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A Matter of Life Not Death

I recently saw an article about the death of a well known proponent of the Mediterranean Diet. I thought it interesting the way our media immediately responded by questioning the validity of his eating style. Part of me wondered how long it would take before a new study would come out claiming that olive oil is really bad for you and we should all stop eating it or risk a similar fate! Here’s a news flash…we’re all going to die. Don’t you think it’s worth focusing on how we want to live?

The whole premise of adopting a diet solely for an end goal, whether it’s to lose weight or to live “longer” has its issues in my opinion. It reflects a way of relating to life that is focused on getting somewhere, someday instead of acknowledging the significance of the way. To be clear, I’m not saying drop the veggies and eat McDonald’s everyday for the rest of your life. What I am saying is that as we saw in the documentary Super Size Me, eating that way would not just bear the consequences of life-shortening disease, but it would actually make living miserable! And isn’t that the important part, the living part?
 
What I mean is that I hope our friend of the Mediterranean diet didn’t eat that way solely for the purposes of living until 100. I hope he actually enjoyed the way it felt to eat that way, otherwise I’d imagine being pissed on the other side! Because as any dieter knows, when we make changes to our diets, changes that feel like sacrifices, changes that don’t actually feel part of living a life we are enjoying, changes just in order to lose weight, we end up resenting the changes. We end up binging on those cupcakes we swore off when we reach our goal weight and discover we are no happier than before we gave up the Doritos or solid food.
 
And there are probably many changes we could all make to our diets that might have a positive influence on how long we live, obviously without guarantee or knowing. What if we focused on listening for what food choices match what feels right in our bodies today, at this time of year, at this stage of life? It would be about having the way, however long it lasts, be full of natural flavors, authentic pleasure, and being in a body that feels healthy, fit and strong.
 
Currently I’m feeling the seasonal call to eat fresh, light fruits and salads, not because that’s how a person “should” eat for a long life and to lose weight, but because that feels good. That is my daily commitment for this summer, supported by my membership to a local CSA(community supported agriculture), to eat in a way my body and the season tells me feels right. That way if I die tomorrow, I could truly say I enjoyed my last meal, not just in my mouth, but in my whole being, from entry to exit. Not to be morbid, but what would you eat if you knew it was your last meal and you wanted to go out feeling great?! Wouldn't that be the way to live?