My Food Philosophy Part III: The Setbacks

June 9 ,2011

The Finale

I thought I was doing everything I was supposed to. I was eating whole nutritious foods, running most days of the week, and taking it easy on the alcohol. But there was one small problem. While the headaches and tummy troubles had stayed at bay, there was a new weighty issue to deal with. I was developing pudge. No I wasn’t pregnant, but I was growing around the middle and not in a beautiful life changing way. It turns out that while you CAN eat more food when it is mostly vegetables and fruit, it does not mean you have the go ahead to eat your weight in said food every day and not experience some negative results.

I have since ironed out the kinks in my understanding of what is actually needed nutritionally for my body to be happy and maintain a healthy weight. I will discuss BMR and daily caloric needs, and some truth behind calories in another post.

So where am I today? And what the heck is my food philosophy already?!

Ok, ok! Today I am working on a year and a half migraine free. My tummy troubles are in control and I am fully aware of the foods that do and do not agree with me. Meat plays about a 5% part in my diet, fish holds out at a steady 25% give or take a point, and vegetables and fruit reign supreme.

We buy organic in about half of our fruits and vegetables with a focus on the Dirty Dozen. And although refined sugar has somehow crept back in a little, we typically depend on good dark chocolate and banana soft serve when our sweet tooth starts screaming, and try to only indulge in the granulated white stuff on special occasions (still not meaning the chemically preserved pastries you find in plastic containers at the local grocery store!).

My food philosophy has evolved, and I’m sure it will continue to evolve every day for the rest of my life. There is a reason so many preach “to each their own” because every body is different. For me when I start packing away the red meat I feel like a rock is sitting in my stomach, have cramps as my poor body tries to digest it, and if I eat it with any consistency the headaches start hinting again. When I eat sugary things there is a nice film that seems to fill my mouth and my thirst is unquenchable. It makes me feel gross, and the way my body feels is A #1 in determining what goes in it.

My Food Philosophy: Eat what makes you feel good and eat for your life.

There are too many cases of chronic and deadly diseases like cancer and heart complications to deny that our lifestyles are a problem. Your personal food and diet is the first and easiest thing that you can take charge of and change for the betterment of your health. I firmly believe that a successful and maintainable diet should be a balanced one. And that balance is different for everyone. However one truth remains the same; there are foods that will benefit your health and foods that will deteriorate it.

I feel that many who have an aversion to vegetables or wholesome grains have simply not had them prepared properly. There is such beauty in the gorgeous food the earth supplies if we will only give it a chance. My goal for the Farm Food section of this blog is to showcase those foods, and to provide easy and quick recipes to bring them to your table.