I Thought I Had a Good Diet
10 years ago, my GP asked me about my diet. I proudly told him ‘I have a very good one! I eat variety of foods, including vegetables, and I only rarely eat fast-foods’. He ticked a box. I had green light. Great!
Back then, my diet looked like: toast and spread with chocolate milk for breakfast, sandwich from the grocery with potato chips for lunch, some good-looking packaged meals for dinner, which I only needed to heat or cook in the micro or in the oven. I ate salads from a bag and instant soups from sachets. Occasionally, I had pizza or other take-aways and some sweets.
Sounds great, right? What can be wrong with this? Well, quite a bit actually!
Just to mention a few: most of my food was processed, with little nutrients in them, but packed with all sorts of artificial additives. The other big problem was that these processed foods replaced entirely the fresh and home cooked meals in my life. Double-edged sword!
Was it easy to ‘prepare’? yes! since, I didn’t need to prepare them at all. They were ready. I had heaps of free time to spend on more important things..
Luckily, I grew up on a pretty healthy, mostly whole food diet. Having good foundations, fairly good genes, plus I was only in my twenties helped me to function pretty well on my not so great diet during the uni and the first few years of my career.. But once I hit mid 30s and I gave birth to my son the pressure was too much on my body and wheels started to fall off. Please read my story here. I started to have all sorts of problems, severe fatigue, ovarian cysts, constipation to name a few, and my mental health was at risk too. Medications and surgeries didn’t help, my condition was getting worse.. up until I jumped back to the drivers seat and started making changes in my diet and lifestyle.
Today the picture looks very different, and I feel great in my body.
My approach is easy, I want to know exactly what is in my food and what that does to my body.
These days I buy fresh fruits and veggies from the local farmers market when I can. I talk to the farmers. I know when they use chemicals on their products and I choose or clean them accordingly. When I buy my food from the shops, I buy mostly one ingredient items. I prefer local, seasonal, whole and organic (if I can afford them). If I need to buy a processed food, I check food labels and I choose the ones which have fewer ingredients and no additives (no numbers).
My goal is to eat foods rich in nutrients and the least chemicals added to them.
I also believe in vitalism. According to this philosophy the body has the innate intelligence to heal itself if we give him the right resources.
These days I spend heaps more of my time in the kitchen prepping meals.
Is it easier? Hell no! but it’s so empowering to know the benefits of the good nutritious food we eat.
Eating well is not a diet, but it’s a lifestyle. It is not for a few months, but for the rest of our lives.
Do I still eat take-aways, pizzas, ice-creams, or other processed foods which I don’t consider healthy? Yes, sometimes. Do I allow my son to have a lolly after his haircut or on a birthday party? I sure do! But I don’t keep lollies at home. This is not an option for him in our pantry.
So, where can you start?
1. Buy less processed food
When buying food try to choose items closest to their original forms.
For example, buy apples instead of apple juice. ‘But why? Apple juice meant to be good for you, right?’ Yes, but there is more to this.
There are many different apple juices on the market and the spectrum is very wide when it comes to their ingredients. Some has only the flavour of an apple, sugar, colorants, preservatives etc., while others are cold pressed from the fresh fruit and nothing added to them. And there are heaps more in between. But if you choose to buy farm fresh apples and you drink clean water, you can’t really go wrong. It is this simple sometimes. Plus, apple has got much more to offer than only its juice.
2. One item at a time
Choose one item on your weekly food shopping list and see if you could swap it with a healthier option. Just one item at a time, nice and easy.
3. Be more aware of your choices
Having more awareness when food shopping is a great start. Small changes will take you far in the long run and your body will thank you for this.
So, how is your diet? Do you know what is in your food? Could you make better choices?
I am here to guide you and keep you motivated on your journey, get in touch with me. I am passionate about helping women navigating the food world, empowering them with knowledge and tools, so they can take back the control over their health and wellbeing.