You are what you eat, and for me, that means I'm a large frosted coffee and an eight-count nugget meal from Chic-fil-A, and it's not a good look. As a die-hard Pinterest user, I'm constantly intrigued by trendy diets that surface online. For example, a vegan diet is rich in nutrients, can lower the risk of heart disease, help you to lose excess weight, and put you in the running to win free Beyonce tickets for the rest of your life. If that's not reason enough for you to consider an alternative, I don't know what is.
At the end of January, Queen Bey challenged her fans to live a more plant-based lifestyle with her meal planning service, The Greenprint. Contrary to popular belief, Jay-Z and Beyonce aren't fully vegan, but they do abstain from meat on Mondays and consume plant-based eats for many of their meals and their meal planning service follows the same guidelines. The company, owned by the Carters and their trainer, Marco Borges, offers an array of dietary options including but not limited to: All plants, All the time; Plant-based for breakfast; Two plant-based meals a day; Meatless Mondays; or Plant-based on weekdays.
The Carters' enthusiasm has other celebrities hopping on the healthy lifestyle bandwagon, too. Steve Harvey mentioned on his show that his cholesterol levels have improved drastically since starting Beyonce's 22-day vegan challenge. And recently, we reported that The Real talk show host, Adrienne Houghton went (almost) vegan and the health benefits that come with the trendy diet make you (almost) want to join her. But if you're like me and you can't seem to ditch your meat-eating ways, here are a few other diets that may be more suitable for your lifestyle:
Ketogenic
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If you want to look like you're 25 when you're 52, the ketogenic life might be something you want to look into. Halle Berry shared that she made the switch to a keto diet at a young age after she was diagnosed with diabetes. This diet is high-fat and low in carbohydrates, which makes this option perfect for someone looking to balance out their insulin and blood sugar levels. A ketogenic lifestyle has proven to improve metabolism and burn fat more effectively.
Foods to Eat:
- Meat
- Seafood/Fish/Shellfish
- Avocados
- Eggs
- High-Fat Cheese
- Paleo
- Nuts & Seeds
- Berries
Foods to Avoid:
- Carrots
- Wheat/Rice/Oats
- Bread
- Pasta
- Low-Fat Cheese (Mozzarella, Cream Cheese)
- Legumes (Black/Brown/Kidney Beans)
- Chickpeas
Low-FODMAP
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This diet right here, ladies and gentleman, has been my best friend. I had my gallbladder removed when I was 16 and since, have had the digestion system from hell. Luckily, I'm not the only woman in the world who suffers from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (just ask my rich auntie, Tyra Banks) and there are options for people like me who suffer from ongoing constipation, diarrhea, and bloating. FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols, which are often poorly digested by the intestines, causing many of the aforementioned ailments. This lifestyle is perfect for women with food intolerances, or are just looking for a diet that's lower in high-fructose carbohydrates.
Foods to Eat
- Eggs
- Grapes
- Cantaloupe
- Oats
- Potatoes
- Leafy Greens (Spinach, Kale)
- Bananas
- Blueberries
- Bell Peppers
Foods to Avoid
- Artichokes
- Legumes
- Cauliflower
- Apples
- Mangos
- Peaches
- Soy Milk
- Wheat/Rye
Paleo
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This regime is the most throwback of them all. A Paleolithic (or caveman) diet consists of everything was eaten during the stone-age. This means, if you can't find it, kill it, and cook it, it shouldn't be on your plate. During this lifestyle transition, you should avoid any sugar or artificial sweeteners, trans fats, or highly processed foods. Issa Rae recently revealed that her paleo diet helped her slim down and keep the weight off on her new healthy lifestyle journey. Heavy hitters like Kobe Bryant and Lebron James have also lived the paleo life, making the diet perfect for a superstar baller life yourself. The paleo diet can be linked to improved overall health and weight loss.
Foods to Eat
- Unprocessed Meats
- Fish & Seafood
- Eggs
- Vegetables
- Frits
- Potatoes
- Nuts & Seeds
Foods to Avoid
- Sugar & High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Legumes (Beans, Lentils)
- Dairy
- Soybean Oil, Sunflower Oil, Grapeseed Oil
- Margarine
- Grains (Bread, Pasta, Rice)
- Diet & Low-Fat Products
- Artificial Sweeteners
Featured image by DFree / Shutterstock.com
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RELATED
The seeds for these entrepreneurs were planted during their time as students at schools like Spelman, North Carolina A&T, and more, which is why xoNecole caught up with Look Good Live Well’s Ariane Turner, HBCU Buzz’s Luke Lawal and Morehouse Senior Director of Marketing and Comms and Press Secretary Jasmine Gurley to highlight the role their HBCU roots play in their work as entrepreneurs, the legacy they aim to leave behind through the work that they do, and more as a part of Hyundai’s Best In Class initiative.
On Honoring HBCU Roots To Create Something That Is For Us, By Us
Ariane Turner
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When Ariane Turner launched Look Good, Live Well, she created it with Black and brown people in mind, especially those with sensitive skin more prone to dryness and skin conditions like acne and eczema.
The Florida A&M University graduate launched her business to create something that addressed topical skin care needs and was intentional about its approach without negative terminology.
Turner shared that it is important to steer clear of language often adopted by more prominent brands, such as “banishing breakouts” or “correcting the skin,” because, in reality, Turner says there is nothing wrong with the way that our skin and bodies react to various life changes.
“I think what I have taken with me regarding my HBCU experience and translated to my entrepreneurial experience is the importance of not just networking,” Turner, the founder and CEO of Look Good, Live Well, tellls xoNecole.
“We hear that in business all the time, your network is your net worth, but family, there’s a thing at FAMU that we call FAMU-lee instead of family, and it’s very much a thing. What that taught me is the importance of not just making relationships and not just making that connection, but truly working on deepening them, and so being intentional about connecting with people initially, but staying connected and building and deepening those relationships, and that has served me tremendously in business, whether it’s being able to reach back to other classmates who I went to school with, or just networking in general.”
She adds, “I don’t come from a business background. As soon as I finished school, I continued with my entrepreneurial journey, and so there’s a lot of that traditional business act and the networking, those soft skills that I just don’t have, but I will say that just understanding how to leverage and network community and to build intentional relationships is something that has taken me far and I definitely got those roots while attending FAMU.”
On Solving A Very Specific Need For The Community
Luke Lawal Jr.
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When Luke Lawal Jr. launched HBCU Buzz, his main focus was to represent his community, using the platform to lift as they climbed by creating an outlet dedicated to celebrating the achievements and positive news affecting the 107 historically HBCUs nationwide.
By spotlighting the wonderful things that come from the HBCU community and coupling it with what he learned during his time at Bowie State University, Lawal used that knowledge to propel himself as an entrepreneur while also providing his people with accurate representation across the internet.
“The specific problem in 2011 when I started HBCU Buzz was more so around the fact that mainstream media always depict HBCUs as negative,” Lawal says. “You would only see HBCUs in the mainstream media when someone died, or the university president or someone was stepping down. It was always bad news, but they never shed light on all the wonderful things from our community."
So, I started HBCU Buzz to ensure the world saw the good things that come from our space. And they knew that HBCUs grew some of the brightest people in the world, and just trying to figure out ways to make sure our platform was a pedestal for all the students that come through our institutions.”
“The biggest goal is to continue to solve problems, continue to create brands that solve the problems of our communities, and make sure that our products, our brands, our companies, and institutions are of value and they’re helping our community,” he continues. “That they’re solving problems that propel our space forward.”
On How Being An HBCU Alum Impacts The Way One Shows Up In The World
Jasmine Gurley
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Jasmine Gurley is a proud North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University alum. She is even more delighted with her current role, which enables her to give back to current HBCU students as the Senior Director of Brand Marketing and Communications and official press secretary at Morehouse College.
“It was a formative experience where I really was able to come into my own and say yes to all the opportunities that were presented to me, and because of that, it’s been able to open the doors later in life too,” says Gurley of her experience at North Carolina A&T. “One thing I love about many HBCUs is that we are required to learn way more about African American history than you do in your typical K through 12 or even at the higher ed level."
She adds, “It allowed us to have a better understanding of where we came from, and so for me, because I’m a storyteller, I’m a history person, I’m very sensitive to life in general, being able to listen to the stories and the trials that our ancestors overcame, put the battery pack in my back to say, ‘Oh nothing can stop me. Absolutely nothing can stop me. I know where I came from, so I can overcome something and try anything. And I have an obligation to be my ancestors’ wildest dreams. Simultaneously, I also have a responsibility to help others realize that greatness.
Gurley does not take her position at an HBCU, now as a leader, lightly.
“People think I’m joking when I say I’m living the dream, but I really am,” she notes. “So I wake up every day and know that the work that I do matters, no matter how hard it might be, how frustrating it may be, and challenging it. I know the ripple effect of my work, my team, and what this institution does also matter. The trajectory of Black male experiences, community, history, and then just American advancement just in general.”
On the other hand, through her business, Sankofa Public Relations, Gurley is also on a mission to uplift brands in their quest to help their respective communities. Since its inception in 2017, Sankofa PR has been on a mission to “reach back and reclaim local, national, and global communities by helping those actively working to move” various areas of the world, focusing on pushing things forward for the better.
“Through Sankofa, we’ve worked with all different types of organizational brands and individuals in several different industries, but I would think of them as mission-based,” says Gurley.
“So with that, it’s an opportunity to help people who are trying to do good in the world, and they are passionate about what they’re doing. They just need help with marketing issues, storytelling, and branding, and that’s when my expertise can come into play. Help them get to that moment where they can tell their story through me or another platform, and that’s been super fulfilling.”
Join us in celebrating HBCU excellence! Check out our Best In Class hub for inspiring stories, empowering resources, and everything you need to embrace the HBCU experience.
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