Clik here to view.
For a growing number of people who are looking to lose weight or ‘get in shape’ food seems to be divisive topic. The path to a healthy body or to weight loss becomes something that gets wrapped up into an identity which food plays a major role.
Common incarnations of these food related identities include:
Raw Foodies
Vegetarianism and all of it’s incarnations
Low Carb
Paleo style
Locavorism
Macrobiotic
In most cases there is little scientific basis for any of these diet styles but rather there is an ideological basis, a belief system and most of all an identity. In these cases people become part of a group they can identify with based on a list of foods they will and won’t eat.
I’m fully aware that this just offended someone who has never considered their eating pattern as an identity and actually believes there is a scientific rationale for it…I’m sorry to break it to you, but there isn’t…if there were, then all of the other styles would be wrong and yours would be the only right one…sounds a lot like a religion doesn’t it!
Upon closer inspection and when put to the test many of these people are only fair weather followers of their chosen food identity. In other words they sorta follow it but not 100% (at which point I wonder what the point was of having the identity in the first place at all)
But that’s fine. In fact to me that is encouraged, the less radical you get with one of these beliefs the better chance you have of not becoming completely obsessive compulsive about it.
Most normal people don’t think twice about food or where it comes from, they just eat what tastes good to them, and what is wrong with that? These same people could easily lose weight and improve their health by just eating less of those same foods and going to the gym or for a walk. Any food can be part of a healthy lifestyle as long as it doesn’t become the only food you eat. This seems like the healthiest way to eat to me, both from a physiological, psychological and social standpoint.
John
