mental health – ¡Comemos!

What’s that all about then?

Really?

One (in my opinion, not particularly heavy) fast-food meal = calories equivalent to two hours of cardio?

Did I want to know that?

Probably not.

Should I be aware of that?

Possibly.

So today’s piece is more topical. I don’t tend to address news stories here, but what with this one being strongly-connected to a lot of the things I do like to talk about, things that are constantly on my mind, this one seemed sensible to address.

You’ve probably already heard, but in a nutshell, news emerged last week that The Royal Society for Public Health has suggested that food products should be labelled, not only with the number of calories within that item, but also the amount of exercise it would take to burn off those calories.

They believe that people don’t really understand the reality behind the number of calories we’re consuming, and what that actually means for our bodies.

Research from Loughborough Uni has now backed this up, following trials in which people eating food with ‘Pace Labelling’, as it’s called, ended up consuming around 200 calories less daily.

All this stems from the fact that around 13 million adults in the UK are considered ‘obese’ (Diabetes UK study) and that not enough is being done to combat this.

So that’s the idea.

But that’s only the half of it.

Of course, drastic measures like that are going to go hand in hand with a backlash of opinions, generating a huge amount of controversy, and it’s tricky to know where to stand on the matter.

Trying to avoid waffling like my A-Level French style compulsory discursive essays (intro-points for-points against-conclusion-DONE), I’m going to dare to address both sides and see where my thoughts lie, but apologies for said waffle in advance…

I’ve basically already summarised the benefits, explaining the gist of the news story above, but just to reiterate, intention of Pace Labelling = a reduction in the number of calories consumed, through educating people about what those calories actually mean for their bodies. Equating calories to exercise highlights just how “overindulgent” some foods can be (although that word in itself is pretty problematic but more on that later…) and therefore helps us to make healthier choices for ourselves.

It’s designed to be about awareness. Obesity is real, and that’s undeniable. How to combat it is obviously a very tricky topic, as it can be caused by so many different issues, from mental health, to lack of nutritional education, to other health issues, and even genetics.

For me, the intentions are wholly positive. This is coming from a place of genuine concern – however…

Over to the other side…

The news was immediately met by outrage and even more grave concern by a number of bodies and individuals.

Renee Cherry’s reaction to this for Shape magazine makes the very important point that calories aren’t necessarily what matter. What’s more important are the nutrients that you’re getting from those calories, and so it could be more beneficial to your body to eat a product with a higher calorific value, because it contains more ‘goodness’ or essential energy within.

On a similar nutrition-related level, no two people’s bodies are the same when it comes to energy consumption and usage. We know that generally speaking men need more calories than women, and that children need fewer than adults, but that doesn’t take into account the fact that each of our bodies reacts differently to different foods, diets and exercise routines, and so one set of dietary choices that works for person A could mean malnourishment or excess weight for person B.

These arguments against the new recommendation are relevant, but even louder to voice their opinions are those speaking out against the danger they pose to mental health and the risk of eating disorders.

The idea that food = guilt is a damaging one. This is often a key factor in disordered eating, along with the idea that we must immediately compensate for whatever we’ve consumed. There will absolutely be people who see a food label, link X amount of calories to X amount of exercise and either exercise literally to within an inch of their lives, or just avoid food altogether in case they don’t burn it all off.

‘Calorie’ has become a bit of a dirty word. We don’t want calories. We don’t like them. But we NEED them!

This whole idea, despite being well-intentioned, risks demonising the very basic, essential-to-life concept of eating.

Whilst I am completely against the idea, I really do think the reasons behind it are so important to consider, and if this is such a terrible idea (which it kind of is) we need to think about kinder, less damaging ways to educate ourselves and avoid potentially life-threatening food choices. It sounds dramatic, and slightly hypocritical, but we know that consistent poor dietary choices on a daily, monthly, yearly basis can be that dangerous, in the same way that under-eating also can be.

It’s a difficult one. And I’ve voiced this before on a more personal level. The vast majority of us will have at some point associated guilt with food. The idea that food = guilt can be dangerous, but I can’t help but think that if I personally didn’t feel any guilt ever, that would be pretty dangerous in itself, and I certainly wouldn’t be in the shape I’m in now. Being aware of the fact that there are negative consequences of eating Big Macs every day forever is kind of important really, isn’t it?

Food addictions and unhealthy food-related relationships are in some ways, slightly more difficult to address than addictions like alcohol, smoking and drugs, because we absolutely need food. Not eating would be even more dangerous than overeating and so abstinence is impossible. And therefore for many people, the fact that their one vice is something that is essential fuel to staying alive is incredibly complex. You cannot just give up eating because your choices are causing your body to suffer. It requires the most difficult form of self-control.

So I’m very torn.

Food doesn’t always have to be that deep, but we can’t avoid the fact that relationships with food are becoming more and more complex, and so much of that can be put down to irresponsible chains and franchises, with money symbols floating around in their eyeballs.

Another news item that has been a hot topic recently is the issue regarding chains such as Starbucks, Pret etc serving special hot drinks ranges (particularly during autumn and the festive season), whereby those drinks contain literally half your allowance of daily calories. Despite saying earlier that the focus shouldn’t necessarily be on calories, when 700 of them are coming from one hot drink choice, you can be sure you’re not getting much nutrition from that.

The same also applies to supersize double and triple stacked burgers, or even those burgers replacing buns with entire doughnuts (anyone else remember seeing those?).

These things are delicious. They are indulgent. And they’re fun. But they’re becoming commonplace and that’s something that I find difficult to stomach (pardon the pun).

The drinks thing is currently more relevant though so we’ll stick with delving a bit deeper into that. This uncovering came from Action on Sugar’s latest report, and examples currently on sale include Starbucks’ Gingerbread Latte, which when made with oat milk contains 523 calories, and the most shocking menu item – their Signature Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream (again, with oat milk), containing a quite frankly disgraceful 758 calories, and 23 teaspoons of sugar.

I’m not really a coffee drinker, but love a good hot chocolate, and it genuinely terrifies me that I could easily have ordered that, thinking that I was having an innocent little drink. 758 calories. And it’s just liquid.

This is completely and utterly irresponsible from the biggest player in the hot drinks chain game.

When I go out for dinner, I don’t want to be worrying about calories and holding back. And so I won’t. But I also don’t want to be fearful that I might order what I think is an innocent drink, but that actually contains over 1/3 of my daily recommended calories. IN ONE DRINK. To me that’s a madness, and everyday coffee shops like Starbucks and Pret need to start acting more responsibly when it comes to their menus – either being more transparent about how calorific they really are, or making a conscious effort to reduce the amount of dangerously-disguised items on their menu.

So do I have a solution? Is there one??

Obviously I don’t because I’m just little old me – opinions without solutions, however, compromise is going to play a huge part. More nutritional education would be a solid place to start, but a kind of education devoid of fear-mongering, tying together body positivity and healthy mindsets with the science behind our choices. And this really should start in schools.

Having said that, the biggest step towards a solution would need to come from the food industry itself and that’s not going to happen easily. They have their priorities. Capitalism is the only thing to say. Ultimately the consumer’s best interests are not at heart. So it’s on us to make those choices. It’s about finding the balance between avoiding calorie counting whilst also being sensible enough to make choices that aren’t going to lead to significant health problems at some point in life.

I don’t want to stress anyone out. I don’t want to stress myself out. It shouldn’t be a battle, but I know for myself, at least, often it is.

The more we talk about different relationships with food, the more we can understand the way our brains and our stomachs relate to each other, and perhaps in time, this kind of open dialogue will help us to come up with the compromise required to make progress.

Be wise to what you eat. But remember that we need food to survive. Food is essential. Look for choices that make you happy and respect your body. It’s all about balance, not avoidance.

I’m still working on it. If I find any more answers, I’ll let you know.

¡Comemos!

All the things I wanted to say but couldn’t…

Nadiya Hussain is now often referred to as a national treasure.

Which she is.

But this adopting of her by a whole nation seems to ignore the individual stories of those who have found solace in both her story, and her food.

I watched Bake Off back in 2015, and yes, I was one of those who grew to love her. Endearingly funny without realising it, and completely oblivious to her own talent, we were all rooting for her until the end.

After bake off finished, however, I didn’t think much more of it. I liked her, but I didn’t continue to closely follow her story.

It was just after Christmas last year when I decided to buy her third cookbook, ‘Nadiya’s Family Favourites’. I’m not sure what made me do it – I didn’t own a single recipe book prior to that, and although I often cooked from scratch at home, it was never anything particularly complicated and I certainly hadn’t yet discovered the passion for food that existed somewhere within me.

In the first few months of this year, I tried following a few of her recipes, with varying degrees of success. There were however, occasions where I miraculously ended up with a dish that actually looked half decent. I’d take something out of the oven, and think, ‘I actually made that… and it wasn’t a disaster…’

Without really realising it, I was learning a lot and something was stirring inside of me.

It wasn’t until about April when things really changed. Working in a very challenging secondary school environment started to take its toll on me. I had struggled on for 8 months without saying anything, but it began to reach a point where it was obvious something was wrong, and there was nothing I could do to hide it, often finding it near impossible to drag myself out of bed to go to work without becoming hysterical.

Fast forward a few weeks and I eventually conceded that I needed time off, and began to talk about things that had been stuck in my head for as long as I can remember. This, coincidentally, was also the time at which Nadiya released her ‘Anxiety and Me’ documentary.

I didn’t watch it at the time, despite multiple people referencing it in conversation. At that point, I wasn’t prepared to be introduced to someone else’s struggles when I was working my way through a difficult time myself (I have since watched it, and am in awe of her as always).

Having a few months off work wasn’t what I had initially wanted, but I was very productive during that time. I kept active, going to the gym nearly every day, I completed a food journalism course whilst blogging and researching career options that would help to carve out a happier future for me, and I baked. I cooked and I baked and I baked and I cooked.

I remember in those first few days constantly worrying that everytime I posted on Instagram something that I’d made, people would be thinking ‘so she’s not at work but she’s ok enough to post all these photos of food and jolly captions.’

But it wasn’t like that.

As I sort of managed to tell Nadiya at her book signing on Sunday night, through blubbering, hyperventilated breaths, it was my therapy.

I realised that when I was at work in the kitchen, I literally didn’t think about anything else.

I then bought Nadiya’s second cookbook ‘Time to Eat’, and loved this one even more than the first. Her recipes incorporate everything from British comfort food (think baked beans, roast dinners, buttery English muffins and sausage and mash) to plates inspired by her Bangladeshi background (fattoush, chaat, lassi and halva) and then everything in between (enchiladas, pancakes, pizza and pastries).

Those few months were a whirlwind in the kitchen and I made some of the best food I’ve ever attempted.

Something inside me had been ignited, and I put so much of it down to the love of cooking that her recipes produced within me.

I began to write more about food, starting this blog and channelling all of my energy into what that made me happy.

After a pep talk from one of my closest friends, I made the decision to quit my job. It was a risk, as I didn’t have a plan, and for me, not having a plan is terrifying.

The funny thing is, I still don’t have one, the only difference now is that I trust that I’ll get to where I need to be regardless.

Last night (Sunday 1^st December) I went to Nadiya’s book tour for her new memoir ‘Finding My Voice’ at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre in London. She spoke openly and eloquently about the many challenges she had faced and overcome, and still is overcoming in her life. Some of them were so far from anything I had ever experienced, and others spoke to me. Some of her fears are my fears, but some of her strengths (without wanting to blow my own trumpet lol) are my strengths.

I was lucky enough to meet her afterwards, but came away feeling like a ginormous idiot, as words failed me, and for reasons I couldn’t really explain at the time I got massively emotional. I actually blame the woman in front of me in the queue who also started to cry so it was her fault for setting the precedent. So yes, this big, long essay here is everything I was trying to explain to her, which just came out in sobs via my ugly crying face.

Who knew cooking and enjoying the incredible recipes that someone else has conjured up could have such an impact on me.

And now I can’t wait to spend every minute of my work shifts reading through the chapters of her life.

Nadiya is brave and inspiring. She’s funny and warm. And I hope that one day when I have children, they have someone like her to look up to.

Fangirling is a bit cringey. But as the title suggests, if you can cry over Beyoncé, I can cry over Nadiya.

……………..

Leaving it on a more light-hearted note, I now have 3 of Nadiya’s 4 recipe books and am gradually working my way through cooking a load of her incredibly diverse food, so just to get you salivating, here are a selection of my favourite and most successful attempts.