“Health Washing” is a pet peeve for many health advocates.
It’s when food companies try to position highly processed packaged foods as “healthy” by slapping irrelevant or dubious nutritional claims on the label such as, “100% natural, gluten-free, made with all-natural ingredients” and so on.
Smarmy practice. Though I can’t help but pity the fool who rationalizes crushing a dozen Oreos a day because it nets him the daily allowance of riboflavin.
However, you can use a spin of this approach to actually improve your results.
Staying engaged in the daily process is EVERYTHING. That means doing the same boring, mundane things every damn day — even when it seems like they aren’t working.
Because they do work, when you do them consistently.
And one of the best ways to improve consistency is to conjure up a little passion and attention to detail.
For example, eating more vegetables is important. You can add a handful of spinach to a protein shake and pretend it tastes good.
Or you can spend a little time and make a spinach salad, ideally with some additional veggies along for the ride.
Will there be a discernible difference in terms of results? Probably not.
But if you actually enjoy eating the salad yet have to force the shake down, it’s pretty clear what option has a better chance of becoming a habit.
There are many other examples.
You can scramble eggs (or worse, pasteurized egg whites) in two minutes on high heat, dowse them in salsa, and mix a pack of instant oatmeal.
Or worse, throw all the above in a blender and serve with a side of self loathing and regret.
On the other hand, you can learn how to cook eggs really well (the right pan, the right heat, just enough salt, take a class or even just watch YouTube), mix in some veggies and serve them with fresh sourdough toast.
Similar macros. Probably similar “results.”
But one is fast and easy yet totally lacking any standard of care. It basically sucks.
The other is more time consuming and requires some skill and even a little passion.
But passion and long term success are inextricably linked.
Wanna reach a higher standard?
Start by holding yourself to a higher standard.