Like fashion food is really beginning to trend, last year was all about kale this year it's a Cauliflower and beetroot take over! Along with food trends is food warnings, for years we were told that fats were bad and to limit our intake of all things fat related. But little did we know that whilst we were all stripping the fat, it was its owl pal sugar that was doing the damage. We all bought into the diet soda, low fat crisps, cheese and chocolate idea and believed that by choosing this option we were actually doing ourselves and our waistlines a favour. Ah but time and education is a great thing, when we all began to think and saw past the multimillion dollar advertising and marketing campaigns that helped us to choose low fat and literally cut the fat, it was not good to finally learn what we were putting into our bodies.
I am a woman that is a liker of Instagram or The gram as I call (this will definitely take off) and yesterday I saw a post that just annoyed me. The person that posted didn't annoy me it was their misguidance. Hashtags are key for Instagram and she had posted her dinner- it consisted of baked beans , fried eggs and a can of a diet fizzy drink (soda, pop). Her caption on her photo was that she was dreaming of beans all day (that will be the sugar cravings) and fried eggs but along with this was the miss education of the foods on her plate and what they represent- she also mentioned she was trying to lose weight and was really starting to eat well. Now in a slimming points system, her meal was low in points but in terms of nutrition and food quality, it was virtually non-existent. It is trying to break through a message of nutrition over calories which can be particularly hard. Especially as for most of my life I have been bombarded with calories', their meaning and what they represent. There's no such thing as good or bad food, but in fact only a good or bad diet. Food can have a hold on people and often people will need to break their emotional relationship with food.
Woman especially are targeted by the calories warfare, the general consensus is low calories is good, high calories are bad. I left the calories games years ago and honestly have never been healthier. I don't care about food any more, I enjoy it, I appreciate it but it doesn't rule or dictate my day. If I want something I will have it, but do you know something because I have been eating well for years now, I rarely want "it". I have broken that cycle of cravings, how you might be screaming at the computer right now!! The format is simple, eat foods that are natural and are not in a packet. Loads of vegetables, fish, lean meats, fruits, organic porridge oats, almond milk, nuts, seeds, peppermint tea, eggs and plenty of home-made ( or reliable) vegetable juices. This isn't boring, there are so many options now on how to cook and eat your favourite foods but in a seriously interesting and tasty way.
Once you eliminate those processed sugars from your body and your life, your entire body and mind will thank you. Your hair and nails will be stronger, your skin will glow and if you are carrying a few extra pounds, they will leave too! The best thing about educating yourself on nutrition and stopping your relationship with calories, is you will realise how varied your diet and eating habits will become, the daily routine that your body is so used to can go. I think if you take one things from this article, it's that 600 calories in one food is not the same as in the other. My case in point here is the avocado- high in fats and calories but all good calories and fats where as a frozen lighter for life meal will have 400 calories and literally no nutritional value and my experience of these meals you are hungrier afterwards than when you started.
This will be a difficult relationship to break initially but one, that once broken will give you health benefits that will last a lifetime. #Giveitatry #caloriesbegone