"If you walk down the street with a 32 oz soda and a bag of corn chips no one will bat an eye. Walk down that same street munching on a cucumber or celery stalk and people will look at you like you're an insane person"

My friend Dylan wrote that in a recent article, and he's not wrong.

The culture around food and eating in America is so backwards, and I think it's passed time to start turning it around.

In my personal experience, one of the most difficult (annoying, actually) things about living a healthy lifestyle is trying to also have a social life. Have you ever tried to start making healthier choices in life and found you have to sit through a barrage of questions and opinions every time you're eating at a social gathering?

"Oh, are you on a diet?"

"Is that all you're having?"

"Well, what do you eat?"

"Oh, but it's not that bad for you"

"You could have a small piece"

"You must be starving"

"Oh but it's my new recipe, you have to try it"

"It's not going to kill you"

They go on, and on, not to mention the faces they make while they deliver their many opinions (ughh those faces!). Somehow it's normal to pester people about their healthy choices, but if I said the things that go through my head in response, people would think I'm a judgmental bitch.

"No, I'm not on a diet, I just care about my health."

"Actually it is pretty bad for you... would you like me to elaborate and ruin it for you while you're eating it?"

"I'll put whatever I want into my body, thank you."

"You're going to eat all of that?!"

"Aren't going to be so full, and uncomfortable?"

See? Someone would probably feel judged if I said any of those things (because they do imply judgement) but the statements on the previous list have the same impact, and people feel perfectly comfortable saying them (all the time!). So next time you consider questioning a person's individual dietary choices, think about wether it's coming from a place of judgement, or a place of curiosity, and if it's from the former - just don't. It's challenging enough for a person to decide to take their health into their own hands, and eat "differently," they don't need to be harassed about it too.

Why is it that the healthy choices are the weird choices?

Why is there such taboo around caring about what you put into your body? Have you ever stopped to wonder these things?

Today, in America: 1 in 3 children will be diagnosed with type II diabetes in their lifetime, more than one third of the entire population is considered obese, and 1 in every 4 deaths is caused by heart disease. Can you guess what the common denominator is here? If you said diet, you're right! All of these conditions can be prevented, and even cured with an improved diet.

Our country is increasingly plagued by poor health, and yet the people trying to improve their health are the odd ones? It just doesn't make sense. I propose we all start trying to broaden our views, and turn these beliefs around. I'm not telling you to change your diet. I'm saying we should change our way of thinking. It's fine to keep enjoying the things you do, but let's stop rolling our eyes when someone mentions that they altered the recipe to make it a little better-for-you, or when your friend orders a salad at dinner, or when the restaurant someone chose doesn't offer deep-fried everything. Let's stop acting disgusted when the main feature of an entree isn't meat, or when a smoothie is a deep green color. Healthy choices are not weird, they're not annoying, they're not uppity, they're not gross, and they're not boring. Don't hate on someone because they have a desire to feel comfortable in their body, because they don't want to be at-risk for a multitude of diseases, because they want their children to be healthy, because they just don't feel good when they fill up on junk, or because you don't want to eat the way that they choose to. The fact is that those who are choosing to add more nutritious things to their diets have the right idea, and they don't need to be discouraged - they should be celebrated.

At a time when diet-related disease is running rampant and literally killing us, we need the healthy-eaters around inspiring others, to try new things.

Open your minds, stop judging, stop questioning, just let the healthy choices be.

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think in the comments!