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Intuitive Eating

Some of you are confused and rightly so. In my last newsletter I discussed the Mediterranean Way-To-Eat, giving it my blessing as a healthy diet. If you recall, the Med W-T-E suggests lots of olive oil, veggies, fruits and fish with very little red meat and not more than 4 or 5 eggs per week. Yet just two or three newsletters ago in a newsletter titled "More on Good Fats" I said that you shouldn't "scrimp on steaks." And you have all heard me say that the Paleo Way -of-Eating (as in caveman) is a good way to go  this means lots of protein with little or no grains. So what the heck do I mean? I will try to untangle my ancient neurofibrils, develop coherent thought and try to explain this to you and I think this is best done using me as an example.

All of a sudden out of left field, I became almost repulsed by all flesh. This coming from a Paleo-eater seemed to be heretical so, ignoring my body's messages, I kept whacking away at the meat thing for awhile, getting the previously-loved roasted chickens from Whole Foods but suddenly being sickened by the vein holes in the thighs and the shiny flesh underneath the skin. I gave chicken up. Then came beef. This was more of an animal rights thing where I suddenly couldn't stand the idea of eating the cute little cow-cow with the long eye lashes after it went innocently up the "ramp" to be bonked between the eyes by a guy whose karma is in question. Lamb and turkey and pork, never great faves of mine were quick to follow. Then eggs started making me sick  literally. I seemed to be getting quite a lot of stomach aches from a stomach bug called h.pylori which comes from chicken and eggs. So there went most of the eggs. You can see that intuitively and for whatever reason, I knew that I had to eliminate meat from my diet.

So I did, kicking and screaming and protesting "No, I love meat, I am a dyed in the wool Paleo-eater, I can't eat grains, I won't get enough protein, I'll get fat." But meat continued to sicken me and I continued to eat mostly veggies, fruits, maybe fish once a week, legumes and maybe an egg or two a week. It felt wonderful. I felt wonderful.

And as far as the "flesh" is concerned, I still ate fish, but the only fish I can force myself to eat is tilapia, sole, cod, wild-caught salmon, and very expensive cans of Alaskan salmon ($3 for 3 oz.) and Ventresca tuna ($7 for 3 oz) from a wonderful mail order place called Vital Choice. (www.vitalchoice.com). Still sort of Paleo in my outlook  I was getting my 40+ grams of protein from whey, goats milk and yogurt and legumes.

I was on my pescaterian honeymoon for a good four months, thinking this was so great and as an extra added attraction, I was helping the environment since by not eating meat I wasn't encouraging those nasty feed lots. I learned a couple of years ago from reading the "Omnivore's Dilemma" that a great percentage of the greenhouse gasses and the warming of our planet come from huge lakes of cow manure. My mantra continued to be "I can do this, I feel great, I can do this, I feel great."

And, then maybe three months after the meat embargo began, the worm began turning and I started thinking about meat - of the chicken burgers I used to make, yes, the ones with spinach, mushrooms and onions. Then the idea of a perfectly cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast would pop into my mind until, finally, one day a couple of weeks ago I found myself rummaging through the freezer looking for meat. I found a package of three chicken bratwurst (from April) which I fast defrosted in the microwave. I felt like a recovering alcoholic finding a previously stashed and forgotten bottle of vodka in the clothes hamper. But, I soldiered on and scrambled up some eggs and sausage for lunch. And, que mirable, I found that after my scrambled sausage lunch, I felt immediately more balanced, more in my body and more centered and grounded.

I decided then that I would stop being a pescaterian.

This is what I mean by intuitive eating. I intuitively felt that I had to stop all meats a few months ago, and a couple of weeks ago, I intuitively felt that I had to start putting meat back into my diet. Not a lot of meat, again the amount can be intuited as well. So far, I might eat some chicken or a can of the aforementioned special rich-person's tuna if I am feeling ungrounded. So far, no beef, but I can't say that this will be forever either. I just keep listening.

What I have been talking about with the intuition is your general, run of the mill, day to day eating here and that is what I am suggesting you listen carefully to. Your body might need a break from the meat. Or it might occasionally need a big ol T-bone if you are vegetarian. There are other more special circumstances where tweaking your diet might be necessary. For example, if you have to lose weight, the best way I have found to do it is with a healthy balanced diet of lean meats, veggies, fruits, nuts and no sugar or alcohol. That will never change. And, if you can't seem to hear the Goddess of Food whispering her sweet messages in your ear, I think that the Med-Way-Of -Eating is very good.

We get stuck in the way we do things. I couldn't have ever imagined that I would stray from my Paleo ways, but I did. Then when I started eating mostly vegetarian with a little bit of fish and a couple of eggs, I couldn't imagine that I would ever go back to eating meat, but I did. It's the old intuition at work. Don't ever put yourself in a box about what you should or shouldn't eat. Learn to listen to your body and I guarantee you that it will give you messages that you can't ignore.

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