It’s the Season to Diet––Or NOT!
It’s common human behavior to begin each new year with a diet of some sorts. There’s no shortage of options. I hear it every year. The post-holiday lament following several months of over-indulgence dominates most conversations, magazine headlines and product advertisements.
I am not a “dieter” so I find it interesting to hear all the diet choices and the reasons people choose a particular diet. Many years ago, I adopted a seasonal approach to eating and it has served me well.
This not-so-new concept was used by early civilizations all around the world. Ancient Chinese, Ayurvedic (Eastern Indian), Native Americans, and other cultures, who for the sake of survival, lived by the seasonal influences of their environment. I lived the seasonal eating concept during my growing up years on a farm.
The word diet originated in the 1175-1225 time period with the Middle English diete, Latin diaeta and Greek diatita, meaning “way of living.” I’m not convinced that modern-day diets are a way of living. In my decades of wellness coaching, I’ve not heard one person admit they actually enjoy or look forward to going “on a diet.” The days or weeks of extreme limitations usually are met with dread. This does not seem like a healthy––or happy––strategy to improve one’s health!
Author Michael Pollan (In Defense of Food, Food Rules, The Omnivore’s Dilemma and others) has suggested that we get back to a simple basic dietary plan: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
The Japanese have a tradition they adopt at an early age called “hara hachi bu” which means eat until you are 80% full. That’s certainly not the Standard American Diet way! There are many published articles and reports about the Okinawan people and their high longevity records.
Super-model Cindy Crawford shares in her book on turning 50 that the way she keeps her model- figure fit and strong is by “being 80% good 80% of the time.”
Loren Cordain, Ph.D., the author of The Paleo Diet (2002), suggests a Three-Level approach to meal selection: Level 1 is the 85-15 rule, meaning you eat 85% of your meals “smart” and the remaining 15% (about 3 per week) of your meals can be “no-rules” meals. Level Two is a 90-10 split giving you 2 “no rules” meals per week and Level Three provides for maximum weight loss with a 95-5% split, giving you one “no rules” meal per week.
If you’ve read my previous blogs or my book, The Wise Woman’s Almanac: A Seasonal Guide with Recipes for New Beginnings that Never Go Out of Season you’ve most likely noticed that I strongly support eating the way Nature provides––real foods from the garden. The man-made- fake-foods are making us unhealthy in many ways.
It’s a new year and I’m in favor of setting goals for self-care and self-improvement. However, I am not in favor of adopting a rigid eating program for a week or two or even thirty, that I may not adhere to after the time has expired.
I appreciate the above suggestions of choosing real food and setting realistic guidelines and expectations that don’t leave me discouraged. Understanding how our impressive human body functions and what type of fuel it needs to function well is a first step in planning my eating style.
Also, accepting that Aging-With-Vitality will require adjustments along the way. My body won’t respond well if I eat like a teenager! I’m happy to accommodate my mid-life dietary needs in a flavorful and pleasant manner.
I encourage you to check out all your options as you strategize your 2020 wellness focus. Maybe it’s not as difficult or unpleasant as you may believe to eat wisely along the way to maintain optimal health. Then, perhaps, you may joyfully choose to opt out of a week or two of “dieting” to recover your desired well-being.
Here’s one of my favorite warming Winter recipes that will fill you up without adding empty calories:
Winter White Chili
Serves 6
1 Rotisserie Chicken
1 32-ounce box organic chicken broth
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
2-3 cans Cannelli or great Northern beans
1/4 cup lime juice
8-oz diced green chiles or roasted green chiles
1 jalapeño pepper, chopped
1 Serrano pepper, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp oregano
1-2 Tbsp cumin, to taste
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup jack cheese, shredded
• Pull chicken from bones, discard skin and bones
• In crockpot on high heat, heat oil, add onion, jalapeños, Serranos and cook for 5-6 minutes; add green chiles and garlic, cook 3-5 more minutes
• Add white wine and simmer about 5 minutes; stir well then add chicken broth and warm through
• Add chicken, beans, oregano, cumin, and cinnamon and stir well and continue warming
• Add lime juice and cilantro; stir; let chili mixture heat throughout
• Add jack cheese before serving
• Serve with warm corn bread and butter
A man may esteem himself happy when that which is his food is also his medicine. ~Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862, American naturalist and author