I get so confused sometimes with what to eat, what to drink and which supplements to take.
These are some of the questions I ask myself:
- Will a glass of red wine every night help me live longer and healthier?
- If I only eat once today, will I feel better?
- If I add butter and coconut oil to my green tea or coffee, will I lose weight and think better?
- How many carbs should I eat today?
- How much exercise should I do and what kind?
- Will grains really kill me if I have a bite?
I love information and am always learning about the next best thing to help us feel and age well. But yesterday I realized how complicated we can make it. Which means we won’t do anything. So many of us are stuck in information overload and never implement anything.
Eat this, don’t eat that, move this way, but this way will kill you – the more fat the better, sleep more, sleep less, drink more, don’t drink at all. Eat these vegetables but not these…yet.
When Dr. Anna and I interviewed one of the world’s leading experts in aging, Dr. Bill Andrews back in 2012, he said two things that have stuck with me:
- Happiness is the key to long telomeres, i.e. healthy aging
- He doesn’t drink alcohol (but he doesn’t discourage it)
Let’s go with his model – at least #1 – happiness. Because what started my frustration yesterday, was reading yet again, from a male doctor, how drinking a glass of red wine every day can help with anything from heart health to preventing Alzheimer’s. Maybe this works for men, but not for any woman I know.
So my advice is to keep it simple. Follow these simple rules here, laugh a lot and see what works for you.
Robin’s Rules for Eating
- Eat local foods in season, when possible
- The life in food gives us life – find beautiful food
- Plan ahead. Be prepared. Carry food with you
- Eat within an hour of waking and every 5 hours – 3x per day
- Stop eating 3 hours before bed
- Eat a protein, fat and carbohydrate together to balance hormones
- Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re satisfied
- Eat mindfully, and relax while eating
- Choose organically grown foods whenever possible
- Eat 2+ cups vegetables focusing on non-starchy with a little starch at each meal
- Eat healthy protein at each meal: 100% grass fed meats, free range chicken, eggs, wild caught fish
- Eat healthy fats at each meal: a dash of nuts/seeds, coconut oil, olive oil, butter, ghee, avocado
- Drink clean flouride/chlorine free water
- Respect your own biochemical uniqueness
- Eat whole real foods
- Eat a rainbow every day and diversify your diet
- Make your meals yummy and delicious with herbs, spices, and sea salt
Keep a beautiful journal and write things down. How do you want to feel? Did you feel this way today? What makes you feel great and what doesn’t? Slowly over time, you’ll figure out what makes you feel the way you want to feel more of the time.
Then I’d say you’ve arrived!
