I Hate this Time of Year

I cringe as I write that as I always strive to keep things positive across all my platforms. Maybe hate’s the wrong word…. Maybe this time of year scares me? Frustrates me? It’s somewhere between those 2 emotions, neither seems exactly right.

I watch quietly and observe as people declare what they’re going to give up this year, or how they’re going to get fit or which trendy diet they might follow… as if doing these things will solve all of their problems. But in a couple of months, for most of them, ‘life’ will get in the way, their intentions will start to slip and they’ll accept the original status quo. It won’t be too big a deal for them, but I sit here and worry that it actually is a really big deal for all of us.

We seem to be a society simultaneously obsessed with eating trends, yet completely lacking respect for how important what we put in our mouths actually is. We like the superficial stuff; this actor follows xyz diet and looks this way…. This food will give you glowing skin…. Blah blah blah. But my gosh, it’s so much more than this. In the last year in particular, I’ve seen changes in people’s health through diet that even surprised me! I’ve seen psoriasis plaques all but disappear after a few months of eating the right food, debilitating asthma become a mere annoyance, the black clouds of depression clear, chronic pain and inflammation improve, even tachycardia (irregular and fast heart rhythms) become pretty much a thing of the past….

Because that’s the power of food. On the one hand, it’s all we seem to talk about these days, but on the other, people are still SHOCKED that what you put in your mouth a few times per day, which literally becomes a part of you, really, truly, influences you at every single level.

My wish for this year, is that we do actually start to take food seriously for the right reasons. I want us all to invest a little bit of time each day in the kitchen… preparing food. Actual food. Not something from a box that gets heated in a microwave. And then, I want us all to spend a little time eating it together. With people we call friends and family. Away from bright lights and around a table. I want us all to spend a little time each week buying food. Fresh, real, unprocessed food from local suppliers. If we don’t start supporting these local suppliers then they too will disappear. I want all of us to remember what ‘sometimes’ foods actually are. Because those sometimes foods are becoming everyday foods. For both kids and adults. And I know that if we do all of these things there will be less illness, less need for medication, more health and more happiness.

These are the changes that I think will genuinely make a difference long term, on a large scale.

People will say to me, ‘this must be a great time for your business. You must love the New Year. You should run a challenge. Blah blah blah.’ That’s not really what I do…. Or what I stand for… or what will make a difference. In truth, the clients I have worked with successfully have really changed the way they think about themselves, their bodies, their family values… they’ve had to grow on more than a physical level. It’s not been trendy or easy but I’m sure it’s been worth it.

Just don’t get sucked in by the magazine headlines for the new month. Or what the half-naked ‘influencers’ are saying on their social media feeds. Don’t make a resolution. Make a habit… make a real change.

Welcome to 2019. May this be the only ‘negative’ post I write for the year.