Style: May 04, 2017

52 STYLE | wellbeing
MAKING THE
RIGHT CHOICE
Elly McGuinness looks at some reasons why healthy food choices are overrated.
The importance of consuming nutrient-dense
food has been well documented as essential
to a healthy lifestyle. There is no shortage of
information on what to eat and when to eat, and
there are certainly some polarising views on the
topic, which can make decisions confusing for
the average consumer.
I think it’s hugely important to eat a nourishing
diet, high in essential vitamins and minerals,
phytonutrients, enzymes, good fats, and all the
rest! However, there is often an overloaded
focus on diets or ways of eating with little
attention given to the reasons why it may be
difficult for you to make changes.
I hear a lot of superficial advice around this
such as “your health will suffer if you don’t” or
“if you make changes you’ll have more energy”.
These are well-meaning pieces of advice, but
they don’t often help a person to take action or
create sustainable change.
You are probably aware that foods such as
vegetables and fruits are crucial to a healthy
nutrition intake but for some reason or another
can find it difficult to put your knowledge
into practice. It’s time to consider your needs
holistically and start exploring some of the
things that might be stopping you from making
healthier nutrition choices.
1. SLEEP
If you are not sleeping well it will be highly likely
that your body will cry out for quick-fix solutions
to help you feel better in the short term. These
usually come in the form of highly processed
carbohydrate/sugar rich foods, caffeine, etc. It is
very difficult to ask you to change your nutrition
habits if you are not sleeping well – fix the sleep
and the nutrition becomes a lot easier to tackle.
2. STRESS
This one is closely related to point one because
it is the reason that many people are unable
to sleep well. Lack of sleep can increase stress
and too much stress can result in a lack of
sleep. Looking at stress reduction techniques
is essential for many people. Healthy nutrition
choices can follow.
3. THOUGHTS
Sometimes long-held beliefs can hold you back
from making positive nutrition choices. For
example, you might have the belief that you
need to eat all the food on your plate because
that’s what your mother has told you from
a very young age. Explore your beliefs and
subsequent attitude towards food with a holistic
health coach, neuro-linguistic programming
(NLP), or emotional freedom technique (EFT)
practitioner. They can help you work out your
personal ‘why’ for improving your health, and
identify the strong emotional drivers to help you
change.
4. RELATIONSHIPS
Identify whether there are people in your life
who are holding you back. Perhaps your family
like to order takeout pizza, which is really difficult
to resist when the delicious aromas waft through
the house. Or maybe your workplace offers a
morning tea shout each day, which is full of cakes
and pastries? In these cases, you may benefit
from developing strategies to work around these
situations – ask a professional if you need help.
Identify if any of the above areas need attention
for you and first consider addressing the
one that stands out for you, rather than first
obsessing over what you ‘should’ be eating.