When you hit upon a way of eating that seems to be working for you, you tend to want to continue that indefinitely. Come on admit it – we all do this. Maybe you became a vegetarian and then lost those last stubborn pounds. Or you chose a low carb or ketogenic diet and experienced not only effortless weight loss but got your blood sugar back to normal range and lost the brain fog. It doesn’t matter what the change was, if it worked, our tendency is to continue doing it this way – forever. Unfortunately, that usually backfires very quickly.
But that is not how our bodies or life itself works. Everything is cyclical! We have the seasons that change, we have night and day, the phases of the moon. Our lives begin in infancy usually fed on breast milk or formula; then we are introduced to solids. We move through the stages of being a baby, toddler, young child, tween, teen, young adult, adult and senior and in each stage our bodies and needs (nutritional and otherwise) change accordingly.
You would think it was absolutely ridiculous for someone to say that since eating pureed foods nourished you perfectly as a baby, it should be your preferred diet throughout life.
But we tend to label ourselves and then get stuck in a pattern that doesn’t necessarily provide all we need in a new stage of life. We forget that every one of the 50-75 trillion cells in these amazing bodies is renewed and replaced periodically. Each type of cell has its own life span. For instance your taste buds are replaced every 10-14 days which is why I say in Today’s the Day that you can retrain them with the first 2 weeks of clean eating! I’ve read that our allergies, sensitivities and tastes change about every 7 years. That makes sense to me as well.
Our ancestors did not have all the conveniences (and hindrances to health!) we have today and so their diet patterns went through periods of feast and famine. This is what our bodies were created to do.
Dave Asprey who wrote The Bullet Proof Diet says it well:
“It’s almost like doing interval training. You don’t have to be in one state forever. In fact, your body doesn’t like to be in one state forever. That’s why we sleep and we wake up. We have all these different activities, why should you always be in one metabolic state?”
So my first point is that we have to be nutritionally flexible and willing to make changes when our bodies indicate it’s time.
For instance, most of my early life I was definitely closer to vegetarian than anything else. I loved, craved and functioned very well on vegetables and grains. I easily maintained a healthy weight and felt wonderful. In my early 40’s I began gaining weight even though nothing else changed. I also found myself craving more animal protein. So I actually eliminated the grains and starchy carbs most of the time and focused on clean protein and veggies and the Today’s the Day program was born. I got back to my healthy weight easily and have maintained it for over 20 years.
I still tweak my meals from time to time as I learn something new or find something I hadn’t thought about including. This scripture really spoke volume to me when I made that change I mentioned above:
Psalms 103:5 Amp.: “Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle’s [strong, overcoming, soaring]!”
While you may choose to be a vegetarian or vegan for philosophical reasons (animal cruelty, etc.) I believe you still need to be open to what your body may be asking for if you want to be truly healthy. Pay attention to how your meals make you feel. Are you satisfied or constantly looking for a snack because lunch or dinner just didn’t satisfy you? Do you feel off balance? Your hormones depend on the proper vitamins and nutrients at each stage of your life. Are you always tired? Having digestive problems?
Just as you don’t need to eat exactly the same number of calories each day, you can vary the composition of your meals to include different foods. I like to take one day (I use Sundays) when I do not take my daily supplements but I do eat some grains or starchy carbs in my meals. I enjoy the variety and I believe my body responds better when I surprise it from time to time! God instituted feast days throughout the year and so I think having a feast day each week or two is a great idea.
The only area of nutrition that is non-negotiable for me is food quality. If you’re a vegetarian because you believe it is healthier but eat produce that is genetically modified or full of pesticides, you are definitely not going to end up with the level of health you desire or expect.
So, consider loosening up any hard and fast “rules” you may have about nutrition and what you can or should eat. So here’s my takeaway concerning nutrition:
Be stubborn about your health goals but flexible about your methods of achieving them.
How do you feel about being “nutritionally flexible?”
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Ann, I’ve found what you said to be true. Something worked for a while and then I needed a change. I’m glad to hear this is normal!
Oh yes Debbie it’s perfectly normal – just like we have to vary our exercise routine otherwise our muscles get used to it and don’t respond as well – our bodies are Intelligently created – so they want variety like our Creator!
Ugh, I’m glad I’m not the only one. My husband and I turned 40 at the end of last year and a few weeks later we started gaining weight, even though nothing else changed. For me, it coincided with the weather getting really cold. It’s frustrating but I seem to have turned it around. It’s so important to pay attention. Great post!
You’re definitely not the only one Holly. I’m glad you were able to turn things around. I know for me it was so frustrating until I was able to make the changes that I needed to. Sometimes the most difficult thing is figuring out what you need to change since you’re not doing anything “wrong.”
I agree, it’s SO HARD to figure out what you need to change. Our bodies are still such a mystery. It’s amazing and frustrating all at the same time.
Our compromised food supply and lack of minerals in the soil don’t help either. But these bodies are amazing – they are truly fearfully and wonderfully made!