwill stores are offering all winter clothing for $1 on every Tuesday in February.

Be prepared and save money at the same time.

KiP 13: When “You’re on Your Own”

Knowledge is Power (KiP):  Everyone at one time or another in their lives should have heard of a “72 Hour Kit”.  Personally as a disaster preparedness instructor for over seventeen years now, I do not believe in them or teach them in my classes. 

When any major disaster strikes, there is always hunger and grave suffering in the aftermath of such disasters.  Recent disasters over the last century here in the U.S. have proven this fact.  Listed are just a few of them.

1906 – San Francisco Earthquake and Fire – An estimated 12,000 died, another 15,000+ injured and another 200,000+ homeless.

1918 – Influenza Pandemic – An estimated 675,000 American men, women and children died and another estimated 3.5 million others were sickened.

1925 – Tri-State Tornado – Killed 695, injured another 1500+ and made another 110,000+ homeless.

1931 to 1939 – The Great Depression – An estimated 7 million homeless American men, women and children died from exposure and starvation.

1988 – Heat Wave – An estimated 10,000+ Americans died of temps over 110 degrees for prolonged periods.

2005 – Hurricane Katrina – The official death toll was 1833 deaths, the unofficial death toll was over 11,000 deaths and the cost of destruction was over $108 billion.

2008 – Hurricane Ike – Killed 195, injured another 1000+, made over 100,000 homeless and the cost of destruction was over 37.5 billion.

2012 – Hurricane Sandy – Killed 253, injured another 2000+, made over 175,000 homeless and the cost of destruction was over $65.6 billion.  Now months later, thousands are still homeless and the government still has not done anything to help. 

Case in point:  In 2010, a 7.0 earthquake struck near Port au Prince, Haiti killing over 316,000 men, women and children, injuring another 300,000 and leaving another 1,000,000+ homeless.  Now in 2013, three years later there are still over 700,000 men, women and children homeless.

With both man-made and natural disasters increasing in both in frequency and intensity, it’s only a matter of time until a major or mega disaster strikes the United States with such magnitude and over a large geographical area, help would never arrive.  Again, this is when you’re on your own indefinitely.

The following upcoming disasters can result in help never arriving in a post disaster situation.

Man-Made Disasters

Civil War / Revolution

Economic Collapse resulting in Hyperinflation

EMP attack

Epidemics / Pandemics

Foreign Troop / U.N. Invasion

Martial Law

Massive Civil Disorder and Crime Waves

Race wars

Natural Disasters

Asteroid, Comet or Meteorite impacts

Earthquakes in excess of 10.0 in magnitude

Heat waves with temps in excess 120 degrees

Magnetic and Physical Pole Shift

Massive passing space body

Massive Solar Storms (CME)

Tsunamis in excess of 1000 feet

Volcanic Eruptions

Wind Storms in excess of 300+ MPH

In time, there will be a time when you’re on your own after a disaster and the only thing that will keep you and your family alive will be your survival knowledge and skills.

In the disaster preparedness class I teach, I recommend at the extreme bare minimum a thirty day supply of food, medical supplies, water and some way to defend you, your family and supplies.  Better yet I strongly recommend a MINIMUM ONE YEAR of SUPPLIES.  The more supplies you have in a safe, defensible location, along with the knowledge and skills, the better you will SURVIVE.  Do not rely on help from the government, you will only suffer more or lose your freedom.

Prepare now for the upcoming disasters before it is too late or face the consequences when the time comes.

A GIft For Your Heart This Valentine’s Day

Apart from the heart-shaped cards, cookies, and candy, February also happens to be American Heart Month. This means that while we are busy eating chocolates and making Valentine’s cards, there might just be a different kind of heart we should spend some time considering. According to the disease. The American Heart Association provides a list of dietary suggestions that can make a difference in heart health. They suggest 4.5 cups of fruits and veggies each day, 3.5 oz of fish each week, 3 oz of fiber-rich whole grain each day, and 4 servings of nuts, legumes and seeds each week. The American Heart Association also suggests that we consume less than 1,500 mg of sodium a day, no more than 450 calories worth of sugar-sweetened beverages a week, and no more than two servings of processed meat each week.

Products offered by eFoodsDirect can also aid in maintaining heart healthy eating habits. As part of the Nutraversal Seal of promise, you can look for the designated icon and feel assured that the product you choose to purchase is cholesterol free and follows the balanced-sodium approach.

KiP 12: A Very Uncertain Future

Knowledge is Power (KiP):  As a Disaster Preparedness Instructor since 1996, I’ve been researching and working for the last thirty plus years with both man-made and natural disasters and their affects during and after the disasters.  Being retired military (Medical) and have worked numerous humanitarian and natural disaster relief missions all around the world, I have seen firsthand on many occasions the extreme pain, suffering and hardships that the survivors go through in the aftermath of such disaster as earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, etc.

With a drastic change in daily lives and lifestyle very near, it is not surprising that the majority of the masses here in the U.S. still have their heads in the sand at what is really going on the here in the U.S. and around the world.  So many people all across America now have become very arrogant, complacent and narcissus that are wrapped up in their own lives and totally blind and/or in total denial to what is actually going on all around them, both in the political and natural worlds.  Unfortunately, the “American Dream” that built this great country has been replaced with arrogance, complacency, consumerism, corruption, denial, development, greed, materialism, narcissism and waste.

With both our political climate still getting worse and natural disasters increasing both in frequency and intensity, folks all across the U.S. have become very gullible or downright ignorant and hoping all this negativity will all just go away.  The majority of the people here in the U.S. are still in downright DENIAL of what is really going on.  These are all the folks that will be the last to know, see, or realize what is actually happening. 

With all the very bad things happening all around the world in other countries like Fire bombings, Food riots, Government protest, Martial Law, Mass civil unrest, Mass killings, Terrorist attacks, etc., most folks here in the U.S. believe all those “Bad Things” would “NEVER EVER” happen here in America.  Well, not only are they wrong, but they are very wrong.  It is only a matter of a very short time until all those very bad things start happening here on American soil.  And when they start to happen here in the largest cities, most folks will still be in denial, saying it’s only temporary.  And by the time it starts happening in their home towns, it will be too late.  These folks have procrastinated to the point of no return.  Very little to no food or water will be left in the stores within 72 hours.  Mass panic will engulf the majority of the public.  Riot and looting gangs will form to take what they want and fight the police that try to stop them. 

These people who do not prepare will be the majority of participants in these panicky looting gangs that within seventy-two hours, they will revert back to their animal instincts.  These types of people include people that are Arrogant, Blind, Complacent, In Denial, Gullible and Narcissist.

So many of the American people want and expect free services from our government that they are willing to give up their freedoms and liberties for security and bondage.  And with the current political win in the recent election, it is only a matter of a very short time until our American way of life comes to a very tragic end, the end of the United States of America as we know it.

With my daily research and with the current political climate here in the U.S. and the financial climate around the world getting worse, reports are surfacing that within the next several months, we will have a major financial crisis far worse than that of Black Friday back on 29 October 1929.  Along with this, I have found the following happening by the end of this year:

With upcoming Man-Made Disasters, you can expect an Economic Collapse resulting in Hyperinflation, resulting in Massive Civil Disorder and Crime Waves all across the U.S., resulting in Martial Law, Gun confiscation and a Foreign Troop / U.N. Invasion resulting in another Civil War / Revolution.  Along with all this, there is a strong possibility of both an EMP attack against the US and a false flag operation related to UFO’s/ET invasion.

With upcoming Natural Disasters that are increasing in both frequency and intensity worldwide, you can expect Massive Solar Storms with Solar Flares (CME), a combination of a Magnetic and Physical Pole Shift with winds in excess of 300+ MPH with massive worldwide Tsunamis that can easily reach in excess of 1000 feet and massive Earthquakes in excess of 10.0 in magnitude along with massive worldwide Volcanic Eruptions.  There will also be multiple Asteroid, Comet or Meteor impacts and massive worldwide Heat Wave with temps reaching in excess of 120 degrees.  All resulting from the massive CME’s and a large passing space body. 

These disasters will be the end of the United States as we know it.  And both of these types of disasters will also kill BILLIONS worldwide.  To survive the horrors that will happen in a TEOTWAWKI aftermath, it is crucial for people to prepare and come together in groups to survive.  There is always safety and strength in numbers.  The people who do not prepare and move to a safer location will die a very gruesome and horrible death. 

And on top of all this, our government still wants to take all the guns away so every law abiding citizen cannot defend themselves against tyranny.  Just in the 20^th century alone, over 170 MILLION men, women and children have been slaughtered by their own governments when they took the peoples guns away so they could not protect themselves.  There is a very long and bloody history over the last 125 years of world governments suppressing, enslaving and slaughtering or committed genocide on their own defenseless civilian population.

Benjamin Franklin

Prepare now for the upcoming disasters before it is too late or face the consequences when the time comes.

Influenza and You, What to Do?

At the beginning of this month I was making my final preparations to return to college after the winter break. While I was worried about starting new classes and buying new textbooks, my mother had another concern on her mind. She was adamant that I get a flu shot before returning to college. I was not overly excited to spend my last morning at home standing in line for a shot, but I agreed to hop in the car and head over to our local pharmacy. Once we were there, I was still tempted to run away and take my chances with the 2013 influenza virus, but I ended up staying in line and I got my shot. A few weeks later I was reading headlines about the “worse than average” flu season and thanking my mom for her persistence.

What is Influenza?

After I received my flu shot I began to wonder what exactly I was protecting myself against. According to washing your hands frequently, covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and trying to avoid crowds. But if you do get sick you will need sufficient rest and fluids, and your doctor may even prescribe medications like Tamiflu or Relenza. Like most things, the key to surviving this influenza season is to be prepared, not scared.

Get Yourself In Shape

Back in December 2011 I wrote about an episode of the TV show Wife Swap that featured a family of survivalists who expected the world to end the following year because they were vaguely aware that some catastrophe would befall the planet according to some rumors having to do with the Mayan Calendar.  To say this couple was merely expecting the world to end would be to understate their enthusiasm. They were excitedly looking forward to the apocalypse, and they were downright giddy in describing  how they intended to be among the few survivors.

Setting aside the fact that shows like this tend to reflect poorly on the rest of us us who believe in sensibly preparing for possible unforeseen emergencies, the featured couple struck me as particularly foolish on two fronts.

First, they led the cameraman though their home to show all the extravagant things they had recently purchased. They boasted of buying all this stuff on credit, with no intention of ever paying the bills when they came due because, they triumphantly laughed, “no one will be around to collect!”

Second, for people who spent so much time and effort preparing for a catastrophe, they were not exactly in the kind of physical shape necessary to fight off all the zombies they were expecting to show up at their door. (“Zombies” was the uncharitable term they chose to describe any hapless souls who might wander by looking for food.)  To describe these people as “morbidly obese” would be to use a tender description. You would have thought that striving to be in top physical condition would be a prerequisite for the adventures this couple was expecting to face. But from the looks of them, making it from one room to the other to show off their belongings was more exercise than they could muster without becoming winded.

But I should talk. At the time I wrote that piece I was not exactly the picture of health myself.  I am not expecting a Zombie Apocalypse, but I do believe the signs of financial distress are everywhere apparent.  Life ahead may soon be a struggle for many more Americans than it already is. I would be foolish indeed to not  be in better shape to meet the future head-on.  Yet here I sat, a fat guy mocking a another fat guy and his fat wife.  Someone should show me a mirror.

What actually brought home to me how far I had let myself go was when I wrote the series on this blog about the basics of storing water. In this seven part series I recommended a particular stackable seven gallon container as being the ideal water storage medium.  Once filled, these containers are quite heavy, so out of curiosity I set one on the bathroom scale to see how much seven gallons of water weighed.  It turns out seven gallons of water weighs 56 pounds.

Since I weighed 255 pounds, I instantly recognized that one of these containers represented almost exactly how much I was overweight (I’m 6′ 2″ tall).  This would not have made an impression on me, except I was astonished at how heavy this jug had been when I lifted it to put it on the scale. This container was not that easy to move about; It was much easier to push, pull, and scoot than to lift and carry. I could lift one if I used both hands, but 56 pounds is surprisingly difficult to heft when trying to stack these things three high.  And you’re telling me just one of these things represents the extra weight I’m carrying around with me every day? It hardly seemed possible.

That experience, more than anything else, motivated me to shed those extra pounds. I recommend that as a wake-up call to anyone. However many pounds overweight you happen to be, find a bunch of stuff that adds up to that amount and put it in a box or suitcase, then place that on your scale. Then try to lift it. You may be surprised, and not pleasantly.

Well, I don’t like to diet. And I do like to eat. So I’ll tell you how I lost that weight. I simply allowed myself to eat as much as I wanted, and whatever I wanted throughout the day, but the rule is I can’t eat anything after 6 pm.  That’s all there was to my “diet.” It worked.  Because I could eat as much as I wanted until six o’clock, I never went to bed hungry.  As it turned out, after I lost that initial 56 pounds, I kept going until now I’m a near perfect 180.  I was actually 75 pounds overweight and didn’t know it.

Most folks may lose weight faster on a conventional diet, but I didn’t feel motivated to watch my calories, so it took me a year and a half. Which was fine by me. I’ve done conventional dieting in the past and always put more weight back on. This time there is no question I’ll maintain this weight. I’ve held right around 180 for the past six months without any effort.  Of course, sometimes I’ll attend an affair or dinner where I end up eating later, and when I do, the next morning the scale tells me I’ve packed on 3 or 4 pounds (I like to eat!). So I keep those situations to a minimum.  When I’m home, I control my own dinner time, and the 6 o’clock hour is my cutoff.

And here’s the thing: although I didn’t really watch my intake at first, over time I gradually began eliminating most of the bad food and eating a lot more fruits and vegetables, because as I was getting healthier that’s just what I felt like doing. My typical breakfast these days consists of a couple of tangelos, a pear, some grapes, a fistful of almonds, a banana or two, some yogurt, and a bowl of granola or oatmeal (the granola and oatmeal is that incredibly tasty stuff from EfoodsDirect.com, natch!)

That’s a lot of food, and I’m usually stuffed until three or four in the afternoon, so my late lunch is typically a couple of baked potatoes with olive oil, ranch dressing, grated cheese, and cayenne pepper, along with a lot of broccoli.

And I’ll still eat pastries or ice cream if I want to.  But frankly, cravings for the bad stuff have greatly diminished.  I don’t have any qualms about indulging if I feel like it, because unlike the old days, I’m not eating that stuff late at night.

Since I ate such a late and hefty lunch, I’m usually not hungry by 6 pm, but I’ll have a little something then just to make sure I don’t get tempted to eat later. When I started out, I added a couple of Hoodia capsules to my six o’clock meal to curb my appetite, but I don’t seem to need that crutch anymore. Also, I’ve lately taken to drinking a variety of different herbal teas throughout the day. I’m rarely hungry, and my cravings for junk are minimal and rare.

As much as I don’t like to diet, I don’t like to exercise either, so I have taken to riding a bike for my workout. Remember when you were a kid, and riding a bike was fun? I don’t think of bike riding as exercise; I think of it as a break from being a grownup. I put on a podcast and go.

Although I don’t expect a Zombie Apocalypse in my future, I do believe we’re all headed for some very tough times.  You would have to be blind not to see things are getting increasingly unpredictable. As long as we’re making preparations to weather this storm, we shouldn’t forget to prepare our bodies.