Diet Depression: I Want to Make Healthier Choices But Still Enjoy My Life

A suggestive guide to implementing small, daily changes into your routine that can make a big difference over time, without feeling like you are missing out on La Dolce Vita.

Sundays are for reflection, and this morning I have had to reflect on the tightening waistband on a pair of jeans I bought two weeks ago. Since I don't own a scale (which is both safe and dangerous for me simultaneously), I had to make an estimated guess that I probably gained a bit of weight during my recent move. Settling into a new place and a new routine can easily break up any momentum I had with cooking and fitness habits, so I am not surprised. Also, I wanted to indulge and enjoy myself, skip a workout and join a social activity instead, so that I could get to know people.

However, now that I have settled into my new life and I have a sturdy schedule with work and uni, I think it is time to implement small changes back into my life to get back on track with my fitness goals. To prevent the gloomy diet depression that overcomes me every single time I try to get fit during sweater weather, I have compiled a list of suggestive ideas that are more aligned with a carefree and enjoyable approach to a healthier lifestyle.

• Have the Pasta (or whatever your guilty pleasure is)!

  
  

My favourite meal ever is any pasta dish. I crave it on a weekly basis for its flavour, but it is also quick and convenient to make after a long day and a growling stomach. As I am sure, many of you will agree that life without spaghetti comes with more regretti (sorry, I saw it on a T-shirt and I just had to). I am not about that life, so I welcome the weekly pasta dish guilt-free because of two concessions: I always make the sauce myself, and I add a side salad to the meal. Pasta is just flour, and unless you are gluten-intolerant, that is not the devil. Due to its high starch content, consuming it will spike your glucose levels, but this can be reduced by "dressing your carbs". A phrase I have borrowed from the Glucose Goddess Jessie Inchauspé, if you eat carbs with good fats, veggies, fibre, and protein, the glucose won't spike as much, keeping you fuller and more energised for longer. The only way of doing this successfully is by making your own sauce, so you have complete control over what ingredients to add, and if you add a side salad, you can increase your plant intake even more. For example, I recently had some fusilli with a homemade tomato sauce, with roasted shallots, garlic, and carrot, and two poached basa filets that I shredded. In addition, I made a wild rocket salad and sprinkled parmesan on the pasta, so I had protein from the cheese and the fish, lots of vegetables from the sauce and the salad, and good fats from a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

• Meet a weekly fitness goal, instead of daily

When I was training for my half-marathon and working a 60-hour week, a more experienced friend of mine advised me to set my training goals into weeks rather than days. Instead of trying to train daily, which didn't always work with my work schedule, I should focus on the distances I want to have covered within a week. This approach allowed for way more flexibility and more guilt-free rest days (which are key to recovery!). Even after completing the half-marathon (and regrowing my toenail), I have kept this approach to fitness scheduling. Within a week, I aim to visit the gym three times: once for a lower-body session, once for an upper-body workout, and a final time for a mat Pilates class. The days I designate for each workout depend on my working schedule, which changes every week. On the evenings that I work at the restaurant (getting my steps in!), I skip the gym visit.

• Don't restrict a type of food; instead, swap out the ingredient

If you are hellbent on having bread for breakfast, but you are unsure about the calories, nutritional value, or carbohydrate overload (lots of starch is basically sugar in our bodies), don't restrict the bread. Have bread for breakfast, but consider swapping out the toast, whether brown or white, for a rye sourdough instead. Rye sourdough has more fibre, less starch, fewer calories per slice (usually), and is excellent for your gut bacteria. This way, you can continue to have your avo-toast-scrambled-egg breakfast if that is your jam, or smear a nice layer of butter on it. The important bit to making this step carefree and enjoyable is to not restrict, but to replace.

• Sugar: The Devil is in the details

We all know sugar is the devil, and I will not go into it any further, other than to encourage everyone to reduce their intake. This can be difficult, especially if you are the type of person who enjoys dessert after every meal. There is a slight change you can make that will decrease your sugar intake without having to quit sweets altogether. Look for sugar in sauces, condiments, bread, ready-made meals, spreads, cut-up fruit, nut milks, etc. There are so many savoury foods that have sugar in them for conservation, or to make them more addictive with a salt/sugar combination. If you buy the sugar-free alternative, the flavour is still there (in my opinion, even better, but it might take some time to get used to it). You can enjoy your dessert of choice with less guilt because you already removed a lot of sugar from foods that were never meant to taste sweet in the first place.

• Fix your sleeping schedule

I have a theory that every time I go to bed late (after 11 pm), I wake up with a stuffy nose. I swear that whenever I go to bed early, I wake up healed of all ailments. I have no scientific basis for my claims, other than anecdotal correlations, but there is enough evidence out there to suggest a healthy sleeping schedule is paramount to overall health. I think I once read somewhere that sleep-deprived truck drivers were as likely to cause accidents as drunk drivers, which is why there are such strict laws on how many hours they can work. Just imagine if you eat super healthy all day, and you work out too, but you don't get enough sleep because you stayed up late on TikTok brainrot, you might as well just have done nothing at all.

• Portion size: How do I know what is too much/ not enough?

This is a tricky question, and one that has plagued me for years. Now, my approach is as follows: I fill up a plate 3/4 with food, and I eat slowly and conscientiously (no Netflix watching). If I am still hungry, I will go for seconds after waiting for five minutes. Lately, this has happened a lot because I've been moving so much more. With no car and wanting to save money on bus rides, I cycle everywhere, and I also walk quite a lot between buildings on campus. No wonder my appetite has been bigger, and I have to feed my body the energy it needs. However, I feel like I have adapted to this increased energy expenditure, and I should probably focus on eating more slowly and with no distractions again to find the right portion size.

I hope this small guide helps you out of your health rut and back on track again, without the blues that come with hua-hua-aha-season!