Eating Healthily Doesn't have to be boring

We are what we eat... or so the saying goes, and I agree whole heartedly with this.  Unhealthy diets cause disease, be it type 2 diabetes, heart disease, metabolic syndrome or even cancer.  Unhealthy foods cause disease; junk food, sugary soft drinks, processed "foods" all contribute to the weight gain, obesity and the onset of the aforementioned diseases.

However, quite often the people who come to see me because they need to lose weight not just from an esthetic point of view, but for health reasons all have the same look in their eyes... fear.

We humans are creatures of habit, we tend to be set in our ways and the mere thought - however fleeting -  of having to change one or more of their habits, or having to stop eating one of their favorite foods causes such fear they would prefer to not even contemplate it.

Also, the minute the word diet comes up in conversation and most people envisage broiled chicken with lettuce or grilled fish with not much else.  "Dieting" is associated with depriving oneself of everything deemed delicious and eating uninteresting, boring and unpalatable foods.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Two very important pieces of information have come to light recently.

1.  FAT has been found to be good for you.
2.  The real killer is SUGAR.

Yip, everything you were told for decades was wrong.  Sugar and refined carbohydrates are the real killers and fat has been unjustly omitted from our diets for years and years.

So, if we take into account that there is a huge obesity epidemic which is stressing the national health services due to the serious diseases that are brought on by being overweight or obese; type 2 diabetes as I wrote recently is singlehandedly bankrupting the NHS in the UK.  We also need to take into account that type 2 diabetes can be improved beyond belief in the majority of cases and even cured in some cases, simply by removing refined carbohydrates from the diet.  Removing refined carbs mean people lose weight.  Losing weight reverses the effects of type 2 diabetes, among other diseases.

And here we are back to the broiled chicken and lettuce... or are we.

Eating healthy, home cooked food can be so delicious.  There is no reason to have a boring diet if you want to lose weight.  What you really need is to change the way you THINK about food.

Food should be tasty, delicious and filling.  You shouldn't feel like you are missing out.  You also need to adjust your mind set.  When you look at what you are about to eat ask yourself these questions;  What does this food do for me?  Does it nourish me?  Will I feel good about it afterwards?

One of the best examples of healthy but tasty food is Dr. Michael Mosley's Blood Sugar Diet.  Anyone, whether you have a problem with blood sugar or not should be eating this food.  It is healthy and delicious and a great way to start a seriously healthy change to your diet.  I don't usually do reviews, but Dr. Mosley's 5:2 Diet I have reviewed and it is another common sense diet that has done wonders for many many people.

However, the Blood Sugar Diet I am not going to review as such, and if you don't want to read the book I suggest that you do buy the recipe book, written by his wife Dr. Clare Bailey and Dr. Sarah Schenker.  Buy it!  Cook from it!  Give to everyone you know as a gift this Christmas!

The recipes are easy and very tasty, you have breakfast ideas, lunches, snacks, evening meals, main meals even curries!  My own 16 year old daughter who has always says she hates spicy food, LOVED the chicken biriani with cauli rice.

You will not even know you are on a healthy eating plan... which is why I was so distraught this morning to find that my dog had eaten the book... oh well, I'll have to get myself another one!

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com