Last week, I watched a very interesting feature-length documentary called ‘That Sugar Film‘. The film is a Supersize Me-esque take on the vast quantities of sugar we consume everyday as part of the modern lifestyle. It turns out, even if we eat so called ‘health foods’ we could be loading our systems up with sugar without even realising. Who knew? In the program, Damon Gameau tests this out by eating the amount of sugar an average person eats per day, made up purely from health foods alone. There is not even any binging on chocolate or fizzy drinks (- if we eat these types of foods as well, then that’s just eating even more sugar on top of a loaded our sugar loaded diet, apparently – cue cries into my pick’n’mix) it’s just health foods. I won’t tell you everything that happens as I’m sure you’ll all scurry off and watch the movie (please do), but lets just say the affect of sugar on your body, mental health and weight has been a real shocker – it has been definite food for thought (muaha) and I want to change.
I’ve always been a bit of a yo-yo dieter, I put on weight easily, have a super sweet tooth and food is one of my favourite things in the world. I love nothing more than an evening out with friends, a couple of glasses of nice wine and a meal at the newest restaurant in town. Gone are my clubbing days, eating out is where it’s at when it comes to socialising. The only problem is with this lifestyle is… I’m just not losing any weight. I’m not overweight as such, but lets say my clothes are tight and I know I feel uncomfortable. I also don’t sleep well, get stressed easily and my energy levels fluctuate massively during the day – I’m pretty sure this all could be helped with a few tweaks to my diet.
The food in my cupboards is now natural ingredients instead of processed rubbish!
So, like all good bloggers would – I took to Pinterest and the Internet to start researching how changing my diet could help me – with my priority to kick sugars butt and find out a way to get my energy levels back on track. I’m not looking for a fad diet, or a quick fix. I want a lifestyle change that is fun with tasty food (no cabbage soups or protein shakes please!) and something realistic that I can stick to.
The one that I kept coming back to was Paleo. This diet, also known as the ‘caveman’ diet is in a nut-shell means you eat everything that is found naturally on the earth, sticking to meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, seeds or nuts – full of natural nutritious and organic ingredients, just as nature intended it. The diet aims to avoid man-made processed food, sugars, packaged rubbish – full to the brim with chemicals that I have no idea what they even are, or how to pronounce them! Even things like pasta sauce are rammed with sugar, in some cases more than a fizzy drink! No wonder I feel so awful.
So, I think the only way I can know exactly what is going in my body is to eat naturally and make everything myself. I’m not the best chef, but with Pinterest recipes and a few healthy eating and Paleo blogs to rely on, this sounds like a challenge… and I’m totally game.
Cooking my first batch of ‘Energy Balls‘
This is going to be a steep learning curve and a long journey – I’m not in it for the short haul. However, I can’t do Paleo to the letter as I’m vegetarian – so taking out meats would really limit my options. So, lets just say I’m taking it more as a guide, adapting ‘paleo style‘ techniques and making dishes in my own way. I’ll be making the changes slowly and gradually, learning as I go along. I’m sure I’ll make some mistakes and do you know what? If I fancy a meal out – I’ll have a meal out! Life is too short to be too strict so I want to have fun with it too. My main priority is not ‘sticking to the rules 100%‘ but learning to cook healthily and naturally and give my body the nutrition and balance it needs.
So, which recipes I’m going to try out first?
I’ve only been working on my new ‘healthy lifestyle’ for 5 days now and I’ve already lost 3lbs – I’m feeling the results already. It’s early days but I feel like this is going to be the best change I’ve made in a long time… want to join me?
Have you tried a natural/paleo diet? If so I’d love to hear from you!
