The health and wellness bubble of privilege

I cannot say how relieved I am that winter is finally over. This one was particularly shit, and saw me get the flu twice, a chest infection, and then, a couple of weeks ago, end up in hospital with pneumonia. The kids didn’t come through unscathed either, with a resurgence of asthma and chest infections. As I’ve spent most of the last fortnight lying in bed recovering, I’ve considered throwing the towel in on this blog, and Instagram, largely because for me, feeling unwell = feeling down = low motivation = what’s the point?

But then an online post which suggested that people who complain that healthy eating is expensive just have their priorities wrong got me fired up again and reminded me why I started this in the first place: because I love food, and I also have things to say about food (and other stuff). I must be feeling better, because the urge to rant has returned.

This period of illness brought to a head something that has irked me about the health and wellness sector over the last few years, in particular a couple of ‘key messages’ that I see and hear regularly:

1. That food is medicine and prevents illness
2. That healthy eating isn’t expensive – it’s just a matter of personal choice and responsibility; and people just need to get their priorities in order!

Continue reading →

#5: Review of the I Quit Sugar 8 Week Program (Jan – March 2015)

This is a review of my second round of the I Quit Sugar 8 Week Program, which I completed between January and March this year. I did the program again to ‘reset’ my body in the new year, and to have two months of nutritious recipes laid out for me. My Mum did the program for the first time, so we did many of our Sunday cook-ups together and had fun comparing our experiences of the meals.

I didn’t do the program to ‘quit sugar’ again, as I had continued living a low-fructose lifestyle since first completing the program in July last year. However, doing it again allowed me to realise how much easier it has become to live a low-sugar life, and to enjoy other aspects of the program that I was less focused on last time, while in the midst of sugar cravings: learning new ways to cook, cutting down on caffeine – a surprising outcome – and thinking about new ways to use leftovers. I realised too, that I really do feel my best during the program, when I am planning and eating nutrient-dense meals with loads of vegetables, and making food a priority, instead of letting it slide in favour of all the other things that need to get done. Continue reading →

Quitting sugar gave me food freedom, not an eating disorder

After reading one too many articles criticising sugar-free and paleo lifestyles – this time from Donna Hay, who labelled these lifestyles the ‘new eating disorders’, I started to wonder whether in fact I do have an eating disorder. Continue reading →