Perks of Healthy Eating

I am a huge advocate of a healthy lifestyle; healthy eating, exercise and plenty of sleep. People who are workout fanatics often forget that there is a whole other side to a healthy, balanced lifestyle; the food you eat. This doesn’t mean crazy diets that don’t live up to expectations or have no long-term effects, this means changing your daily food routine. You can cut down on portion size as much as you want, but if you don’t change what you eat, what’s the point?

I consider myself a very healthy person. I stay away from overdoses of anything sugary or abundant in gluten (this is just a personal choice) and like to focus on classic fruit and veg. I always make sure I have a source of protein in each meal, as well as plants (ie. veggies/fruit) and good fats (ie. avocados). On my blog, I try to keep my recipes very healthy (don’t worry - everything will have been tried and tested by myself beforehand and given the thumbs up). To assure you that the grass is definitely greener on my side of the plate (grass doesn’t grow on plates...whatever), here are a few, of the many, perks of healthy eating.

1. You feel amazing. You know that feeling you get when you eat a ton of crap (ie. crisps, chips, chocolate, etc.) and just lie around questioning whatever made you do it in the first place? Yeah, I hate it, too. How do you avoid it? Simple! Don’t eat it. Replace unhealthy snacks with fruit or nuts and feels the benefits of it. You won’t feel like crashing on your bed watching your stomach bloat, you’ll feel like going outside to cartwheel in the grass (OK, exaggeration, but you get the point).

2. It’s creative, fun cooking. If you have ever read a healthy cooking blogs or flick through cookbooks, then you know that healthy eating means way more than just salad after salad. There are no limitations as to what you can make, and in fact, by throwing whatever leftovers you have in the fridge, you could probably make something delicious. (Wait for an upcoming post with my favourite healthy blogs/cookbooks!)

3. Weight-loss. This is not at all the reason I eat the way I do, but I know that this is some people’s motivation. By cutting out the crap in your diet and instead eating food that is kind to your body, you will actually lose quite a bit of weight. Because diets only last a certain amount of time, it’s easy to gain back the weight you lost. However, by changing your eating lifestyle altogether, you feel the long term benefits.

4. It’s delicious. The main thing I’ve learnt since eating healthy is that just because it looks disgusting doesn’t mean it won’t taste delicious. This is a piece of advice to swear by. Recipes can go wrong all the time, and the finished product might just look like a pile of sick, but for all you know it could taste amazing. And, most of the time, it does! You’re feeding yourself the foods that your body will love, so you’re tastebuds will love them, too.

5. Endless inspiration. Like I said, there are so many blogs and cookbooks to explore to gather inspiration for your next experiment. Google is one of the best ways to discover recipes, whether you search ingredients or names of bloggers/cooks. There’s always something new to try because this style of eating has no limitations, and experimental recipes are welcome!

6. Self-esteem booster. In a way, this ties to weight-loss. Once I started eating the way I do, I felt so much better, both inside and out. Inside, because I rarely felt tired or lazy and was always energized and feeling ready to face the day. I felt great outside as well, because I rarely had a bloated stomach and, paired with enough exercise, achieved a body I am proud of. I felt amazing and my body felt amazing.

Do you enjoy eating healthy?

Niamh x