Depending on where we start our journey and who our motivation/inspiration is, we all tend to have different ideas of what constitutes healthy habits. When it comes to food there are so many people within the community saying completely different things – vegan, vegetarian, paleo, raw till 4, low carb, no sugar etc I can’t be someone who claims to know what to magic healthy diet is that will fix all my bad eating problems (though I am leaning towards vegan), but whatever the diet is, and whatever other people preach, I just hope they promote a healthy relationship with food before anything else. See these two photos up there. The one of the left is a piece of homemade "Ondeh-Ondeh" (made of sweet potato, tapioca flour, gula melaka and coconut shavings) and the right, MANGOES! They're both delicious sweet treats, unprocessed (that I would know of), vegan and I could easily overeat my serve of either of these in one sitting. Sure, the mangoes would be healthier option because there's gula melaka in the Ondeh-Ondeh, but that doesn't mean I should completely avoid one and feel bad if I were to have a piece. I'd eat both of these and feel exactly the same - satisfied, happy, healthy, and probably like I would want more! There would be no regret, no sadness or calorie counting, no getting upset or trying to "work it off" later on. Why? Cause unless it makes me sick, the food I eat is never a bad option, never a regret, never a failure or a lack of self control. My food is just that, food, to nourish me. There are way too many people on social media who promote the idea that “pretty girls don’t eat” or that to be a “pretty girl” you have to restrict yourself and get skinny to be pretty – apparently the idea that the smaller the better still exists. I am completely against this idea and against everyone who promotes unhealthy restriction on diets.
It’s usually coming from people who don’t know what they’re talking about – but there are the exceptions as well! I can’t blame them all – especially when they’ve been doing it themselves, were completely uneducated about healthy eating or had an idea that this is completely acceptable. And sometimes they know the truth but fast results make for more likes than a gradual healthy change would. If only we lived in a world where everyone was taught how to be healthy. I have always said, I'm no nutrition expert. But that didn't mean I wanted to listen to someone else just because they were a doctor, were confident when they spoke, had a lot of followers or were lean. And you shouldn't either. I put in my own time and effort into making sure I understand how food works, how the human body works and how it all goes together. I understood how my body reacted to foods and found the best way to eat and live. Right now there's no blanket solution (though there could be one out there somewhere) like some people claim, but at least I know how food works in my body and I made an informed decision. This is exactly what you guys should do. It’s all gotten out of hand. Calorie counting every little thing you eat, restricting carbohydrates all day long, forcing yourself to leave food on your plate, the 5-bite diet, 24/7 juicing, ruining your food so you can’t eat it. Does any of that really sound healthy to you? All girls should eat; in fact all people should eat. We know this isn’t just a problem with girls – it just seems that way but there are just as many men as there are women who struggle with diets and self image. We should stop being afraid of food and thinking that beauty is associated with a certain size or how much we decide to eat. Learn what your food is made of, learn how calories actually work and what different calories do. Did you know calories are not always equal? Yeah, shocking! Trust me, 100 calories from tomatoes and 100 calories from a steak are not equal in the same way 100 calories from strawberries and 100 calories from strawberry sorbet are not the same. Everyone is beautiful. And we need to treat ourselves that way. When you think of food, think of energy and nourishment. It’s not a set of numbers, it’s not evil or punishment. There are no cheat days or cheat meals because you shouldn’t think of yourself as doing something bad when you choose what to eat. Eat because you need to, and eat well because you love your body. I will always say, have healthy food because your body will love you for it, and have your treats (whatever you consider a treat) because you will love you for it. P.S. nana ice cream and acai bowls falls into both those categories and I eat it everyday for breakfast! Imagine getting ice cream for breakfast every single day!
4 Comments
Aly R
13/9/2016 07:01:33 am
Hey! That's so true. We've been programmed to think if it's not ultra fast, it's not good enough. And i hate that idea!
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H
13/9/2016 04:37:10 am
Loved your way of thinking. The pictures are awesome, too! What's the camera you've been using btw?
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Aly
13/9/2016 07:00:55 am
Hey! Thanks, i've just be using my iphone 6s for everything
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