Sunday, March 3, 2013

Things I Didn't Know I Couldn't Eat, Til Now...

When I decided to make my lifestyle change, I did some research on what I could and could not eat; i.e. products or by-products that are animal derived that the general public does not know about. I came to find out that gelatin was out of the question. Gelatin, if unknown to you, is derived from animal parts. More closely, it can be comprised of ground hooves, bones, ligaments and tendons. Kinda gross huh? So when I learned about this I immediately equated gelatin to Jello and that was it. Dumb move. Turns out gelatin is used in a multitude of foods and products and it was definitely a reminder for me to read the product labels!

After learning this I went on a little hunt to see what popular items contained this animal product. Please feel free to double check this list ;) Alrighty, here it goes:

- Jello (sorry Bill Cosby)

- Gummy bears

- Gel capsules (gel vitamins, medicine/pills)

- M & M's (have read that they contain gelatin and also that it is kosher meaning it can't contain gelatin with a milk product?? so to be safe no more for me I guess) - (gonna miss eating the peanut m&ms with my popcorn tho :( )

- Skittles from the US (no more rainbow tasting for this gal)

- Poptarts (was craving those a while ago, luckily none were available to me haha)
   (it might just be the frosted poptarts, need to look into this further)

- Cool Mint Sugar Free Mentos (the fresh maker??)

- Rice Krispies treats (used to be one of my favs!)

- MARSHMALLOW (no more s'mores by the campfire)

- Goldfish crackers

- Cheese powder/ flavored products such as Doritos or Cheetos --> I have yet to find a definitive answer but the debate is whether or not these products contain beef or pork rennet, enzymes or fat.

Frito-Lay has provided a list of pork free products but not beef --->  Product List


Another item to watch out for is Stearic Acid  and Magnesium Stearate ( fatty acids )
 (these can be plant or animal derived so it is best to do your own research if you see this on any products you wish to eat or use.)


- Motrin (may contain beef fat)

- certain types of Tylenol may contain beef or pork fat

- Aleeve

- Sudafed

Here is a list of over the counter med's that may contain the above ingredients ---> Product List

* Again I encourage you to do your own research and to contact the manufacturer if you are or need to use any of these products ***



So that is what I found so far. At first I was a little bummed out about not being able to eat certain things, but the funny thing was I never really ate them on a regular basis anyway, yet since I "wasn't allowed" to eat them anymore, I wanted them that much more. I swear I haven't had so many chips shoved down my throat than I have in the past month!

People, often times get caught up with the word "can't". The thought process often occurs that when you can't do this or can't eat that we immediately pine over it, and feel we want it or need it that much more; this is normally why diets tend to fail. But the key is to switch the thought processes in your mind to your favor. An amazing tool I learned from the documentary "Hungry for Change" (I encourage you ALL to see!) was instead of thinking "I can't eat that," tell yourself "I can eat that but I choose not to."



It is so very simple but yet a very powerful message to tell yourself, to help you in the lifestyle changes you wish to achieve. The more you tell yourself this, the quicker it will be instilled into your sub conscience and the easier it will be to avoid the foods you no longer wish to eat.

I hope this has been helpful :D


Good vibes and happy days everyone!

- Jess <3