With a Twist: The Pros and Cons of Being a Healthy Eater


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Photo from Love to Live Nutrition

 

My obsession with eating healthy has been a gradual process. When I was younger, I would eat mainly carbs, but as I grew up, I started changing my eating habits by slowly eliminating certain unhealthy foods. I didn’t do this because I tried to lose weight — I just enjoyed eating healthy food and didn’t have a need for junk food in my diet anymore. This takes me to my current lifestyle choice to be processed sugar, dairy and gluten-free. While this may seem extreme, I actively choose to eat like this because I prefer the taste of healthy food. Although there are many benefits to being a healthy eater, there are also a number of setbacks. If you share any of my eating habits, then you will understand. If you cannot relate to my eating habits but are curious what the world of a healthy eater is like, then you too are in the right place. This blog is dedicated to reinforcing the pros and disputing the cons of being a healthy eater — with a twist.

PROS

  1. You feel good about yourself
    1. Filling your body with natural foods gives you a pure and clean feeling — it is as simple as that.
  2. You have more energy
    1. Cutting out processed sugar and unhealthy carbs will give you more energy throughout the day. By eliminating these foods from your diet, you won’t get the sugar crash you experience with unnatural foods. Substituting unnatural sugars for natural sugars such as fresh fruit will give you the same type of satisfaction without the dip in energy.
  3. Healthy food DOES taste good
    1. No matter what people say, if you are truly a healthy eater you will enjoy the taste of healthy food. For those who share this feeling, you know that junk food is not appealing. If you don’t find healthy food appetizing, slowly start to incorporate more healthy foods into your diet and you will learn to love the taste too.

CONS

  1. Criticism from peers
    1. Unfortunately, not everyone is understanding about my picky eating habits. I get a lot of people to be “fascinated” by what I choose to eat or not eat. However, most of the time the fascination wears off and turns into a sense of criticism. How do you deal with the judgement that comes from eating only healthy foods? Just remember the pros listed above. There is no need to explain yourself if you are a healthy eater because it is your lifestyle that you choose to live.
  2. Expense
    1. A main concern many people have with healthy food is that it can add up in cost. However, there are a number of solutions to maintain a healthy lifestyle on a budget. My top recommendation is to meal prep. Instead of spending $15 on a salad, use that money to buy salad ingredients at the market, and you can make multiple salads for the price of one.
  3. Ordering at restaurants
    1. I am the queen of ordering things on the side in order to fit my eating habits. However, there is an appropriate etiquette that comes with ordering food as a healthy eater. You must remember to respect the restaurant, but never be afraid of ordering what you want (unless there are no substitutions to the menu then I am sorry, but you are out of luck). Lots of people ask me if it is hard to find something to eat at restaurants, but there is always something a healthy eater can find on any menu. While I highly encourage eating at healthy restaurants, there is always an option that fits a healthy appetite even if it takes politely asking for some modifications.

Carly Price is a freshman majoring in journalism. Her column, With a Twist, runs every week on Wednesday.