Ep. 24 – Is This Surprising Factor Sabotaging Your Diet?
Welcome to the 24th episode of Vegetarian Health and Longevity from Hurry The Food Up and Sports Nutritionist James LeBaigue.
There’s a recurring theme that I see when working 1:1 with clients and with members of The Vegetarian Protein Fix.
Typically, they have struggled to stick to a diet over the long term. They might have been able to for a couple of months, even 6 months, before old habits creep back in and before they know it, they’re back where they started.
There might be lots of reasons for this. They don’t have enough time and life got busy. Work was stressful. They had an injury. They went on holiday.
There are loads of “problems” that have stopped them and made it difficult.
But usually, when I speak to them and really delve into this there’s something deeper, something darker that is keeping them from sticking to their diet over the long-term, and I think it’s something that so many people struggle with.
And if more people were able to understand this and improve it, I am absolutely sure that it would benefit so many lives. Now this could be in relation to weight loss or just general health living because it’s something that crosses all spheres and walks of life.
I’d like to dive into this in this episode, and show you just how powerful this change can be and how you can use it in your own life.
Throughout my time working clinically in family medicine, and as a nutritionist within sport, I’ve come across so many different attitudes to food and dieting.
Some people are so carefree around food and have no emotional attachment to it, going as far as to forget to eat, and not eating enough unless they have a specific plan to follow.
Others love food and enjoy all different aspects of it, and don’t have any concerns around weight or managing their diet. Others love food but hate their diet: they often feel ashamed, guilty, and they aren’t where they want to be in terms of their weight or how they look.
Suffice to say that there are so many different perceptions of food and it’s such a complicated matter, but apart from a small group of people, everyone has an area that they could benefit from working on.
You see, there’s something which many people don’t actually think about when it comes to food.
Focusing on the wrong thing?
People often focus on the nutritional value of food, and I’m guilty for it too. I talk about calories, about protein, carbohydrate and fat, vitamins and minerals, and the quality of the food that you’re eating.
And people connect what they eat to their weight in either a positive or negative light, with it either helping or hindering them to reach their goals.
But very few people that I’ve come across in my time truly have what I would call a good relationship with their food. Where they not only understand the nutritional content and context of their food but they also enjoy the various different aspects of it like pleasure on an individual level, on a social level and how it can support them with their endeavors.
And this is something which I think many people would benefit from improving because it can honestly transform someone’s life.
The perceived problem with your diet
When people struggle to stick to their diet, they’ll often give me a reason like “I was a bit too busy to plan my food” or “Work was stressful and I couldn’t stick to my diet”.
While these might well be problems that they are facing, these are really just the symptoms and the end-result of their diet either not being sustainable or not having controlled enough of the factors which can ruin adherence.
And commonly, they’re skipping over the part which is really important because they are just focussed on this end goal metric of “Am I following my diet”.
So while they think their problem is that they don’t have enough time or that work is too stressful, the issue runs much deeper.
What often happens is that they get into a negative cycle. They end up eating food that they don’t really want to, sweets, treats, highly processed ready meals that are of low nutritional value, and this in turn makes them feel bad. They feel bad about their diet, about themselves, and weight gain is common in this phase.
So they get into a vicious circle where things aren’t going well and they end up continuing to eat poorly, which spirals things further. Food is an ever constant that they can’t get away from.
Then at some point, they might decide to try again. They summon the willpower to tackle it again, to cut out all that “bad” food that’s causing problems.
This is a really harmful cycle to be in because you’re in a constant negative state towards yourself and, perhaps more importantly, to food. Food is essentially seen as an evil thing that’s causing the problem, rather than something which has so much wonderful value, both nutritionally and on an individual level.
The actual problem
And this is where many people are focusing on the wrong thing. They are looking at the end result, which is adherence to the diet and, depending on your goal, weight loss.
But rather than thinking about that, I would strongly encourage people to work on the way they think about food and start fostering a positive relationship with it.
Now this might sound a bit airy… What am I actually talking about here? What does this mean?
Ok, let’s go back a moment. I mentioned that food is a constant that you can’t get away from. It can be hard to stop thinking about it and it’s hard to separate the negative association, especially when you aren’t reaching your goals. And this is obviously true from the sense that you need the energy from food to keep you alive, so it’s not like you can just ignore it and it goes away.
But if you think about food in a bad light this can be incredibly overwhelming because you come into contact with food so many times throughout the day, so you’re being exposed to it multiple times.
And while food might be part of the issue in terms of your weight or body image, it’s not really the actual cause, in the sense that food is just an inanimate object that doesn’t move or have feelings.
You are the one who has the feeling towards food, and how you think about it can have such a significant effect on both your life and your weight
So how do you change this?
I worked with a 1:1 client who had a bad history when it came to food. They were a normal weight throughout their 20s, but by 35 and after kids they had put on a lot of weight, would binge eat and then try to lose weight, and this happened several times.
When I spoke to her it was clear that she had a very negative association with food. She would say she frequently ate “bad food” even though she tried hard not to, and it often made her feel guilty and ashamed for doing so.
She didn’t like to talk to her family about it because it made her feel very emotional.
Instead of focusing directly on weight loss, which was her goal, we instead started working on improving little parts of her diet at a time.
Initially this meant talking about foods that she genuinely enjoyed, both ones that were classically healthy and unhealthy. So this included things like sweats, treats, and then other foods like gnocchi and bread.
Is food Ggod or bad?
In her mind, all of these things fell into the bad category because she felt like they were the cause of her weight gain. We talked through this, about calories, about moderation, and how, if we set her diet up correctly, these things could be included and she could still lose weight.
This was a bit of a mind-blowing suggestion to her. She could eat the foods which she enjoyed, that she found fun but had always associated them with weight gain, but actually lose weight?
Little by little, we added more fruits, vegetables and wholegrain carbohydrates into her diet, less high fat dairy and more low-fat dairy, while including those things which she really enjoyed.
Along with that, I was really careful to emphasise that she could enjoy meals out with friends and family, she could go to a coffee shop and eat cake and it was OK.
I remember how her perspective of food completely changed over a couple of months. She no longer saw food as the enemy, and instead something that was integral to her life that could bring happiness from a personal perspective but also use towards her goals.
She shifted her mindset to one where food was actively helping her with her goals rather than being something that would detract from them.
And when you think about it, it really is true. When it comes to weight management, whether that’s weight gain, loss or maintenance, calories are the determining factor for how well you achieve that. Realistically, you can eat any food within that if it’s in your calorie budget, so food and calories are simply a tool.
Sure, there are some nuances here and one of the things my client worked really hard on was gradually improving her diet with the additional of more of the classically healthy things.
It didn’t just happen overnight and was instead something she had to continually optimise over months, but knowing that she had power over her food was an incredibly empowering revelation for her.
Food is not the enemy
Now some people find this a really hard thing to come to terms with because they have always thought of food as the enemy. The truth is that it isn’t and, honestly, how you perceive food, how you choose to eat, is the issue.
That might sound like doom and gloom but it isn’t. What you need to know is that you have control over food. You can master it and you can change the way you think about it, and if you start seeing it in a more positive light then it can really melt away all the negativity that you might be encountering on a daily basis.
A nice way to do this is to come at this from the approach of “What can I add, rather than subtract, to make this healthier?”.
If you start from the basis of adding food rather than removing, it changes the viewpoint. If you’re removing food it’s because it’s “bad”, but if you’re simply adding to it you’re creating something which is healthier and the association is positive.
Now of course it isn’t quite as straightforward as this and there still has to be balance, but this is where moderation comes in.
Especially at the start, and if you’re struggling to change habits, I have found it so much more helpful to encourage clients to have those guilty-pleasure foods, for lack of a better term, in small amounts, more regularly, than to restrict them, really pine for them, and then binge because they have got to breaking point.
And if the rest of the diet is balanced in terms of calories then you can still achieve your goal, it’s just knowing how the guilty-pleasure foods fit into your calorie budget for the day.
I debunk some of the common misconceptions around weight loss and diets, and what I go through there will really help you to put things into perspective with today’s episode.
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This Cilantro Lime Cabbage Salad is light, refreshing, and super versatile! Enjoy it as a veggie side dish, or use it as a topping for tacos, salads, sandwiches, and more. This healthy salad comes together quickly and requires just a few ingredients. It’s great for hot summer picnics and cold winter afternoons.
I know coleslaw is typically a dish served in the summertime, but cabbage and limes are in season this month! I’m calling this recipe a Cilantro Lime Cabbage Salad, although it’s similar to a slaw. This zesty winter salad will brighten up any meal you add it to. It’s great by itself as a snack or side dish and can also be enjoyed as a topping for all your Mexican-inspired meals.
Why You’ll Love This Refreshing Cabbage Salad Recipe
It’s easy to make – The dressing comes together quickly in the blender, and if you have a food processor or mandolin, the cabbage can also be shredded quickly. I like to let my salad sit for a bit in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to develop, but you can also enjoy it right away.
It’s flavorful and refreshing – Cabbage is already cool and refreshing, but adding the cilantro and lime flavors takes it to the next level. I enjoy this salad anytime, but it’s especially great for a summer BBQ.
It’s versatile – This cabbage salad is similar to a slaw and can be used similarly. I enjoy this salad as a side dish, but I also like to eat it on tacos or with beans and rice. It adds a cool and refreshing bite to everything you add it to.
Why Your Body Will Love This Recipe
Reduced Inflammation – Cabbage is high in antioxidants, which are substances that can help delay or prevent cell damage. Antioxidants are important because they help reduce inflammation inside the body and improve the immune system. Excess inflammation in the body can be responsible for all kinds of sicknesses, including cancer and heart disease.
Digestive Health – Cabbage is in the Crusifers family, along with broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Some people are extra sensitive to these veggies and develop gas and bloating after eating them. However, they’re full of fiber, which really helps digestion run smoothly. Cabbage is also a low-calorie food, but a little goes a long way toward helping our bodies feel full for longer.
Diabetes Management – Please check with your doctor before adding cilantro to your diet if you have diabetes or low blood sugar levels. Cilantro, or coriander, can help reduce blood sugar by stimulating an enzyme that removes sugar from the blood.
Cilantro Lime Cabbage Salad Recipe Ingredients
Cabbage – I used one medium-sized head of green cabbage for this recipe. I love cabbage because it’s crunchy and refreshing. You could also use purple or napa cabbage. Of course, if you go the purple route, it will change the look of this salad.
Cilantro Lime Dressing – This homemade dressing is packed full of flavor and takes no time to whip together. It uses cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, dijon mustard, maple syrup, cumin and salt. If you don’t like cilantro, I suggest using parsley in its place.
How To Make This Crunchy Cabbage Salad
Cut the stalk of the cabbage off and peel off a few of the outer layers. Thinly shred the entire head of cabbage and add it to a large bowl. You can shred your cabbage using a sharp knife, mandolin, or food processor.
Add all of the dressing ingredients into a blender and blend until creamy and completely combined, 30 seconds – 1 minute. Pour the dressing over the shredded cabbage and mix together well until the cabbage is completely coated with the dressing.
Add in about 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro and mix well. You can enjoy salad immediately or store it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to develop. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Enjoy as a side salad, as a topping for tacos, or with tortilla chips.
Recipe Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is already vegan and gluten-free.
Can I use a substitute in place of cilantro? Yes, if you don’t like cilantro, you can use parsley instead.
What is the best type of cabbage for this recipe? I used green cabbage, which worked great, but you can also use napa or purple cabbage if you like.
How long do leftovers last? If stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator, leftovers should last about 4-5 days.
How should this recipe be enjoyed? I like to eat this cabbage salad as a side dish or afternoon snack. You can also use it like you would any kind of slaw (tacos, sandwiches, salads, and more).
Have a question I didn’t answer? Ask me in the comment section below, and I will reply ASAP!
This Cilantro Lime Cabbage Salad is light, refreshing and super versatile! Enjoy as a veggie side dish, or use it as a topping for tacos, salads, sandwiches and more. This healthy salad comes together quickly and only requires a few ingredients. It’s great for hot summer picnics, as well as cold winter afternoons.
Ingredients
1 medium sized head green cabbage, about 6–8 cups once shredded
Cilantro Lime Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1/2 cup packed cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and black pepper, to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Cut the stalk of the cabbage off and then peel a few of the outer layers off. Thinly shred the entire head of cabbage and then add to a large bowl. You can shred your cabbage using a sharp knife, mandolin or food processor.
Add all of the dressing ingredients into a blender and blend until creamy and completely combined, 30 seconds – 1 minute. Pour the dressing over the shredded cabbage and mix together well, until cabbage is completely coated with dressing.
Add in about 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro and mix well. You can enjoy salad immediately, or store in the refrigerator for a couple hours to allow the flavors to develop. Store in an air-tight container, in the refrigerator, for 4-5 days. Enjoy as a side salad, as a topping for tacos or enjoy with tortilla chips.