Eating Food

I’ve experimented with many styles of eating over the last few years. I began to really question my diet when I read Ultrametabolism by Dr. Mark Hyman after seeing him on a PBS special.  This book was the catalyst for what would become a smorgasbord of books about food. The more I learned about food, where it really comes from, the system created around industrialized food systems and the health and environmental effects, the more voracious I became to read more (see what I did there?). I started to shift my diet to a reduced reliance on processed foods with the goal of eating whole foods or food that had very few ingredients. Then, I became a whole food (carb-reliant) vegetarian and then a vegan. Those years coincided with my high mileage running years, so without the carbs to sustain me, I don’t know if I would have had the energy to sustain my running. As it was, I was hungry all the time. I ate a lot of whole wheat pasta, thinking that it only had one or two ingredients on the package and so it qualified as friendly for me. I ate veggie sandwiches on whole grain bread and bowls full of vegetable curries, beans, potatoes, anything that would give me fuel and satiate my hunger.

Then I began to strength train and I knew I needed to change the way I ate. I was still hungry most of the time, but this was a different type of hunger; I was craving things I hadn’t eaten in years.  Through my reading, I was learning that I should focus more on whole foods and high quality proteins and reduce my processed carbohydrate intake. My body was begging for fish, meat and eggs, but the ethical conflict made this transition difficult. I had previously decided that if I loved the earth, I couldn’t eat animals (see my reading list below to see how I arrived at this view). I also knew that if I didn’t make a change, I was going to cause chronic inflammation, have to deal with constant hunger and risk not being able fuel my ability to increase lean muscle mass.

We all make justifications in our minds when we experience cognitive dissonance and mine were that my other efforts for the earth allowed me to eat sustainably-raised meat. So, I began to focus on vegetables and protein.

For the past two years, I have been eating mostly vegetables, meat, eggs, cheese and fruit. I don’t diet, but I try to eat real food 90% of the time. I don’t follow any particular school of thought, but I do try to keep my carbs under control. A typical meal looks like a giant heap of veggies and some kind of protein (I don’t get sick of chicken thighs cooked in the crock pot). I leave room for treats occasionally and mostly listen to my body. A try to eat a big salad every day and use delicious balsamic vinegar to dress it. I’ve stopped feeling bad for my choices. I would like to say that I choose only locally raised chickens and whatnot, but that’s not the truth. I do my best and hope that my other combined choices help to make up for it.

The good news is that I feel better than I ever have and am stronger than I’ve ever been.

If you’re curious about what I eat, you can see the whole sordid affair on a free app called Youfood. My screen name is Artemis.

Whatever choices you make to nourish your body, do it without guilt or shame. Stay open minded and be willing to learn. Eat what makes you feel stronger and healthier.

My food education journey reading list in chronological order (does not include blogs and research papers):

Ultrametabolism - Dr. Mark Hyman

The Omnivore’s Dilemma - Michael Pollan

Diet for a New America - John Robbins

Eating Animals - Jonathan Safran Foer

Eat and Run - Scott Jurek

Forks Over Knives - Stone

The Primal Blueprint - Mark Sisson

The Ten Commandments for Losing Fat - Nia Shanks