‘Top 5 reasons healthy eating rocks!’ – wow that enthusiasm felt a little cheerleadery didn’t it. Let’s roll with it!

Ok so I had my little rant as to why dieting sucks ( diet meaning restricted eating) now I want to tell you why you want to do it.

At the risk of sounding cheesy eating healthy really can change your life drastically, for the better.

I’m not new to healthy eating, i’ve been doing it for quite a while now, but like most people i’m prone to indulging and in some cases (cue christmas), over indulging. But this new way of restricted eating doesn’t allow such things. I’m using the opportunity to explore the pros and cons of dieting. Hopefully in this article I showcase the benefits of eating healthy.

While I found restricted eating very hard at first, hence my previous posting, now i’d like to share with you all the positive aspects.

I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again – you don’t know how good you feel until you feel like crap. It’s so true, I think we take it for granted.

Here are my top 5 reasons why healthy eating rocks!

 

1. Health benefits

Adding years to your life, reducing your risk of lifestyle diseases such as type 2 diabetes, reducing cardiovascular disease. Improving immune system, digestive system, the list goes on and on.  My personal favourites that you notice early are increased energy and improved sleep!

 

2. Physical benefits

Even though good health is the most important thing anyone can ever have, it’s the physical benefits that people get most excited about. When you start seeing the benefits of your hard work, it is the best feeling ever! Let me run through some of them, weight loss (who doesn’t like a bit of that), reducing body fat, radiant skin – yep I said radiant, it’s smooth, clear and has a glow. Stronger nails, nicer hair, flatter stomach and that ‘firm’ feeling, nothing beats the feeling when you drop fluid weight and you feel your new firmer body, that’s where the muscles were hiding! Because you have more energy you’re able to be more active, only adding to your benefits.

 

3. Save money

I’m sorry but I disagree in the most part with those people who say that eating healthy is too expensive. Bull. Maybe look at your choices. I’ve been making recipes for 4 people and most of them cost less than $20 in total, last weeks roast chicken was about $10 in total with vegetables and left overs for the next day. When you’re in a food court, that’s a different story, a healthy lunch can cost about $15 as opposed to a cheap and nasty burger, fries and soft drink meal… I can see why people fall into the trap. Since eating restricted i’ve eaten most meals at home or prepared them at home to take with me. This has saved me money and I have still found ways to socialise. Saved money is going towards new clothes of the smaller size variety 😉

 

4. Good influence

I’m not forcing anyone around me to eat the way I do. But I am finding it is kind of rubbing off. Those close to me aren’t eating things  i’d be tempted by around me and told me they’ve cut them out also. My boyfriend is eating healthy too which is a big support. Since I am doing a lot of cooking at home, those who want to be fed must eat my super healthy stuff (they can add whatever they like to it). I’ve had no complaints so far!  When you eat healthy you are showing those around you the benefits and that it is possible for them to achieve those benefits also. Don’t ram the message down their throat, instead be a good example.

 

5. Liberation

Now this one sounds a little silly, but after you refuse foods for quite a while you build strength. This sounds overdramatic I know. But resisting and ditching old food habits makes way for new ones. I’m looking at the positive side, I’ve now learnt exactly what goes into foods and the effect they have on the body. I now have new cooking skills which I didn’t have before, i’m better at flavouring my food naturally and how to make natural fresh healthy food super yummy. I don’t feel tied down to any cravings, yep I used to get cravings for chocolate as most people do I think, but I now know that the world won’t fall apart if I don’t have it.

 

There are my top 5 reasons, although I really don’t think it’s possible to put into words just how fantastic it can be. Your health and physical benefits far outweigh anything else. The best way I can describe it is that when you are fit and healthy and eating foods that agree with your body, you are like a superhero…. yes, just roll with it for a second. A super hero because you realise that you can do everything with ease, things that used to feel hard for you feel super easy, and with extra energy you really do almost feel super human. Everything is easier, clearer and achievable when you’re fit and healthy.

Ok that’s enough cheese 🙂

 

Word of warning, slight vent ahead!

Without going into too much detail I am having to follow a strict diet for a while for health reasons (nothing serious!) and the process has inspired this post.

This is not a post about why dieting isn’t good for your weight, how it will make you yo yo and put weight back on. It is not about fad diets that are crazy and extreme and not good for your health at all. I am using the word diet in this post in terms of restricted eating, not because I want to lose weight.

I’ve been on a lot of diets in my youth, i’ve wanted to try them all to find the secret to quick weight loss. Now, as a trainer I wish I could go back in time slap myself with some sense. Dieting by your own choice is one thing but having to eat a certain way due to medical reasons is another. I have so much more respect and empathy for these people now, how frustrating it must be to live with it.

Trust me you have no idea what food actually contains until you are restricted. So here are my top 5 reasons why diets suck

 

1. Eating out and celebrations

When trying to choose healthy options in the past I looked at it like I was doing a good thing for myself, I was looking after my body and it was my choice to do so. When you’re restricted on a diet you are not allowed certain foods therefore the freedom of choice is taken. Recently I found myself in 2 predicaments. 1 – I went out to dinner with friends and knowing this in advance I looked up the restaurant’s menu online and chose the best option. In reality what came out of the kitchen wasn’t as healthy as it described in the menu which was very frustrating. 2 -At the next dinner out I asked the waitor for a side salad with no dressing which they declined, seriously how much does a few pieces of lettuce cost??! Having to sit at the table while everyone ate garlic bread was just cruel but hey the ordeal was over with within 10 minutes and then I forgot about it.

Socialising is heavily related to food. I control what I can but what about those things you can’t? Parties, weddings, events? Times you can’t control what food is offered? It’s quite isolating and you often feel like you are being rude for refusing food.

 

2. Peer pressure

There’s something about when your friend goes on a diet, you just want to convince them not to, that they don’t need to they look fine the way they are. That what they’re doing is silly and unnecessary “go on, just have one piece/sip/plate” “why are you dieting for? Don’t get skinny!” Is it that people genuinely don’t understand or that they don’t want you to succeed? I have to say though, when restricted eating is for your health the pressure is mostly taken off.

 

3. Temptation

I don’t think i’ve ever noticed how many temptations there are around me in my everyday life. All of a sudden everything is amplified. People walking past you with a coffee, what’s in people’s trolley’s at the supermarket, the smells out of people’s homes as they cook dinner as your walking/running past, a mother feeding their child a sandwich for heavens sake! People offering me temptations is the worst, it also falls under the ‘being rude by refusing’ umbrella. I must admit that temptations die down after a while, it’s just the idea of it that is appealing. Try attending multiple birthday parties and having to eat your own lame fruit salad in lieu of cake… I still thought the fruit was beautiful though!

 

4. Wanting what you can’t have

Isn’t this, as humans, How we function? The grass is always greener and what not? At first, when I was told I couldn’t have bread I was upset, I don’t know why seeing as I don’t eat bread anyway, but the pure fact that I wasn’t allowed depressed me. Mental strength anyone? I started craving all sorts of random stuff purely because it was on the No No list, luckily that too has subsided.

 

5. Boring

Enough said.

 

This is not an all bad post, if you can read between the lines you picked up that i’ve got a handle on it right? Right? In all seriousness, following a diet can be hard. If you do not have to do so for medical reasons then I advise against it, it can cause health problems and weight gain. Instead, why not CHOOSE to eat healthy, you are not restricted, you can have whatever you want but you CHOOSE not to. You indulge every now and then, that’s normal, but you eat sensibly and eat to fuel your body with highly nutritious foods.

Stay tuned, i’m about to flip this article on it’s head… 🙂

 

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