"Nicole! You're eating French fries?!" "Ice cream?? Wow, there's ice cream in your freezer!!" These are the kind of things I hear from people who are aware of my passion for healthy living and see me eating ______ (insert anything sugary, fried, fattening, etc.). People seem to find it surprising, but yes, I'll eat fries once in awhile. I indulge in dessert sometimes. I drink one too many glasses of wine here and there... and not because I'm diving off the deep end from my healthy diet, but because I embrace balanced eating and the 80/20 principle. {source} What is the 80/20 approach to diet? It's a pretty simple idea: 80% of the time, you fuel your body with healthy, nutrient-dense foods, and then the remaining 20% of the time, you can indulge in treats and less nutritious ... [Read More]
balanced eating
Reflecting on Our Complex Relationships with Food & My 600 lb Life
Hello, and Happy Friday! I didn't have a chance to publish my normal Friday morning post and I'm feeling analytical, so we're switching gears a bit this afternoon to dive into a discussion about using food as a coping mechanism... I've always been really interested in psychology and the way that people think, behave and interact. I've also always been passionate about food and healthy living, which is why getting my degree is communication studies and later on earning my health coaching certification both just made sense (Perhaps a Masters in psych is in my future as well, ya never know!). This is why I've always loved watching documentaries - particularly ones that relate to health (and also ones that relate to crime, but that's a topic for another day...). My less interested ... [Read More]
Split Personality Eating: Is it Beneficial or Harmful to Our Health?
"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are." - Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin Are you a person who does a juice cleanse one day, then goes out for 4-course indulgent meal that weekend? Then you, my friend, are not alone. Recently I read an interesting article in Shape magazine about the recent trend of 'split personality' eating patterns, such as egg whites & spinach for breakfast, followed by fettuccine alfredo for dinner, and I thought it would be interesting to chat about it today. After I read it, I kept noticing the examples of extreme eating all around me. Businesses geared towards healthy living, like juice bars and healthy meal delivery companies, are on the rise at the very same time that donut shops and gourmet cupcake spots have become all the rage. ... [Read More]