Before I start this I want to make one thing clear: I’m all for healthy living and I love a salad. However, there is a side to it all that leaves a bad taste in my mouth (and it’s not the food).
Taking photos of healthy food and sticking it on social media is nothing new, but in the last few months it has gotten out of control. Avocado, quinoa and flax seed are taking over our social streams in a series of VSCO cam filters and #EatClean. It appears everyone on Instagram fancies themselves as some sort of health analyst or salad guru as they continue in their quest for how many variety of seeds they can you fit in your lunchbox. My question to these people is why?
Why do you feel the need to broadcast your pomegranate and chicken salad? Why do I need to see your mashed avocado on rye bread, with a sprinkle of chilli seeds? Why do I need to know that this meal is the perfect balance of carbs, protein, fats and fibre? If you’re not a certified healthy eating celeb (e.g The Body Coach) then the likelihood is – no one gives a fuck.
There is a level of pretentiousness to it all. An element of getting on your high horse and seeming intellectually, and culturally above those who like a ham sandwich and some hula hoops at lunch (which is a classic for a reason). In the 15 minutes you’ve spent making your meal fit for the gram – your flat white has gone cold and your bread soggy.
Yes your food looks good but was it worth it? We know that a salad is healthy, we don’t need you to back that up for us. Don’t tell me the ingredients either – the picture is patronising enough without the assumption I don’t know what a cucumber is. You are not a chef. You are not a nutritionist. You do not need to show me the way. You are an everyday worker, like me. This is my next point: The People.
The people who broadcast this tripe. The people who claim to be #CleanLiving often aren’t. They are those people who are necking VK’s and cider on a friday and saturday. They are those people who smash a doner kebab at 4am – where’s the photo of that? They are not #CleanLiving. They are #EatHealthyEveryNowAndThen. They sit on their arse most of the day then go to bed at night, and that’s the contradicting side of this strange and annoying movement – it’s a lie. Don’t sell me a lifestyle you’re not fully committed to please.
I’ve always been in favour of eating well – and I do. But I also believe you should be allowed to treat yourself every now and then. One thing I don’t believe in doing is broadcasting how well I eat to people, because I don’t see the point. I don’t take selfies when I’m in the gym, I don’t post the kilometres I cover in a run, and I don’t take filtered images of my food because, to put it simply, I’m not a twat.
