Let's Talk Orthorexia

 I’ve been a long-time believer of not advocating a one-size-fits-all diet or lifestyle for anyone for a couple of reasons. One, because it’s what the dietician I went to in the beginning did and that lead to an eating disorder and reckless weight loss that resulted in severe metabolic damage. Two, because I know firsthand that the single most important part of weight loss and healthy living is knowing exactly what your body does and doesn’t need. Had I known what I know now about PCOS and hypothyroidism I don’t think I would’ve gone down the path I did. Does that mean I would take it all back given the chance? No, probably not. It made me stronger, way better informed and more courageous than ever. I understand that this is not the case for everyone. Somewhere along the line we- women specifically- were led to believe that looking good means being healthy and vice versa.

Often times I feel judged when I tell friends and family that I don’t eat carbs, grains or sugar. People tend to naturally assume that you’re jumping on a bandwagon, becoming obsessed with weight loss, or just going through a phase. I came across this article the other day and it got me thinking. It goes into some detail about Orthorexia, a term used to describe an unhealthy obsession with being healthy. The author goes into some detail about those who religiously follow, talk/share on social media about their healthy lifestyles are fuelling a dangerous trend of obsession that is tantamount to an eating disorder. I have often thought about whether the way I conduct my lifestyle is unhealthy: if it is worth it or if I’ve just shifted my obsession with eating bad foods to one of restricting. But I have long-since come to the conclusion that this isn’t an obsession with being skinny, or restricting myself, or having a “sense of moral superiority over other people” as the psychologist in the article claims it is. Sure, sometime I wish I could eat a whole pizza and not care about it or that I didn’t have to inconvenience everyone with my picky eating. But at the end of the day this journey has become about so much more than vanity and superiority: I can’t eat a whole pizza because at a very baseline physical level my body can’t tolerate it without causing physical pain. I don’t post on instagram about my weight loss because I think it makes me better than anyone; I do it because I wish I’d had more people to sympathise with during my own struggles. Although articles like this have merit (I believe a lot of people use the recent revolution of healthy living as a mask for or to glorify eating disorders), they highlight something very wrong with the public opinion on Paleo, sugar free eating etc: for some of us it isn’t a choice or a phase or a fad. Come hell or high water it’s a necessity, and we shouldn’t be labeled otherwise.

Raw Chocolate Truffles

What better way to celebrate hump-day than with some healthy little raw chocolate truffles! I finally got this recipe just right and these little balls of bliss are the perfect fix for a sweet tooth moment AND the macros are pretty amazing too. You can add in other things like nuts, seeds or cacao nibs- experiment and let me know if you come up with any mind blowing flavour combos. Enjoy

Bread that's not poisonous! woohoo.

So let's talk about bread. 

When I first started losing weight I was all about the multigrain, low GI bread life. And all was well: I had boiled egg and toast for breakfast and toast with soup every night...complex carbohydrates were my best friend and the weight was falling off (as it should when toast is the heaviest calorie load of your day). But then my metabolism got smart with me and slowed down to a near halt, and the saying "I look at carbohydrates and gain weight" might as well have tattooed its self across my forehead.  The more I learned about my body, PCOS, Paleo and so on, the more I realised that grains and I were never ever getting back together. I went full blown cold turkey.

Not another #fitblog

I was always 'big boned'. 

That's me, on the right, at my heaviest

The Basics

When I started my journey I knew very little about healthy living. I didn't know the first thing about being truly fit, I didn't know what food did and didn't do for me and I certainly had no idea what was happening in my body.

Yours Truly

My name is Robyn and I used to be obese. It's taken my a long time to be able to admit that in writing or out loud and it's exactly why I'm here … but more about that later. I've recently moved from South Africa to Austrailia and I've brought with me my obsession love for anything fitness, my pets (and probably yours too) and wine. I live to conquer (or at least survive) my Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, hypothyroidism and other endocrine/digestive challenges and drink ALL the wine at the same time.