Time to ditch daylight saving

As every parent knows, daylight saving is a bitch. The twice-yearly ritual of shifting the clocks is rife with sleep deprivation and bad moods. I have been rubbing my eyes blearily every morning this past week as my four-year-old adjusts back to standard time (I feel like he only recently got used to daylight savingContinue reading “Time to ditch daylight saving”

Vegetable oils: a food industry wet dream

Looking back at my childhood, there are a great many things I am thankful for. From running barefoot in the grass and climbing tress, to carting my baby sister around on my hip and dressing my little brother up like a pixie. And one thing I’m very thankful for is butter. My parents aren’t alwaysContinue reading “Vegetable oils: a food industry wet dream”

Outsmart food marketing: read your labels

“I eat that high protein Milo cereal stuff.” “Well I buy him Nutri-Grain because it’s got 4 health stars.” “I just use those porridge sachet things. They’re really low in fat.” And that’s just breakfast cereals. I’ve met countless clients who are incredibly misled by food marketing. And it’s amazing to watch their eyes widenContinue reading “Outsmart food marketing: read your labels”

Breastfed babies can be fat… and perfectly healthy

I was invited to speak to my local group of Plunket nurses a few years back. I didn’t prepare anything specially for them, I simply rocked up and held a question-and-answer session. They were a fun bunch of ladies and I had a great time. But I left the session chewing my lip, worried aboutContinue reading “Breastfed babies can be fat… and perfectly healthy”

Fitbit – friend or foe?

I was recently gifted a smartwatch. And the first thing I did with it was turn off all of the health tracking features. Seems a bit of a strange move, I know. Having something so fancy and expensive on my wrist but only using it to alert me to select calls and messages… Why notContinue reading “Fitbit – friend or foe?”

Stop praising weight loss

Weight loss is a hard thing to achieve. Period. So when you see someone who’s transformed their body I understand there’s a pull there to say, “Wow, you look great, that’s amazing that you’ve lost 10 kilos!” But I think we’re dangerously missing the mark by praising weight loss. I personally know of a coupleContinue reading “Stop praising weight loss”

Why morning sickness guidelines can suck it

Morning sickness. If you’ve experienced it, you’ll know what a joke the name is. I’ve heard it said that a man must have given it it’s famous title, because a woman would know that that shit lasts all day. A few months ago, I knew I was pregnant for the second time well before theContinue reading “Why morning sickness guidelines can suck it”

Why you should stop making New Years resolutions

When I was 19, my older brother bet me that I couldn’t go three months without consuming added sugar. My stubborn adolescent self began the challenge immediately. For the next three months, I watched wistfully as my family ate perfectly ordinary things like spaghetti and cheese toasties (added sugar in the spaghetti), my mum’s homemadeContinue reading “Why you should stop making New Years resolutions”

Overindulging and the holidays

Every year someone asks me how they can avoid overeating during the festive season. I could give them a yarn about only making one or two desserts for Christmas, instead of five, as the more varieties of food on offer, the more you’re likely to eat… But I think giving answers like that, even ifContinue reading “Overindulging and the holidays”

An explosion of eating disorders

I’ve worked in the grey area of disordered eating for a while, often seeing young athletes who reluctantly come to see me with their concerned parent. It’s an area that I love, because seeing these teens get better is so rewarding. It used to be that occasionally a parent would drag their teen along forContinue reading “An explosion of eating disorders”