I Love Food

I love food.  A lot.

I’m that crazy girl at the restaurant (and in my apartment and at work and in my car) that likes to take pictures of her food.  Go ahead, judge me.

This blog post actually centers around a few big lessons I’ve learned for myself related to nutrition in the last 2.5 years, rather than anything overly physiological – like what’s good for your body and why – because while I think that’s really, super duper, awesomely important, there are others far more qualified than I am to give you that information.  Like these people.

As for my life lessons…

1. Food Affects Your Body…
   Ok, I know that seems super obvious, but for a really long time, I perceived food as being something that made you either fat or skinny.  Food X had a specific fat/caloric content, and if it was less than that of Food Y, it was better for you.  I perceived nutrition and food in a really linear format without taking into consideration the much bigger context of the physiological processes involved.

2. Weight is often the wrong variable to measure success…

Weight is just a number – and not one that I really care all that much about, but let’s be real, most people embarking on nutritional change are motivated at least in part by the hope of weight loss.  I certainly was 2.5 years ago when I began introducing shifts in my nutrition and dabbling in the world of paleo.  I lost weight.  And I dropped a pants size or two.  And then I gained weight.  And I dropped another pants size…even though I gained weight (people aren't lying when they say muscle weighs more than fat).  Weight is such a misleading indicator of fitness.  Plus…it’s not the only indicator of health.  People encounter a range of positive outcomes from good nutrition – what a shame to overlook them simply because the number on the scale didn’t reflect what you had hoped it might.  If you see big changes in your mood/pants size/energy, enjoy them!

3. Eating healthy does not have to be a ton of work…

I’m sort of lazy in the kitchen, I’m not going to lie.  I don’t really mind cooking, in fact I enjoy it, but I tend to only enjoy it in so far as it’s fast and fun and yields something yummy.

I’m not getting up a early to make a gourmet breakfast – dude, who has time for that!?  Currently, my favorite breakfast  = 1 hard-boiled egg, a tonnnnnn of grape tomatoes, a few leaves of purple basil, ½ avocado.  The entire meal requires less than 2 minutes of active prep…yes, I’ve timed myself.

World's easiest breakfast.  Ever...

4. Eating healthy doesn’t have to feel like constant deprivation…

…and if it does, you’re probably setting yourself up for failure.  Salmon and sautéed veggies?  Steak off the grill?  Baby arugula with shrimp, tomatoes, chopped peppers and onions, a few scoops of guac and a fresh lime?  Yes please!

And all of it requires seriously less than 20 minutes of active prep work (well, except the steak maybe, but grilling is a fun activity in and of itself, so no complaining allowed about that).

5. Change is hard…

In some ways this is probably the most important point, but there’s also relatively little to say that’s profound in any way.  It’s not going to be easy all the time…believe in the changes you're making and the why behind them and find a community that you can identify with.  Making change is hard – doing it in isolation strikes me as near impossible.

6. Don’t be too prescriptive…

“Is this paleo?”  “Is that paleo?”  “Oooooh, I can’t have that, it’s not paleo.”  Paleo provides a great set of guidelines for me, and I try put them into action an awful lot of the time…but, as I learned early on, while an apple and almond butter are both technically paleo, putting them together with a sprinkle of cinnamon or a drizzle of honey (yummmmmm!) as a late night snack sort of misses the intention of introducing changes to your eating habits.  It’s not to say that you shouldn’t ever do that – just bear in mind what you’re ultimately striving for and what will help you meet that end.

I’ll also admit here, sometimes I drink milk.  It’s not paleo but I have experimented in giving up milk for extended periods of time as well as including it in my diet – the difference is subtle, if present at all, and so while not paleo, yeah, every once in a while, I have a glass of milk.  And I like it.

7. It is ok to cheat…

A Whole9 blog post once so perfectly captured a sense I had long been attempting to articulate regarding emotional value of food... “Some foods hold a significance that far exceeds the sum of its vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. That kind of food should be honored, savored and shared in the company of those you love."  When you “cheat” make it a choice and make it a choice that’s worth it.

8. Be adventurous...I mean it when I say my life is full of accidental adventures.  Dinner is no exception and often finds me staring into my refrigerator trying to figure out how I’m going to throw together whatever remains to make a decent meal – left over salmon rolled into thinly sliced zucchini = impromptu paleo sushi.  Be open to new foods and your changing taste buds, two years ago I turned an old boyfriend onto Brussels sprouts after he assured me repeatedly that he didn’t like them (and don't worry - I didn't let him forget that I was right!).  I didn’t used to like bacon…shocking, I know, as I now often have to cut myself off from its savory goodness.

9. It’s ok to like food and be hungry and eat more than a boy (I often do)…

That’s not a concept with which I was previously comfortable…I wanted to be dainty and a light eater once upon a time.  My perception of food and why I eat it and my knowledge of how it influences my body absolutely destroyed any residual anxiety I once had about the appropriate amount to eat.  While my parents were in town recently, I think we actually reached a point at which they were making fun of me (in a totally awesome and great and loving way) because of the frequency with which I could be overheard saying, “Wow…I’m really hungry already again.”

This list really only captures a small portion of what I’ve really learned, much of which is intangible and hard to describe…but it’s real and it’s been liberating to be able to enjoy food the way my body was intended to and to feel really good about it.

If you have any interest in learning more about paleo or the Whole9 get yourself tickets to attend their workshop – they’ll be in DC in a few weeks.  Maybe you’ll walk away and be floored by the information, ready to change your nutrition.  Maybe not.  If nothing else, you’ll be better informed.  Aaaaand…as far as I can tell, Dallas Hartwig is pretty easy on the eyes, so you’ll be spending your day listening to someone handsome talk about something awesome (but I would avoid using that as a justification to convince your boyfriend, juuuust saying).