If you hadn’t already noticed: as well as being a completely devastating shitebag, 2016 saw an epic rise in the trend of ‘clean eating’. From almond-blitzed energy balls to spiralised ‘courgetti’, throwing together obscure vegetables and omitting dairy and meat from one’s daily consumption became a new kind of norm.
A week into the new year, many may already be planning to follow in the footsteps of their favourite aspirational foodies who pray to the gods of chia seeds and acai berries daily. But can we really trust a group of pseudo-nutritionists who get their scientific information from other unqualified advisers on Instagram? And coupled with the onset of extreme diets that January brings with it, is there still a space for the good old-fashioned ‘balanced diet’?
Many diets in the vein of ‘clean eating’ seem all very well and good. I like smoothies. A good dose of fruit and veg makes my insides feel a damn sight better when I’ve been over-indulging. And I really, really love avocado on toast. The problem is: by following a diet which lauds itself as ‘clean’, fat-free, sugar-free, carb-free (and let’s be honest, fun-free, amirite), or consuming a mere juice or shake for each meal, this can not only can cause us to develop a skewed relationship with food – it can make us plain miserable.
I follow a woman on Instagram who creates recipes with ‘cleanliness’ at their core. Whilst I’m not denying that her creations look impressive, I can’t help but imagine her ‘clean carrot cake’ and ‘clean choc brownie’ having been subject to a fierce scrubbing in the bathtub before being thrown in the oven, or run under the tap with a load of Fairy liquid to ensure they emerge sparkling and ready to eat.
It’s not just this which the word ‘clean’ evokes. There has been a lot of recent scrutiny about the term which says that if healthy food is considered clean, that must make unhealthy food ‘dirty’. Which, by extension, makes the person consuming it dirty. This lends itself to a whole load of guilt, shame, self-scrutiny and even self-loathing as a consequence. The same thing can happen when somebody breaks their hard-and-fast diet. After devouring food that doesn’t fall into the ‘free-from’ category – or is, you know, solid – the eater is rendered a dirty, devilish individual, falling into the bowels of the earth to greet a jowelled satanic figure with clogged arteries who welcomes them gladly to the dark side. “You are what you eat” has become a hugely resonant phrase, and self-berating is on the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
My solution? The same old obvious yet simple answer: moderation. Hitting the gym three times a week doesn’t mean you have to religiously stick to celery and protein shakes; if anything, an infrequent takeaway seems more than justified. Combating obesity will require fewer treats and more healthy eats, but if enjoying the occasional chocolate bar staves off unexpected binging sessions which add up to a hell of a lot more fat and calories in total, how can that be a bad thing?
Finding the balance can be a constant battle, and a tricky line to toe. The dieting mentality can also encourage rewards, often in the form of edible goods. So whilst you might want to indulge every now and then, be careful not to pat yourself on the back with a Krispy Kreme so much that all your hard work is undone. You enjoy that Krispy Kreme, but enjoy it in isolation from your other yummy and more nutritious food before the scales tip unexpectedly and you’re back to consistently unhealthy eating before you can say ‘yoyo dieter’.
Embracing the backlash against the wellness trend is comedian Deliciously Stella, whose hilarious puns on healthy eating have brought her attention from all corners of the internet (“cutting carbs”, where she takes a knife to a loaf of bread, is a personal favourite of mine). Not Plant Based, a blog “for troubled eaters” is equally garnering important support and recognition in a bid to share factual information about dieting and the experiences of eating disorder sufferers. Their motto is: “We are not healthcare professionals, we are not a charity, we are simply people who have been through the same old shit that you have.”
When it seems like social media is constantly forcing aspirational lifestyles down our throats, being happy with how we look and what we eat can feel all the more difficult. We just need to find what works for ourselves, stick to what makes us feel physically good whilst not denying ourselves an occasional treat, and be careful not to listen to silly mantras. I mean, Kate Moss once said that nothing tastes as good as skinny feels ... this woman has clearly never tried a gooey chocolate brownie in her life.
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