My Eating Style Is My Own

I am not even going to label my food style. It’s what I choose. It’s how I choose to eat. My eating style has changed in the last year. It is customized for me.

I used to eat paleo pretty strict most of the time. I really like how my body responded to paleo and I still eat that way a lot. In fact, I prefer meat and vegetables and good fat for my meals. But sometimes I get in a mood for something different. I eat oatmeal or oat bran a few times a week, sometimes. Some weeks I don’t eat it all. I eat a ton of vegetables and I love meat. Steak and chicken mainly. I do eat fish once in a while too.

While I believe there is a time and a place for hardcore, super strict eating, I am not there at this point in my life. I eat more intuitively these days. If I am really in tune with my body and listening to what it is telling me, it’s all there. If I want a piece of candy, I eat the candy. It’s usually a mini Kit Kat or a Reese’s. I eat one and I am done. Most days I don’t care at all about candy. I probably eat it once every few months. I really do not have a sweet tooth. Sometimes it may be six months.

If I want rice sometimes, I will eat rice. I don’t eat it all the time. It’s not the norm for me. I usually get my complex carbs from sweet potatoes or regular potatoes. Again, IF my body is asking for them. If not, I get my carbs from vegetables. I am perfectly fine with that. I love vegetables.

Everyone’s bodies are different. For example, I don’t do much dairy, other than cream in my coffee, which by the way I have adapted in the last year. I used to do straight black coffee. I always joked about that, saying, “I like my coffee black, like my heart.” I guess it’s moving into the gray area. I can’t do a lot of dairy though because my stomach reacts.

As someone who had a full blown eating disorder when I was in high school, it has taken me a while to figure out my eating style and how foods affect me. I actually enjoy the process. It is super interesting. Nutrition shouldn’t be something we are scared of. It shouldn’t be something we struggle with. I think most of us know what is good for us and what obviously isn’t.

A typical day for me is either oatmeal and eggs for breakfast, or just eggs with vegetables. Lunch is a giant salad with chicken and drizzled with olive oil. Supper is vegetables, chicken or steak and sweet potatoes. That’s where I am right now. I am into single foods. Not recipes. With my incredibly packed schedule, it is working for me and takes the headache out of trying to figure out what to make. It is so easy for me to have chicken on hand and cooked, just waiting to marry it up with some vegetables and good fat. The last two days I had greek yogurt and berries for breakfast. Different for me, but just hungry for it. It is kind of cool to eat according to what your body tells you.

I would caution though that just because I am eating pretty much what I want, I adhere to portion control. As long as I am eating unprocessed foods and in reasonable quantities, I have been feeling great and am at a good point in my nutrition journey.

My nutrition coaching adheres to the same principles. Individual and tailored to you.

How do you eat? Do you listen to your body? Have you tried intuitive eating?