An ex-beau once referred to me as “granola girl,” which was ironic because I didn’t even like granola. It was merely a way for him to categorize me. Conscientious with how I choose to live my life, I ate healthy, recycled, practiced yoga, at one point even lived off the grid. For him, the label represented not only my eating habits but also my mindset.
However, he was wrong; it was not the whole of me. I drove a sports car, I wore leather shoes, I drank alcohol, I swore, and I would occasionally binge on something decadently unhealthy.
Organic, Vegan, Keto, Paleo, Pescetarian, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Sugar-free the list goes on and on for the labels we use to describe ourselves, signified by the foods we eat.
Our diets have become a calling card to describe the more significant part of who we are, as polarizing as our political or religious views. It is a way to separate and to exclude, with a desire to make one feel superior over those with different tastes and needs. These are the very qualities I as a “granola girl” would avoid.
When we begin anything new and think it’s the bomb, we want to share the news, we are excited about it and want everyone to join in.
Our views become self-righteous, and with righteousness comes rigidity. When we make a judgment, we close our eyes to seeing other points of view. We get stuck.
What we eat can optimize our health and play a large part in our lives overall, yet, it is not a barometer for good or bad, right or wrong. Eating a specific diet will not allow us to reach a heightened state of consciousness, contrary to some beliefs.
Indigenous Eskimos eat a diet primarily of whale meat. At the same time, Tibetan monks are mainly vegetarian, except for those living on higher plateaus who eat meat since vegetables are not available.
Do we judge those who eat according to their environment less worthy? I should hope not. Then why in our privileged western society have we become so judgmental?
Nearly 50 years ago, I stopped eating meat. It was a personal choice. All of my family and funnily, most of the men I have dated have been meat-eaters. Their bodies needed it; mine does not.
To eat meat does not make one less than someone who doesn’t. To not eat meat doesn’t make one healthier than someone who does.
From all of the food fads I have been on, raw, fasting, mono, no grains, lots of grains, dairy, no dairy, etc., I thought I was on a quest for a healthy way of living. What I discovered was something more.
It was about control, and my world was spinning out of it. To be in control of one’s diet allows us to be in control of one core aspect of our life. We cannot control our environment or society, but we can control what goes into our bodies.
Moderation was the lesson I came to understand. The factors that jarred my existence had ceased. No longer feeling out of control, the need to rigidly abstain from certain entire food groups was no longer needed.
My choice is to eat an unprocessed, minimal sugar, primarily plant-based diet, but what may work for me may be wrong for you. Period.
We are what we eat but what we eat is not who we are.
The food trends we follow do not define us to be good, kind humans, nor make us a good spouse, parent, or boss.
The thoughts we hold have a greater influence over those qualities than the food we eat.
I love the accessibility of healthier food choices when dining out. But I am done with the labels be Paleo or Keto, or anything you want. I honor your current decisions, but do not judge me or others for the choices we make.
Eat healthy for your body and your needs and let others eat as they choose too.
End of story.
Now, what’s for dessert?
You and I are not what we eat, we are what we think
~ Walter Anderson
