Have you ever been in a situation in which you’re absolutely starving, and, when you’re finally given the opportunity to eat, you over-do it?
This kind of thing happens more often than not, especially here in the U.S.
Whether you’re eating at home, at a buffet, or ordering à la carte, it’s incredibly important to know how much of each food type you want to be putting into your body.
While you all already know how I feel about the Food Guide Pyramid from years ago, I’m happy to report that the USDA has thankfully taken strides in nutrition education compared to before.
HOWEVER… I do think Canada does a better job with this. Here’s why…
Hi loves – this is such a long-awaited post, I know!
Some of y’all have been following along on Instagram or Snapchat & know that last spring, I cut out all animal products out of my diet.
Why, you ask?
I’ve always been pretty passionate about the environment, but especially so when I was enrolled in a course in college called Sustainability in Action. It was reminiscent of my high school AP Environmental Science class, but it was specifically tailored towards the business sector & it was basically a low-down of how we can “adult” in a sustainable way. So it was less of an OMG-the-world-is-ending-we’re-doomed moment & more of a HERE’S WHAT WE CAN DO TO CHANGE THE WORLD.
Which, I adore. 100%.
Not saying I started this balanced lifestyle guide + brand to change the world – but the goal here IS to foster community & see if the things that have worked out for me may possibly improve YOU and the beautiful life you’re living.
Hi, it’s your human guinea pig here reporting for business!
Anyway, flashback to 2014, when, during the rare times I read my textbooks in high school ( we’ve all been there, right? ), I saw a glaring statistic that I remember to this day : we needed 4 freakin’ planet Earths in order to shoulder the amount of resources we use if we didn’t make any changes by 2050.
16-year-old Kayla was like, “WTF?” & promptly stopped using single-use plastic water bottles. Which, wow, also prompted me to drink more water with my chic + handy-dandy reusable water bottles. I also found ways to save $$$ on clothes by reworking them into different outfits. I still wear clothes I’ve had since like 2012 – IT’S A REAL THING. I go thrift shopping in my own closet … & my mom’s closet – you get the picture.
16-year-old Kayla, just like in the present, was VERY extra, loved to make a fashion statement, & gave 0 F’s ( a great combo, by the way ) – like I actually would sport statement necklaces, stacks of bracelets, & huge, very fake costume rings in my high school hallways à la Veronica Lodge ( for any Riverdale fans out there, hi! ).
Now back to the topic at hand – I totally got carried away there, didn’t I?
Making the Transition to Eating Vegan
With any of your goals in life, it’s important to figure out the WHY behind it all & to shift your mindset to make it work.
For me, I knew I wanted to eat vegan – & the reason was this : one day I was doing my reading for Sustainability in Action & saw a familiar statistic ( yes, the one mentioned above ) …
I CANNOT tell you guys how many times I’ve realized how dehydrated I was!
It’s like I’m so busy getting through my day that I forget to take care of myself sometimes?
That can’t just be a me thing, right?
I’ve found that drinking lots & lots of plain water ( no sugars, additives, or anything – okay, maybe a handful of berries & a couple slices of lemon when I’m feeling EXTRA extra ) is the BEST thing that we can do for our bodies. It’s honestly the most important beauty tip, EVER. ( right next to getting enough sleep, but we’ll get to that some other time )
As in, if I could use this platform to just pass on one, singular beauty tip … it would be to chug down that H2O – whenever you freakin’ can.
Why Water?
The thing is, there are SO many more benefits beyond just human survival to drinking ENOUGH water.
Water is simply magical – it really improves your body inside & out in so many different ways :
+ Water is nature’s own beauty cream.
A huge concern most people have had at least once in their lives ( let’s be realll though, yeah? ) is skin-care.
Have you ever been in a situation in which you’re absolutely starving, and, when you’re finally given the opportunity to eat, you over-do it?
