Erika Nicole Kendall writes about wellness, weight loss, healthy eating and body image issues at A Black Girl's Guide to Weight Loss.
When it comes to sniffing out whether something is a fad, I always ask myself three questions: Does it require purchasing a very specific, very exclusive product? Does it use far-out claims of quick fixes in order to encourage you to try it out? And perhaps most importantly for my demographic: Does it promise something that eerily resembles weight loss?
If I am able to answer “yes” to any of those questions, then I proceed with extreme caution.
Finding reasonable and creative ways to enjoy the things you love rather them giving them up cold turkey is the healthiest way to approach weight loss and food in general.
Unfortunately, going gluten-free – a natural, healthy and sensible way to actually live, not diet – has been sullied by those looking to make quick cash off of people looking for an “acceptable” method to lose weight.
An eating lifestyle devoid of gluten, although it can be expensive in certain parts of the United States, can also encourage people to explore the many ways in which food can be manipulated for different flavor combinations and textures. Though every culture has a fried – or baked – doughy-type "evil" concoction, most will also have a healthier counterpart featuring maybe lean cuts of meat or fresh produce, and flavorful spices. Soups, stews, salads and skillet dishes can naturally – even accidentally - be gluten-free. Nothing wrong with that.
The American diet is heavily reliant upon grains in order to ensure that people are fed, to the point where many of us believe something’s wrong with exploring other options. The challenge lies in trying to discourage people who hide within the gluten-free community because it doubles as a currently acceptable way to forgo carbohydrates. Finding reasonable and creative ways to enjoy the things you love, rather them giving them up cold turkey for the sake of superficiality, is the healthiest way to approach not only weight loss, but also food in general.
When it comes to sniffing out whether something is a fad, I always ask myself three questions: Does it require purchasing a very specific, very exclusive product? Does it use far-out claims of quick fixes in order to encourage you to try it out? And perhaps most importantly for my demographic: Does it promise something that eerily resembles weight loss?
If I am able to answer “yes” to any of those questions, then I proceed with extreme caution.
Finding reasonable and creative ways to enjoy the things you love rather them giving them up cold turkey is the healthiest way to approach weight loss and food in general.
Unfortunately, going gluten-free – a natural, healthy and sensible way to actually live, not diet – has been sullied by those looking to make quick cash off of people looking for an “acceptable” method to lose weight.
An eating lifestyle devoid of gluten, although it can be expensive in certain parts of the United States, can also encourage people to explore the many ways in which food can be manipulated for different flavor combinations and textures. Though every culture has a fried – or baked – doughy-type "evil" concoction, most will also have a healthier counterpart featuring maybe lean cuts of meat or fresh produce, and flavorful spices. Soups, stews, salads and skillet dishes can naturally – even accidentally - be gluten-free. Nothing wrong with that.
The American diet is heavily reliant upon grains in order to ensure that people are fed, to the point where many of us believe something’s wrong with exploring other options. The challenge lies in trying to discourage people who hide within the gluten-free community because it doubles as a currently acceptable way to forgo carbohydrates. Finding reasonable and creative ways to enjoy the things you love, rather them giving them up cold turkey for the sake of superficiality, is the healthiest way to approach not only weight loss, but also food in general.
