Bid Adieu to Dieting

Quinoa, edamame, mint and quinoa salad with activated cashews and sunflower seeds - simply dress it with a little lemon juice, rapeseed oil and tamari for a fresh, yummy lunch option - beats a boring BLT, if you ask me!

It's a common misconception that, in order to lose weight, you must deprive yourself of everything even remotely tasty. Though it makes sense in essence -"eat less, weigh less, duuh"-  if you take a dramatic approach to weight loss, you can actually do your body much more harm than good, and it is almost inevitable that any weight lost will reappear as soon as you revert to normal eating habits.

Every single day, particularly at the start of a new year, we have a million and one faddy diets forced down our throats, most of which do more harm than good. Your body is a hard working machine, and it needs the right fuel to function. If you starve yourself, your body will go into survival mode making you irritable, anxious, emotional and, above all, pretty ghastly to be around. Over a prolonged period of time it will slow your metabolism, break down muscle tissue and weaken your bones, particularly when combined with exercise. Plus, nobody likes a preachy foody bore; extreme dieting is a terribly lonely existence - just you and your quinoa, against the world.(Speaking from personal experience here...)

A Pretty Plateful

There is much more to healthy eating than crudites and cold pressed juicing. While working on my final major project, a magazine combining health and fashion content, I have come to appreciate how exciting and diverse healthy eating can be. It is not just for budding Gwyneths or yummy mummies, nor is it just for those with pockets deep enough to splurge on 'superfood' powders and organic veg. It also isn't as London-centric as most would think.

Healthy eating is actually very easy to do, regardless of your age, location and occupation. It is just about making clever choices and allowing yourself enough time to prepare lighter meals at home. I  look to the Deliciously Ella app for balanced tasty meals, but I am also rather smitten with The Detox Kitchen.

Lily Simpson founded The Detox Kitchen in order to design and deliver meals that are as delicious as they are nutritious. Lily started off by working with chefs and nutritionists to create a range of calorie-controlled meal plans to deliver directly to her clients across London. Reacting to the restrictive nature of traditional "diets" or "cleanses", the daily packages are not ridiculously low calorie and are far more manageable than juice cleanses. They also taste great.