“As a cardiac rehab registered nurse, I have a really hard time getting behind something that increases your likelihood of becoming my patient one day.”

So I know this topic is a little controversial. And overall, most diets are. But the keto trend has really caught my attention, and I think it’s extremely important to discuss.

Halloween can be the death of all well-intentioned health kicks. Regardless of where you are in your health journey, it’s damn near impossible to pass up on a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup – especially if it’s in the shape of a pumpkin. Gotta love holiday themed food, am I right?

I think it’s very important not to deprive yourself. We should all take part in the things we love. As an avid Skittles lover, I just can’t say no completely. But there’s a big difference between one Kit Kat and seven of them. Remember, portion sizes are crucial to any healthy lifestyle.

So what about when you’ve had that one candy bar, and now you’re craving the whole bag? Or maybe you’re trying to stay away from the processed festival altogether?

“I don’t eat these foods to lose weight or with any other aesthetic purpose in mind. I eat them because I truly love them now.”

It’s absolutely true that your tastebuds change as you get older. Perhaps you also become more mature and decide to give certain unappealing foods a good, honest try. But there are a number of foods I simply couldn’t stand as a kid that I now LOVE! And I don’t credit all of this to aging.

As I became more and more interested in nutrition, I began to seek out more information. We’re no longer limited to textbooks and sad all-print cookbooks. The places I got my inspiration for cooking and eating healthy were resources like YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and colorful magazines like Cooking Light and Eating Clean. Not only are these options in themselves awesome, when you get tired of flipping through magazines (can you ever though?) you can switch to watching “What I Eat in a Day” videos on YouTube and vice versa.

This swarm of healthy eating social media is actually extremely beneficial. Not long ago a huge societal concern was the massive amount of fast food advertising we were exposed to. As older generations began seeing the negative effects of obesity, they worried that a big cause was the unhealthy food media “brainwashing” us all into eating high-fat, supersized meals 24/7.