An Attempt at Healthy

An attempt at healthy, behind the mirror, organic foods, healthy eating, chanel shopping center, chanel fall 2014

I grew up in what I would consider to be a fast food family. Every morning my mother would take us through the drive-thru of Hardees (don’t know what Hardees is??? I don’t want to ruin it for you so please, seriously please, google it – fast food at it’s best) and order my brother and I a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit for breakfast. For snacks we were no strangers to a quick trip to the McDonalds, and more than one dinner was chicken that came in a bucket.

My brother and I grew up in a pre-internet world where we played outside, built forts, rode our bikes (without helmets) and would swim everyday of the summer. We were active and by some luck called genetics we didn’t turn into obese versions of ourselves. I want to be clear – my mom wasn’t some crazy lady who fed her kids toxins like we would think of someone today. It was the 80’s and I guarantee she wasn’t the only one riding the fast food train for more than one stop. Plus, I don’t judge. I don’t have two annoying brats screaming and fighting in the backseat of an Aerostar minivan. For real, I think my brother and I are lucky she fed us at all…

An attempt at healthy, behind the mirror, organic foods, healthy eating, chanel shopping center, chanel fall 2014

When I moved off to college I started to be aware of eating “healthy.” At this point eating well meant low-fat and sugar free, making sure to count calories and overdosing on diet coke. Counting calories felt good to me health-wise, because every woman I knew and thought had a handle of what healthy should be was keeping track. But, again by some luck called genetics I never struggled with my weight.

It wasn’t until I moved to New York that I started to gain weight. I was poor. Like, super poor… therefore I bought the cheapest version of anything and everything. I did up what I learned in college and everything had to be low-fat or sugar free. I wanted to shed the pounds. I participated in the south beach diet, the zone, and pretty much anything that some celebrity did once and claimed worked. I did lose weight, but it was a constant struggle and always a gamble to know what the scale was going to say.

An attempt at healthy, behind the mirror, organic foods, healthy eating, chanel shopping center, chanel fall 2014

Finally, I moved in with my boyfriend whose eating habits were completely different than mine and since he is the cook, we as a couple started eating the way he ate. At the grocery store we never look for low fat or sugar free, he looks at the actual ingredients on the label and if there is an option to buy it fresh and make it… that is the option we take. Ironically, once I stopped worrying about my calories and started eating “healthy” food, the numbers on the scale were a non-issue.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m still a big believer in moderation. We order in a lot and I am certainly no hard ass about eating healthy. I pretty much live by the concept that anything is ok as long as you use some moderation. Which means if I want some french fries or a taco then I am going to have some french fries or a taco. Also, I should be upfront, most of my friends wouldn’t consider me to be a healthy eater. But, there is a difference. Where I was once making some cheese chips in the microwave, I now have some beets with carrots. I think the shift is bigger than just me making more conscience decisions about food. I think there is a new direction for what “healthy” is.

An attempt at healthy, behind the mirror, organic foods, healthy eating, chanel shopping center, chanel fall 2014

Last week I read a post on Man Repeller that asked the following questions: have you felt a cultural change in the approach to food and calories? What about among your friends? Has it affected you or your habits? Does it feel like just another diet? Or is it finally a healthy, sustainable life-change?

As with the author on Man Repeller, I don’t tell you this to be like, see that is all it takes and you can be skinny like me… or this is all it takes and you can lose some weight…. I don’t know shit about food, I am not a foodie. I genuinely think this is an interesting concept and so… let’s discuss it further.

An attempt at healthy, behind the mirror, organic foods, healthy eating, chanel shopping center, chanel fall 2014

At this point, “organic” seems to be available in most grocery stores, and Whole Foods has popped up on every other corner in my neck of the woods… According to the article, the organic food market is expected to grow double digits per year in the next four years, and organic food production in the US increased 240% between 2002 and 2011.So what do you guys think?

Is there a shift in the perception of healthy or is the whole organic/healthy food movement the next south beach diet gimmick?

***beauty always comes from within, photos from here, xoxo behind the mirror***
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  • Thomai

    Very interesting post! It is just so hard to change your eating habits but it is worth it!

    • I thought it was interesting too and it is soooooooo hard to change your eating habits! Thanks for stopping by!

  • Sarah

    Great article!!! Actually I think it’s just a trend. It’s all about organic, detox, vegan, healthy lifestyle and so on but we should face the fact: the population in wealthy western countries is getting fatter and fatter instead of thinner and healthier. And that, although most of us should be able to consume whatever we like, higher priced organic food included. Especially in social media networks and in the fashion industry, being thin is the second to none. It might be cool to talk about healthy green drinks and work-outs but in fact it doesn’t really matter as long as you’re skinny.

    To be honest, I have the feeling that we are losing food culture. Here in Spain, people still really COOK with fresh ingedients, without any artifical flavors and they take their time to eat. Instead, in Germany where I am from and as far as I know the “fattest” country in Europe, you can see people eating/snacking everywhere: in the metro, in the park, in their cars…you wouldn’t see that here in Spain…not yet but unfortunately I noticed, that this is also changing :(

    • Thank you for you comment. Yes, the western world is definitely much different when it comes to health and eating habits. My boyfriend isn’t American which I think plays a big role in the why his eating habits were so different from mine in the first place. Great points, and thank you for adding to the discussion!!!

  • Giusy Petrangelo

    This is weird: when I was younger my friends and I used to watch McDonald commercials and dream about that “magic place” because there was -and still there is – no fast food in my little hometown in south Italy. Now I feel so lucky for growing up with a healthy food culture! However, this is a very interesting topic. I find that we’re facing a “healthy trend” and I’m deeply convinced that new media have a key role in the process. To be honest, I don’t know if there’s a real consciousness of the importance of a balanced diet, sometimes it seems that a healthy lifestyle is just “cool”! But as long as it can change bad habits I think it’s ok…
    x

    lulus-sister.blogspot.it

    • I agree that from a social & media point of view “healthy” has been coined as “cool.” Which you are right, if it can change bad habits then at least there is some good coming from it. Thanks for your comment!

  • Lary

    amazing post!! :)
    I love eating healtly too but an hamburguer one time or another is not thaaat bad :P

    xoxo

    http://www.tastemycloset.com/

  • Ashley White

    I definitely had a similar upbringing- that KFC bucket was a familiar dinner in our house! :) It’s so crazy how times/attitudes have shifted, and how my own views about this type of food has changed. I do fast food sparingly, and try to select healthier menu options when I am in that drive-thru line. :)

    -Ashley
    http://lestylorouge.com

  • Kiri Yanchenko

    It’s interesting that you chose the Chanel supermarket to illustrate this debate with… Since I think Karl just downs diet cokes all the time PLUS models aren’t poster children for healthy eating…. I totally get their diet though since when @ Fashion Week there is JUST NO TIME.
    I am not sure if I have felt a cultural change. I know that I have felt the change maybe because I have grown up and can now afford to eat like I was brought up at home to eat – more healthily. I cannot speak for the rest of the world but here in Australia fruit and vegetables are more expensive that convenience and junk foods.
    In remote areas of Australia for example a capsicum costs like mega bucks so it’s no wonder people eat pizza hut instead.
    Kiri
    http://www.fashionblender.com.au
    http://www.facebook.com/FashionBlender

    • Seriously, sometimes I feel like I have the best readers! I love that you pointed out the pictures with the post. Honestly, my thought process was more along the lines of ‘here are some great photos sort of related to food’ but it could definitely have more implications that I didn’t even think about!

  • Raissa

    The point of eating healthy should be about…well, being healthy, not trying to be thin (that would be unhealthy in a different way). I think we’re just more conscious overall thanks to that big push of organic foods.
    http://theleatherfannypack.com

    • Thank you so much for you comment. I actually edited some of the post based on your comment because you are absolutely right! the point is being healthy and not skinny! And I wouldn’t want that point to be hidden up there somewhere. So thank you!

      • Raissa

        Of course! I’m happy to contribute. :)

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