As I continue in my dieting & health adventures/testing, I’ve been getting a lot of very specific questions.
People are wondering about when I’m eating my carbs, at what times I’m eating, my protein intake, calorie intake, bla bla bla….
The answer is… I don’t know.
This isn’t medical advice, but advice based on my personal experience and books that have given me great results.
In the book “The Science of Being Well,” the author recommends that you shouldn’t fret over what specific food you should eat.
He recommends that you should eat what your body craves when you’re hungry, and eat whatever is available (excluding appetite-food).
Appetite food is food you want only for your mouth, and that your “body” doesn’t truly want. This is an intuition you develop. For example you mouth wants a brownie, but your body may want a tasteless chicken for protein/energy.
As “crazy” & “different” as it sounds, my personal experience is validating this.
Our bodies are complex things and most people will never be able to dedicate enough time, money, or resources into tracking everything perfectly.
One thing I’ve been practicing recently in ALL areas of my life is “intuition.” Intuition is the illogical “knowing” of something.
For example, your intuition may tell you not to walk down a certain road late at night. You may later discover there was a mugger waiting for a victim.
Despite the logical mind being unable to understand “why” your intuition speaks a certain way, your intuition somehow knows.
Some believe that this is based on “magic” or “supernatural forces,” whereas other scientists believe that it’s the subconscious mind picking up on very real signs of danger/progress.
Whatever the cause is, experience has shown me that the intuition is always right.
I remember one time I was dating a girl and my intuition told me to let her go before it was too late. I stayed, addicted to the “honeymoon period,” and things went very, very bad.
She turned out to have used heroin, lied about her age (if we would’ve had sex I would’ve potentially committed statutory rape), and there were several other issues with the relationship I won’t dive into. Thank goodness we never were sexual!
My logical mind could not tell you why I should’ve broken up with her so early, but my intuition knew.
I’ve had this ability for a few years now, but really struggled in following it. We know what’s good or bad for us, and we can strengthen our intuition by trusting it and seeing the positive results.
So, when it comes back to what I’m eating, I’m trusting my intuition as best as possible.
My diet challenge is focused solely on avoiding “shit food.” I define “shit food” as sugar, candy, HFCS, desserts, and lots of bread. It also includes any other food that I intuitively know would lower my mood + energy.
I would still allow myself to eat pizza or some burgers. For example I’m not allowed to eat a fast food burger such as McDonald’s, but I am allowed to eat a burger from a gourmet restaurant.
While it’s not necessarily healthy, it’s not that unhealthy.
I will experience a minor decrease in energy levels (or a big decrease if I over-eat), however it’s nothing like that I would experience if I ate a nutella pancake.
The whole purpose of this is to strengthen my intuition- first I’m starting with that which I logically know to be bad beyond a reasonable doubt. I’m starting with cutting out the worst foods, and I’ll get to the less-worse foods as I slowly adjust.
This means that eventually yes, I will probably not ever eat a burger or pizza again because it does slightly decrease my energy levels.
So in short, I’m not tracking my calories, or too specific things, but I’m trusting my intuition.
According to “The Science of Being Well,” this is the best thing you can do for yourself. My personal experience and tests have validated the claims that the body will desire foods which are right for it if you trust your intuition and only eat when hungry.
The key point here is that you only eat when hungry, not when you have appetite. Appetite is a mouth-craving for taste, whereas hunger is the biological desire for energy/sustenance.
I’ve noticed that when I’m truly hungry I typically crave salad/greens, bananas/apples/grapes, nuts, or chicken. Nothing else.
I think one of the reasons people struggle with eating right is because the “how they’re eating” is not aligned with “The Science of Being Well.”
If you try eat three-four relatively large meals a day without also expending lots of energy, you’re bound to fall victim to cravings!
This is because for most people it’s only possible to eat three-four meals a day based on appetite, which is why the majority of the USA is over-weight. It is possible to eat that much a day on hunger, but only if you’re expending lots of energy through working out, flow states, and constant movement.
This is a super-hard practice, one that I am giving myself some lee-way on. For example, I stated that I’m doing a 30 day health challenge. My only mission is in currently avoiding “shit food,” with “eating the proper way” as a side-goal.
As long as a burger isn’t total shit (like McDonald’s), I’ll allow myself to eat it only if I’m truly hungry.
What I’m finding though is that the more I “eat the proper way,” as taught by “The Science of Being Well,” the more I desire the right foods.
It would appear that my intuition is guiding me to what I need!!
So, this isn’t professional advice, but let your intuition guide you in your eating adventures. Be very observant of whether you’re experiencing cravings for appetite or a true hunger with intuition guiding you on what to eat.
It takes some time getting adjusted, but once you’ve adjusted it becomes very clear that which is intuition and that which is a false urge.
Don’t worry about the specifics- trust in your body, trust in your intuition.
Hope you enjoyed this read, let me know if you’ve any questions! Thanks!
-Michael
