I feel a little hypocritical writing this post as normally I get irritated at people complaining online, however this is exactly what I am going to be doing! So here goes my hypocritical post. I'll be writing about two of my gripes when it comes to health- firstly, the diet industry and secondly, the idea of diets being restrictive. I want to point out my issues with both of these as I believe that although disguised at times as "healthy", they can actually get in the way of health.

So, lets discuss my first gripe- the diet industry. "Diet" foods are so widely marketed across the media to encourage weight loss. The idea that is put forward is that if something is low in calories, it is good to eat. Words such as "low fat" ,"fat free", "vegan", "gluten free" or "low calorie" are widely used to appeal to people trying to be healthy. Attaching a buzz word, however does not make it healthy. Diet soda may be zero calories but you are basically drinking liquid poison. Aspartame, for example in most artificial sweeteners has multiple effects, including triggering your hunger response so your mind tells you to eat more. It can therefore lead to weight gain, not to mention the health effects of drinking all those artificial chemicals. Foods could be labeled as "vegan" however still can contain harmful ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated soybean oil. Confectionary is marketed as "fat free" or "low fat", even though it is almost completely processed sugar; the same with many yoghurts that say "low fat". Most potato, cheese or tortilla chips, as well as microwave popcorn and kettle corn can all claim to be gluten free. Nut butters may say "all natural" or "organic", however they may have other ingredients added like sugars or hydrogenated oils. The only ingredient should be the actual nut! I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Make an effort to actually read labels and ingredient lists, rather than going straight to the claims the product makes. It is a simple change to make, but will be highly effective in shifting to healthier ways.

The second gripe I have is the idea of restriction. Now before I go on there is one aspect of restriction that I think is important, and that is linked to my paragraph above. It is important to avoid foods that are highly processed, containing harmful chemicals or synthetic man-made nutrients. The kind of restriction I am talking about is the mindset that in order to lose weight we have to torture ourselves by excessive elimination of all fats, sugars and carbs etc. Though this may contribute to weight loss or detox in the short term, it is not, in my opinion a viable long term solution for healthy living. How can we sustain something that is so torturous? Now I know there are always exceptions, and some people may find this style of dieting helpful and be able to sustain it long-term. I also believe however that it is unhelpful for many other people who have cravings and enjoy tasty food. It can lead to feelings of guilt if there is ever a "slip up" from the high restriction standards we have set. It can also lead people to give up, as they feel like being healthy is too difficult, boring or restrictive. What has helped for me in this situation is to hold a mindset of ADDITION. Add in healthy, whole, nutritious foods to your diet. As well as healthy vegetables and whole grains, you can add in good fats such as avocados or coconut oil. If you are craving something sweet, add in healthier versions such as raw honey, coconut sugar, fresh fruit or other unrefined sugars. The more healthy options you add in, the less room there will be for the unhealthy foods. Say you really want pizza for dinner and just can't hold off from this craving. Instead of pizza being the only food you eat that meal, have a big healthy salad alongside it. The salad will 1) help you feel full sooner so you don't eat as much pizza and 2) add nutritional value to your meal. The more I have added in healthy foods to my diet, the more I start to become excited by healthy food on my plate and my body now craves nutritional meals. Maybe over time you will be excited by a cauliflower crust pizza and start to crave that instead of regular pizza! It may take time to reach the point where you completely crave healthy nutritious meals, but don't let that stop you from trying. To be healthy does not have to involve painful restrictive diets that leave you feeling tortured. Choose to add something healthy to each meal you eat.

Feel free to post any thoughts or any questions that you have about health that you may want addressed in future posts. Also I would love to hear from you about any ways you have added healthy food to your meal and how it worked out.

Heather xo