Can you hear it? That echo? It’s rampant in the fitness/health industry these day.

What echo, you say? Regurgitated beliefs and perspectives about healthy eating that people just pass along like hand-me-downs. I sometimes wonder what happened to free thinking, free spirited thought, based not on the norm or the majority, but based on something outside the norm, on the periphery. How to choose?

As a Certified Sports Nutrition Advisor (Masters Level), we certainly don’t follow the crowd. We draw from the teachings of traditional cultures and research: Pottinger and his team of cats that taught us about generational nutritional deficiencies and how it applies to today’s children, dentist Weston Price and his findings on the link between dental decay (or lack of decay) in traditional cultures, and how it summarizes the body’s health, Chinese values of eating in Season, homeopathy, naturopathy, metabolic typecasting and more.

So many people put labels on their eating (paleo, pescetarian, low carb, keto), because it comes to define them. But what if you were label-less?

For me, I’ve been at this for many, many years, and I eat according to my body, cultural background, goals, and priorities, and I still can’t label it. So in our work, my ladies and I call it the Warrior Woman Way…eating within certain guidelines, but intuitive, with the individual woman in mind, flexible, real. Some of us eat dairy, some not. Some are meatless, others not. But the common thread is in our perspective and intention – clean, nurturing, health-building and community-building, based in sound research from long ago, blended with modern day stuff…a quick mix, so to speak. And not hard lines …..if you don’t eat meat and you’re on an airplane, starving, with no other choice, and someone offers you a ham sandwich, please take it, because as a woman offering another woman nourishment, that is more important. Don’t break the bond, loosen the grip in order to create another bond, something much more important and lasting. (I learned this from Susun Weed. Lovely, really. Earth changing…)

Old school, indeed. Timeless, sometimes lost research that few know about and fewer ‘nutritionists’ or coaches in today’s fast-paced fitness industry even know about. “Don’t eat saturated fat, it’ll increase cholesterol” (wrong). “Eat low fat” (wrong, in fact, eat higher fat, and don’t forget to eat the chicken skin!), “eat clean” (and what exactly does this mean anyway? You gotta eat a bit ‘dirty’ for a good immune system!). “Eat Paleo” (the latest….but our tribal ancestors were not interested in expending energy in any way, especially in a gym atmosphere where we work to build muscle. They were about saving energy at all costs! So true paleo wouldn’t work for us!).

“Eat Vegan, it’s better for Mother Earth (untrue). “Beware eggs” (the perfect protein…really?). Always use olive oil (not in all instances, and it’s very low in the necessary omega 3′s we dearly need), eat omega 3 eggs (marketing), eat raw veggies (nope, not for all! Your poor thyroid!), eat your fruit (depending….)….

Find someone who bucks convention. Be brave. Be the voice, or look for the voice in all the noise. Expand your horizons. Dare to be non-traditional, to NOT follow the crowd.

Be a voice, not an echo. Don’t worry about having an eating label. Be label-less and see how you fare. I think you’ll find it very freeing! And much healthier in the long run, to be sure!

Oh yeah, and enjoy your chocolate.  Us Warrior Women certainly do!

Karen

PS  My next Challenge starts in April. Join our tribe! Unconventional, fun, real!