I’m sorry, I love a very good very bad joke – and I actually don’t mind if you judge me for it.
I used to be am judgemental. I am just probably more aware of myself and better at not giving a voice to it or showing it to the world. I still notice unusual, weird, annoying, bad and all sorts of things but 1) I probably do it less often than I used to 2) I don’t give space to those thoughts so they just fade away in a few moments. Mostly.
I can’t recall where I have the memory from, but at some point I must have come across someone, who would tell me to teach things better instead of judging – and (days, weeks, months, years or possibly even decades) later I arrived to the conclusion, that if I can’t easily answer the “so what should I do instead” question, my judgement would not change anything for the better, and that doesn’t help anyone. But anyway. E. F. FORT AND F.OOD.
Food and diet are those topics what everybody seems to have a strong opinion about, and most of them believe their idea is the best. And one day, some of those people wake up on a remote island on a holiday and have a mental breakdown because there is no oatmilk to be found…
Once we zoom out from our bubble, we may begin to notice that some of our problems are caused by living in a comfortable modern world, where money drives everything and the words health and longevity are the trigger for an emotional response that drives business to the seller. The pickle is that nobody is really at fault here. If everyone spent a decade and found out what works for them the best, they wouldn’t be triggered easily.
Diets work. Supplements work. Some people need hormones and medication. Most people just need to try different things until they find out what works for them. Do they need guidance? Sure. Lay out all the perspectives on the table, and offer them the opportunity to decide what they think is the best next step for them.
Arguments can be found always and everywhere. Eventually, answering a question – “what should I eat to lose weight?” for example – becomes about two opposing sides believing what they promote is the best, and the consumer (you and I) is stuck in the middle, left alone, and will eventually either go with the louder side, because roarrr, or with the quieter one, because why not.
Apparently, intermittent fasting is bad, because the anabolic window is too large and the muscles need to be fed regularly. Keto (ketogenic diet) may sound good, but have you ever eaten fresh bread?? Fasting is bad because you are not a grass that survives on water and sunshine only. Carnivore diet is bad, because you are not a lion – and a sagittarius will make sure you know that. A private chef, a local butcher and whole food sounds lovely, but the income is kinda limited and priorities are set. Need I continue?
The message so far, after the non-judgemental-but-this-is-the-reality-of-things 45 seconds, is that experience will help you quiet the noise, and your current situation will give you a frame. The other possibly helpful thoughts to you are:
- You need to decide what’s the goal, and accept the reality of things.
- You need to know if eating is a coping mechanism, an excuse, or a fueling strategy.
- You need to fit all this into a life that is probably already full of commitments, rules and difficulties.
Currently, I am a hundred percent mindful of what I eat. I prepare most of my food from scratch, so I know the nutritional value of the ingredients. I can never fully know if the supermarket meat is really the meat that’s written on the package or not; or if the orange was grown on a tree in the sunshine or in a lab somewhere underground; and when I use some premade bits I’m fully aware that they may be bad for me (I know I should not eat jelly babies at all, but I love to have 2 of them before an intense training session) – but overall, I’m conscious of these things and I made a decision based on what suits my life at the moment. Most days I eat around 4-6 times and occasionally I fast for 14-16 hours. My diet is mostly based on meat, fruit, veggies, carbs, nuts, seeds, eggs, very minimal dairy and starch. Is it perfect? Who knows. Is it good for me? I think so. My body seems to be okay with it. I sleep well, I’m energetic, my gut, skin, hair and bloodwork seem to be happy, and currently I don’t want to spend more energy on trying to possibly improve it 1% better and make my life a misery. I’m fully okay to pick something up from a shelf in the shop on the go if I don’t have time and the opportunity to do better and I don’t say no to anything. I do things in moderation however.
On the completely opposite side of me there are some ladies I work with, who would experiment with various fasting and nutritional protocols based on their monthly cycle. They feel good in their body, they can deliver in training, and find balance. As you can see, both can exist, and both can be equally good – however we both respect some basic rules.
Those are the quality (or origin) of the food. We want to know (or at least to have a very clear idea of) what and how much we eat. Eating in a restaurant or getting takeaway is not a problem itself. I work with people who get 90% of their weekly food delivered at their door – because it’s simple, calculated, and transparent. A double cheeseburger from a fast food chain may not be. I appreciate there may be financial and other limiting factors in the picture (allergies, family, work, emotional, mental reasons etc.), but it’s only fair to say that the more we learn about ourselves and the more things we experience, the better everything will become. And just so I circle back to the title, there is no doubt, this requires a lot of effort. But the reward is highly worth it.
Eventually, when we start to appreciate this and exclude the marketing from the discussion, we can arrive at the conclusion that there is no perfect way to eat, only a way that works well enough for you and your reality consistently. And if your reality changes, it’s easier to adapt. The most perfect diet is the one that actually happens, otherwise it’s just a plan.