Good morning to all my readers who are sipping on their morning coffees scrolling through their newsfeed on a Saturday morning!
The weekend is upon us, and most of us will be indulging in overpriced, fancy looking, average tasting, supremely unhealthy food tonight. It goes without saying that drinks will be involved, which will be alcoholic, sweet and full of calories that you will never even register. Some of you may crave a few drags of that lit cigarette and pair it up with your wine and dine.
Amongst all these people who believe in enjoying their lives (LOL), there are a few rare folks like me, who have recently discovered how important it is to watch what you consume. The last year and a half has been immensely educational for me with regards to food and nutrition. I have shed 19 kilos over the last 17-18 months, and I have done that without any crash diets. I accept that my level of physical activity has been absolutely disgraceful. I give the entire credit for losing all the weight to my dietician and her diet.
However, beyond just losing the kilos on the scale, I have gained valuable lessons on just how much food affects us. When you consciously make yourself aware and educated about food, you can observe the minute changes that occur in your body; the positive and negative changes are both evident when you eat healthy and binge on the junk respectively. Of course, it feels amazing to cheat on your diet with that fried, salty, crispy food, but the bloating next day is just not worth it. Ok maybe it’s worth it when the food in question is McDonald’s fries.
No, I don’t think it is worth it.
I have understood with great self-control and will power that good, fresh food improves your overall health and well-being. When you increase your intake of water, you feel less lethargic and less prone to headaches (I used to get terrible, unbearable migraine headaches earlier). When you eat a fresh fruit or a few nuts like walnuts, there is a spike in your energy, and if eaten before a workout, I personally found myself with higher and most sustainable levels of energy. When I switched from a heavier carb dinner to lighter and fresher salads with grilled proteins, I got better sleep without the sluggishness. Of course, there are always those occasional pangs of hunger, but with dedication and will power, those urges can be managed better than reaching for those bags of chips at night.
I no longer think that the primary reason to watch your food is to lose weight. I genuinely believe from my own experiences, that healthy food definitely improves physical, emotional and mental health too. Even today, I have continued my pursuit of knowledge about nutrition and food, because it empowers me to make better food and life choices. I eat my dinner by 8, mostly without carbs, I don’t drink and I don’t smoke. And these decisions have perhaps been the best ones I could have made for my body.
I have promised myself today that I am going to start working out daily or atleast 4 times a week, because physical activity is just as important as food.
So that’s all for today. If you are a conscious eater like me, or stand by the love for fries, share your thoughts in the comments 🙂
Lots of love,
P.
Stardust & Sunlight 