Nasty Health Habits We Share With Celebs!

 We’ve all got a few nasty health skeletons in our closet. Sugar addiction, exercising infrequently, lousy portion control and binge drinking, to name a few.But never fear, even celebrities with private chefs and personal trainers on call suffer from the same ills! So, read on for a few superstar habits you might be familiar with and our tips on how to kick them to the curb… for good! The Celeb: Kim KardashianThe Habit: Reaching for sugar after dinnerWhy We Do It: There are a number of reasons you might be craving sweets after dinner but mostly, this one comes down to plain old habit. Ever noticed that your friend whose parents never served up dessert post-dinner doesn’t even think about reaching for chocolate after she’s done with her stir-fry? It’s all about association.The Fix: You can take one of two approaches here. Either create a new habit by replacing your sweet fix with something else (we love fresh ginger and mint tea with a teeny bit of honey, or a warm mug of coconut milk with a little raw cacao and cinnamon), or do as Kim Kardashian does and just have a taste of something sweet. Kim even goes to the extent of destroying her desserts, or tossing them out after just a few bites, to remove temptation! The Celeb: Jessica SimpsonThe Habit: Eating healthily one week, reaching for junk the nextWhy We Do It: In Jessica’s case, it’s all about how she’s feeling. The one-time reality TV star has been famously quoted as saying she eats when she’s sad, or lonely and doesn’t even think about food when she’s happy. I can relate to this, as I tend to over-eat when I’m bored, stressed, or procrastinating! For others, it’s more about their relationship with food. If you obsess about your body and what you eat, you’re definitely more likely to slip into a pattern of incredibly control, followed by thoughtless binging.The Fix: Be realistic, don’t try to lose too much weight too soon (a healthy goal is to lose 10% of your weight over a six-month period), surround yourself with healthy, happy people and keep a mood and hunger journal, where you record your mood changes and hunger levels before eating, so you’re aware of whether you’re reaching for the crackers out of boredom, sadness, or true hunger. The Celeb: Katherine HeiglThe Habit: Complaining for the sake of complainingWhy We Do It: Complaining endlessly about non-important things is a dodgy habit many of us have picked up. Katherine Heigl is famous for whining about not getting juicy enough scripts, not getting enough sleep, having far too much to do, not having enough to do… you get the drift! For us everyday ladies, the complaints tend to be more along the lines of having too many emails to get through, having to work long hours or get up too early, not loving our bodies, not being invited to “that party”, and the list goes on. Complaining has become a way of life both in real life and via social media and it’s becoming very habitual, even a little competitive – I mean, how dare your best friend imply she has more work to do than YOU!The Fix: Earlier this year, I fell so far into this habit that I had to put myself on a “no complaining bootcamp”, a whole month without making a single complaint, unless I also offered up a solid solution to my ‘problem’. This turned out to be one of the most empowering things I’ve ever done. Give it a go! The Celeb: RihannaThe Habit: Too much screen time just before bedWhy We Do It: Lately, Rihanna has been on a texting and tweeting midnight spree, logging on to tell all her fans that she’s having trouble sleeping. Well, Duh Riri, don’t ya know playing on that iPhone really isn’t going to help with your insomnia?The Fix: Make sure you switch off all your household ‘screens’ at least an hour before hitting the sack. Yep, that means your TV, laptop and even that sneaky iPhone all have to be put aside while you prepare yourself for a good (make that great!) night’s sleep. Not sure what to do with that final pre-bed hour? Try dimming the lights and taking a warm bath, reading a good book by lamp-light, having a gentle stretch, or little meditation session by the light of a lavender candle instead. You’ll feel great by the time you hit the sack and nodding off won’t be an issue. The Celeb: Eva MendesThe Habit: Pretending chocolate is an important food groupWhy We Do It: I love chocolate as much as the next woman… but apparently not as much as Eva Mendes, who has been quoted on numerous occasions saying how much she, “loves chocolate and hates the gym”. Chocolate is literally a girl’s best friend and I definitely think a little choccy a day keeps the doctor away… but how much is too much?The Fix: Wean yourself on to better quality, high cocoa or raw cacao chocolate varieties and limit your consumption to a line a day. It’s odd, but I find that dipping your daily choc squares into hot tea so they’re all melty when you eat them seems to bring out the sweetness and be more satisfying than chowing down straight from the pack? Another great tip is to make a warm chocolate superfood drink, or smoothie, using raw cacao as your key ingredient. I love Miessence Berry Radical for a deliciously chocolatey and antioxidant packed treat, or Mercola’s Cacao Cassava bars for a post-workout energy boost! The Celeb: BeyonceThe Habit: Fad DietsWhy We Do It: Everyone loves a quick fix and Beyonce famously went on a super-strict diet before her Dreamgirls role, admitting she ate nothing but “cayenne pepper mixed with water and maple syrup” for weeks!The Fix: Again, be realistic! If you really need to slim down fast, try a 14-day bootcamp where you ditch refined carbs (except veggies) and unfermented dairy (so you can keep natural yoghurt or kefir in there) and fill up on foods that will satisfy your appetite and regulate your hormones instead, such as a variety of lean proteins and seafood, good fats and fibrous veggies. Then start to include wholegrains, fruit and other foods again slowly after your bootcamp but leave processed foods and sugars behind for good, or at least cut down your portions of them for lasting results. The Celeb: Lindsay LohanThe Habit: Binge DrinkingWhy We Do It: You’re “good” all week and then suddenly it’s Friday night and you’re at the pub after work, trying to match all the men drink-for-drink in your attempt to ‘wind down’ after a big week. When you really pay attention to your bod and how it feels during and after a big night out, there’s no ignoring the fact it really doesn’t feel all that grand and the post-booze depression (and crinkly, dehydrated skin) you experience the next day usually isn’t worth the fleeting alcohol-infused high of the previous night BUT hey, it’s social and it’s expected of us… and it’s embarrassing to be the only one in the bar sipping on mineral water, right?The Fix: Decide what’s best for you and don’t be afraid to stick to your guns and be an adult about it. If your colleagues putting pressure on you to swallow drink after drink is the only reason you indulge, rethink the reasons you’re partaking and cut down. You don’t have to be a teetotaler, just sit on one or two drinks for the night and sip water in between. Remember, you’re the one who’ll have to deal with looking and feeling worse for wear the next day, not your drinking buddies! The Celeb: Alicia SilverstoneThe Habit: Eating too many unfermented soy products (tofu, soy milk, etc)Why We Do It: Like Alicia, you’re vegetarian, vegan, or just believe soy products are great for you BUT very likely, if you’re pre-menopausal and a frequent soy slurper, you also carry excess weight in your lower body. Why? Because it can increase your bod’s toxic load, encourage bad oestrogen storage in your lower body (for girls) or chest (for boys, manboobs!), can contribute to hypothyroidism and block the absorption of key minerals required for a lean physique, like zinc and calcium. Eep!Fix it: Stick to unprocessed, fermented, organic soy products like tempeh, edamame beans, miso, or soy sauce, which don’t have quite the same negative effects. Ditch tofu and soy milk, making these a ‘treat’ to be eaten occasionally, not in big serves every day. The Celeb: Kate MossThe Habit: Sipping on diet cokeWhy We Do It: We think ‘zero calorie’ drinks will stop us craving sugar-laden sweets, make us skinny and improve our health. Actually, it’s quite the opposite! Some artificial sweeteners are so dangerous that more than 75% of complaints to the Food & Drug Administration are directly related to them, whereas others are proven to make us put on more weight in the long-term, or encourage wrinkles to settle in, so don’t be fooled, artificial sweeteners are not a healthy choice!The Fix: Just say ‘no’ to drinking anything but water, herbal and green teas and if you can tolerate it, a little good quality coffee is fine. It might be tough in the short-term but believe us, this one is more than worth the effort! The Celeb: Tyra BanksThe Habit: Exercising in ‘bursts’, only when we feel motivated. Then slothing it for weeks on end!Why We Do It: Let’s face it, motivation is not a year-round thing! We all have bursts of gung-ho from time to time and at others, sleep-ins and long nights in front of the TV are more enticing than hitting the gym. Winter is one of the key seasons for slacking off, so it’s a great time to tackle this issue.The Fix: New studies have shown that seasonal weight gain is more damaging than you might think to our long-term health, so do as Tyra says, not as she does and focus on consistency, not motivation. It’s important not to go all out and exercise every single day when you hit a motivational moment, because you’re pretty much guaranteed to hit a wall, or incur an injury at some point if you do this! Instead, start slow and build up to an exercise regime that works for you. Start with 2-3 sessions per week and build up as your fitness increases and your energy levels rise with it. And whatever you do, don’t ditch your health regime just coz it gets a little chilly out! You’ll feel better for getting a little fresh air in your lungs and working up a sweat, even in the cooler months. The Celeb: Scarlett JohanssonThe Habit: Healthy food, unhealthy portionsWhy We Do It: We feel angelic for choosing the “raw cacao and agave” block of chocolate, clap ourselves on the back for snacking on nuts and dried fruit instead of chips and convince ourselves that 4 slices of bread every day is ok because it’s organic and gluten-free. But alas! Agave is one of the highest fructose products on the market, nuts are great but not in huge portions, dried fruit is a concentrated sugar fix and yep, that gluten free bread is just as starchy and carb-heavy as regular bread and likely has less fibre, eep!The Fix: Fresh produce is still the best foodie option, so make sure you fill up on veggies, fresh fruit, lean proteins and good fats before reaching for snacks and baked goods and when you do opt for even a ‘healthy’ packaged snack, keep your portion sizes in check. A little goes a long way!