As a teenage girl brought up in a typical middle-class home, I have been exposed to all sorts of things, including diets. Dieting, particularly fad diets, is something that we are discouraged from - and rightly so. However, I don't think that there is enough real talk about it. So here we go, real talk with the Fairy God Daughter.
Diets are a thing; they are a fact of life. In my completely uneducated, not-in-any-way-professional opinion, diets are a sort of rite of passage - most girls (and probably guys, but I don't know) attempt it at one time or another. I know I have, more than once. And yet it's never really lasted for long.
There are a lot of different types of diets - there's vegetarian, vegan, no-carb low-carb high-protein low fat no fat high calcium high calcium with vitamin D and folate (do I sound like the lady from the Paul's Milk ad yet?) and then there are the many subcategories, especially those under the umbrella term 'healthy eating'.
Most teenagers will probably go through one or two of these - whether it's not eating meat for a week, forbidding anyone in the house to buy chocolate, or full on vegetables and fruit for a month.
Personally, I went through a period of about five months where I didn't eat red meat (I ate chicken and fish). I've been through a no-carbs-unless-absolutely-necessary phase. I once tried to not eat at school (which resulted in binging on chocolate, Pringles and Pop-Tarts when I got home).
One of my biggest problems still is moderation - and by that, I don't mean portion sizing. I mean that I will go for three weeks not wanting or needing chocolate, and then suddenly eat half (or more) of a family sized block of Cadbury Fruit and Nut. While that can be partially blamed on the other hellish thing that girls from the age of preteen to old lady have to deal with, I know that I can't help eating more once I've started. This is synonymous with my everyday life, because I tend to have an 'all or nothing' attitude.
Diets, in my opinion, aren't inherently bad. Eating healthy, doing a vegan cleanse occasionally, deciding that Krispy Kreme isn't getting your money - they aren't terrible. The problem with teenagers is that we have no clue how to do it sensibly, and many of us take it too far, or expect too much. This isn't just an issue with dieting though - studying, relationships and exercise are other perfect examples of going too hard and then crashing, or not doing a lot and then wanting better results.
The problem with dieting is that we, teenagers, aren't educated enough. Sure, there's the nutritional scientist expert food genius lady that came to school for an hour once and said "healthy is good starving is bad" and then left. And if you are in a position where you can get the 'right' food and have enough time to eat it and actually can be that dedicated, go for it. But that doesn't always work for me. For one reason, muesli seems to be a pretty popular option in breakfast suggestions, and was unfortunately ruined for me when my Dad didn't close the bag properly once and when I sat down to eat a nice bowl of muesli two weeks later, there were squirmy things in it. For another, I don't like predictable and boring. There's a difference between predictable and schedule - I like schedule. But eating the exact same thing every morning doesn't make me feel great. It makes me bored. I like to wake up in the morning and think "Breakfast? Yeah, I'll have that. What should I have though?" and run through my options before making a decision.
Another problem for me is that I am good at sticking to something... for a little while. I've happily eaten Sultana Bran for breakfast every morning for like six boxes, but when that box is finished I say, "Nope. Mum, can you start getting *totally different thing*."
I remember that once upon a time I poached myself an egg, made toast, and had avocado with it, and I sat and ate breakfast with coffee. But then that started taking too long.
I remember just having coffee. But that wasn't a good choice.
I've had poptarts, I've had cereal, I've had egg, I've had toast, I've had pizza, I've had fruit, I've had yoghurt... you name it, I've probably eaten it for breakfast.
I like variety and spontaneity and eating the same thing is annoying.
But back to education... once the genius food lady leaves, she's gone. See you later, thanks for coming, I don't remember a single thing you said except that there are good things about chocolate. And you're left with your basic knowledge of 'two fruits five veggies protein carbs and dairy' to try fend for yourself.
I don't have the answers. I can't magically make every person know what's best for them. I don't even know what's best for me, let alone someone else.
But I have questions, I have problems, and I am willing to take advice. So if you have any, please leave them down in the comments section and we can chat.
And finally... know yourself. Only you can tell when you're craving strawberries, or when you just want your Dad to stop making salad every day. And for goodness sake, if your body is screaming out for carbs, then give them to it. Make some toast. Trust me, you'll like it.
Fairy God Daughter,
Flying away
No comments:
Post a Comment