The Zen of Nutrition

Excerpt from The Zen of Nutrition

I’ve been reading the book “The Tao of Physics” by Fritjof Capra.

I’m about halfway through and had planned on working my way through a big chunk the second half last night.
But, right when I started reading I came across the following quote:
“Before you study Zen, mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers; while you are studying zen, mountains are no longer mountains and rivers are no longer rivers; but once you have had enlightenment, mountains are once again mountains and rivers again rivers.”

This quote stopped me dead in my tracks.

It was unbelievably eye opening because it perfectly parallels my experience with nutrition. With a couple small changes I could sum up my entire journey in health and nutrition with one (rather long) sentence.
“Before you study Nutrition, food is food and drink is drink; while you are studying nutrition, food is no longer food and drink is no longer drink; but once you have had enlightenment, food is once again food and drink is again drink.”

Back when I was a kid, food was food and drink was drink.
Then as I started studying Nutrition, food and drink became these complex chemical compositions that had these wondrous effects in the human body. Food and Drink were now macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients and polyphenols and volatile fatty acids, carbs, fats, essential fats, and on and on…

The more I learned the less the words food and drink meant to me, to the point where they were virtually meaning less. There was no such thing as food or drink. It was only protein, fat and carbs.

Now, after years of studying nutrition and learning I’ve realized that most of that ’stuff’ …that ‘knowledge’…it’s almost completely useless.

It’s health and fitness mind-clutter.

And, it destroyed my relationship with food.

So now, food is food once again and drink is drink.

It does not have magical properties. It is simply there to:

A) fuel my body when I need it, and

B) to be enjoyed

This realization has helped me break free of Obsessive Compulsive Eating and has made losing weight and maintaining a body I am proud of to be easier than I ever thought possible.

If you want to lose weight then eat less. If you want a stress free life then learn to enjoy food again.

It can be this easy if you let it be.

It’s amazing where you can find inspiration (I mean really…a book on Physics?)

I’ll leave you with what I believe to be the best long lasting health advice I can give. It has nothing to do with carbs, protein, fats, calorie cycling, hormones or anything of that nature.

It is simply..

Eat when you are hungry. Sleep when you are tired.