Do I need to give up “X” food to lose weight?

This has come up a few times recently with clients and its something that needs to be addressed.

In this day of glorified restriction and orthorexia disguised as “clean eating” I feel the need to make one thing perfectly clear…

Food is food is food.

^^^ yes it is.

food

In the loose sense, if this substance will keep us alive it can be considered food.

(I agree, cheese squeezed from a tube is about as far from recognised food as you can get, but with the above definition, it still counts)

Food is neutral.

Food is not tied to morality. There is no “good” or “bad” food.

If you eat a diet of nothing but chocolate will you be healthy?

Probably not. Not necessarily because the chocolate is bad, but it doesn’t contain the variety of vitamins and minerals that we need in our diets to remain healthy.

Can it be part of a diet that also contains the variety of vitamins and minerals that we need in our diets?

ABSOLUTELY.

However, with the help of “health gurus”,  “herbal supplement” companies and fad diets we have created a culture that glorifies restriction and more and more I’m hearing things like:

“I just need to be more strict”

“I can’t eat “X” without binging”

“I know what I need to do, I just cant stop eating”

“I’m starting again on Monday”

Can I ask… starting what again?
The restriction?
The discipline?

The miserable life of a dieter who gets nowhere despite battling with fading willpower and ending up a shell of a woman who worries all day about food?

^^^ Read.That.Again.

Stop this madness.

I get it. It’s somehow deemed as heroic to ditch the “unhealthy” foods and live the life of a virtuous woman, saying no to cake and going hard in the gym.

You become envied by those who just can’t do it.

You become a beacon of inspiration.

And this restriction feels food.

You feel empowered.

Until you don’t.

There is only one way out…

Lets be logical.

Do you need to give up “X” food to lose weight/be healthy/be amazing?

Not necessarily.

You can lose weight eating “dirty” foods.

You can gain weight eating “clean” foods.

The type of food has less to do with weight loss than you would think.

There is only one question that you need to answer when considering giving up a particular food:

Does this food make me feel like shit?

Do you have acne?
Headaches?
IBS?
Poor digestion?
Excessive tiredness not caused by medical condition or lack of sleep?

Do these feelings get worse after eating this food?

Yes? Ok, go ahead and try some time without it.

BUT…

If you are giving up this food because someone else told you it was bad

or because your friend gave it up and suddenly dropped 2 dress sizes

or because you feel that without restriction you’re not in control

Then it’s time to ask yourself…

“Why am I really doing this?”

Ainzlie xx

P.s –

For those of you who might be unfamiliar with the term Orthorexia…

orthorexia