Picture courtesy of La Vladina through creative commons
Two defining qualities of the hair stylist life are standing on your feet, and having no time for meals. That's what everyone in the salon expects out of their day, and it might seem like a good excuse to eat whatever is handy on your rare breaks. But that doesn't have to get in the way of healthy eating.
It's not How Much You're Eating, It's What You're Eating
There are a few misconceptions about diet that are probably stopping you from eating healthy:
-You need to eat less calories to lose weight
-You don't have enough time for healthy meals
Picture courtesy of Kit McCallister through creative commons
Pretty much all nutritionists agree that the key to losing or maintaining weight isn’t in eating less but eating right. Cutting out specific foods (besides junk food) will usually do more harm than good. As a stylist, you probably burn around 1500 to 2000 calories a day, so unless you're emptying half a box of doughnuts and a bag of chips every day, you don't need to worry too much about portions. It's far more important to watch where you're getting those calories from, and it's probably easier than you think to get the right sources.
Hair stylists/nutritionist Andrea Schwanda-Matthews explains in a Modern Salon interview that the best way to get onto the healthy eating track is to “go back to basics.”
Bringing a few fruits and vegetables along to work gives you a leg up on your food cravings and energy loss. Snacking on a bag of berries and carrots throughout the day will keep you energized and prevent you from binging when you finally get off your feet long enough to have a decent meal.
Nuts are also a good way to stave off hunger, but it's easy to overdo it on salt when you're eating them, so it's probably not a great idea to just eat nuts.
Water Goes a Long Way
It's a simple, unsexy solution that we don't normally think about until the mouth starts going dry. But drinking enough water keeps your metabolism stabilized and reduces unhealthy cravings. Schwanda-Matthews explains that many stylists don't get enough water because they substitute it for coffee and soda for quick energy, and recommends starting everyday with a glass of water. That doesn't mean giving up coffee (God forbid), but water is, believe it or not, a great way to stay energized throughout the day without crashing.
Water is involved in everything the body does, so when you're dehydrated many body functions start slowing down and perform less efficiently. That means you perform less efficiently. Drinking about 8 glasses of water a day will improve both your work and your quality of life.
If you're a regular soda drinker, candy bar eater, chip crackler, or doughnut wrangler it can be difficult to give up one for the seemingly boring fibers of healthy snacks. But, besides practice, it's actually the best way to improve your work in your craft. You'll feel more aware and better able to work with unexpected challenges. So the next time your hand is quivering between the Milky Way and a bowl of grapes, try to think about what's more important in the end: your taste buds, or your health and work?