Are you using the confusion around what is ‘healthy eating’ as an excuse to not look at your own diet?

Are you throwing your hands in the air and saying, ‘It’s all too hard, I give up, I don’t know what’s healthy and what’s not any more’.

Is this your ‘out’ so you can keep on eating “all things in moderation”.

I can see why the average person would get confused at some of the seemingly contradictory information out there.

I’ve been a Dietitian for over 25 years, and I’ve seen eggs do a full circle twice. Sugar go from being an empty calorie to the devil incarnate. Fat was the baddy but now it appears to holds the key to good health.

So what’s a poor girl to do?

It’s definitely to not give up!

Firstly, I would recommend that you stop looking outward and look inward. I believe we all intuitively know what we need to eat. We know what is healthy and what is not. OK, you may need some help with the finer details, but seriously which category do vegetables go in? (the ‘we need to eat more of them’ category).

Are you happy with your health? Your weight? Are you trapped in that cycle of cravings, constant hunger and yo-yo dieting?

Do you initially need to look any further than increasing your vegetable consumption to the recommended 6 serves a day? Do you eat a piece of fruit a day? What about a handful of nuts? Or 2-3 servings of good quality protein, or some healthy fat like olive oil or an avocado?

How much sugar and processed white food are you really eating?

Do you need coffee to pick you up in the morning and wine to relax you in the evening?

How well do you sleep?

Are you embracing exercise 2-3 times a week?

Are you happy?

Let me tell you a secret…

I have waded my way through a lot of diet books over the years…

• Paleo
• Veganism
• Plant Power
• Nutritional ketosis
• 8 hour Diet
• Fasting Diet

I am not knocking any of them because most of them have a place for some individuals in some instances and some lifestyles. And I am happy to work with my clients to ensure they are nutritionally sound for them (that’s my job!)

But there is no point looking at the finer details of those diets if you are not even close to covering the basics in your own life.

Let’s get to the core of healthy eating – which by the way is at the core of all those diets. And let’s get them happening so that these new habits become a lifestyle.

I believe the best place to start is to eat more vegetables.

I love to do swaps…

• Rice for cauliflower rice
• Pasta for vegetables (especially diced cabbage)
• Zucchini zoodles for spaghetti
• Sliced eggplant for lasagne

What changes can you make…today?

How are you going to start loving yourself? 

Learning how to nourish yourself with real food is a huge step.