Sugar?
Meat?
Caffeine?
Dairy?
Chemicals?
Tobacco?
Fried foods?
Alcohol?

We all have something that seduces us, that feels so right, yet it’s so very wrong. Sure, the song’s about a man (and it could be a person for you, too) but a lot of times, it’s the little things we forget are bad for us.

Make this song work twice for you. Think about what you’re better off without, and commit to doing without it … and get up and move.

Remember back in the 90′s when those little spiral quotation books were all the rage? We had one on our kitchen table, and we used it with our children every day (they were young; we were trying to cover all our bases in the great experiment that is parenting). Our quotation book was called “3 Words a Day” and there were some 3-word sayings that stuck with all of us. Our favorite was:

There are fancier ways to say it, but we like that this one doesn’t mess around (and what an easy reminder to use with kids – no judgment, no blaming, no shaming – just a reminder of the truth). How you choose to look at the world and what you choose to project will make or break your experience of everything you do and everything you are.

Marilu says “Work the coat” – project your best in everything you do and go for it.

Even when you’re facing a bad day or a difficult person or a big challenge, your positive attitude and willingness to put your best effort and best face out there makes a huge difference. Go for it.

Reading labels is a practice you can never give up. Even when you’ve found a product you love (love!), the manufacturer can change the ingredients at any time, and the only notice they have to give is that ingredient label.

One of the ingredients you may see on a label – particularly for any food marketed as “high fiber” (and especially when you know it’s not made almost completely from whole grain and vegetables) – is cellulose, which also comes to us as cellulose gum, powdered cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, etc.

Cellulose is virgin wood pulp that has been processed and manufactured to different lengths for functionality, though use of it and its variant forms is deemed safe for human consumption, according to the FDA, which regulates most food industry products. The government agency sets no limit on the amount of cellulose that can be used in food products meant for human consumption.

~ Food Freedom

Cellulose also extends the shelf life of foods. Think about it: wood pulp doesn’t rot as fast as food. (Not very appetizing, though.)

It’s also less expensive than actual food products as a binder or filler, which is no doubt the real reason food manufacturers use it. That still doesn’t make it good for humans to eat.

Check here for a list of foods that contain a lot of cellulose. And keep reading labels. You never know when they’re going to change.

Marilu is the memory consultant on this tv show, coming this fall on CBS. The main character has superior autobiographical memory, patterned after Marilu’s memory.