Want to get fit in 4 weeks for your special day? F&ck that 9th February 2017

I’ve seen it all now and I’ve had enough. The above subject line is an ad by a leading health food company this week. We are constantly bombarded with messages like the above as a way of selling food programs, supplements, training programmes etc and……

Everything and I mean everything… about the above irritates the sh&t out of me.

There is so much wrong with it that I’m struggling to put it into words. The above debases health to the most basic level …”if I look good, I must be healthy right?”…. that your self esteem and self confidence should be completely equated to the way you look? And of course, “if I look good people will think I’m great, right?” “If I look perfect on my wedding day people will think I have the perfect life right?”

BUT… once the event is over and we don’t have the help of the training programme and the food plans and the supplements, what do we do then? Here’s what.. Revert back to old eating habits, sedentary lifestyles and nightly sugar fixes.

The above is what really irks me about a large segment of the health, wellness & fitness industry. It disempowers us by making us think that they need all of these things. It lowers our self esteem by only equating the way we look to our health levels. It lowers self esteem by proffering that we only deserve to look and feel great on our wedding day, that special black tie event or that girl’s holiday. It makes us think that being healthy is some sort of magic that can only be achieved by taking ‘said potion’ available at the special price of €9.99 (for one week only though!).

Being healthier is not difficult when you bring it back to basics. The food industry has made us think that it is terribly complicated so they can capitalise on it. But think of it this way… how much healthier were our grandparents/great grandparents? The main difference between our generation and theirs is for the most part that they had a lot more control over their food as there was much less choice and….. here’s the shocker… they cooked alot more!

My food ethos is solidly based on eating a diverse diet and eating nutrient dense wholesome food most of the time. Does it involve excluding gluten, wheat, dairy or any other food group? Does it involve huge amounts of food prep every week? No, no, no, no – I appreciate that it’s necessary sometimes, but most of the time I don’t like eating from tupperware. Does it involve feeling guilty about eating things that are “off” plan. Again, no! – there is no set plan – I eat intuitively. Does it involve eating less processed food. Yes – absolutely. And that’s why cooking from scratch is the revolutionary (!) way of taking control of your own health. Not just for today but forever.

People deserve to feel good about the way they look and feel all the time – not just for what will feel like the quickest day of your life. People deserve to be healthy all of the time – not just for 24 hours. As a startup, we often try skirt around the edges, weary of rocking the boat of established brands, but if we firmly believe in helping people living healthier lives, then it’s actually our responsibility to speak out. I’ve had enough with this quick-fix ideology – Don’t JUST EAT, Cook!!!!!