How Much Should I Eat? In a way, that’s a pretty crazy question. As a species, our #1 job lies in eating to continue our existence. So shouldn’t we have some kind of instinctual knowledge about the best amount to eat for our continued survival? Observing the wild animals living in our area, I doubt they’re debating this question. Why does it plague us so perpetually?
I wonder if it only nags us so constantly because we live in a world with so much food, so readily available.
Historical Perspective For many millennia, food scarcity was the big issue we humans faced: How can I get enough to eat? And how can I store, preserve and protect enough to last for the next few days, weeks and into the next year?
Given this history, maybe it isn’t so crazy that we are now baffled by how much to eat. In a world of food scarcity, you ate what you could lay your hands on. But now we can lay our hands on endless mountains of food–and never worry about tomorrow. And our waistlines are showing the fruits of our fortunate abundance!
A Turning Point So maybe we are indeed at a turning point in history. Since we have conquered the food scarcity problem, we need to develop new skills and habits of mind to healthfully survive in a world of unlimited food availability. Specifically, we need to give conscious thought to how much food we should eat since there are no longer any natural boundaries to keep us in check.
I recently listened to a Coffee with Dawni podcast. Dawni was interviewing nutritionist Gregory Ashby who had some helpful guidance on this point (min 8:37):
“Eat for your energy, not for fullness.”
Buried in that simple statement is some serious wisdom. Haven’t we always eaten to get full and feel full–even stuffed and super satiated? What if, in our modern, sedentary, food-saturated world, it’s time to re-define the point of eating. Of course we still want to enjoy our food, but what if we must now focus on how much is required to have the energy we need, rather than how much can we stuff in?
Ashby suggests that eating to be 80% full is a good target. Going beyond that and eating until you’re stuffed “can leave you feeling groggy, tired and un-energetic.”
So cogitate on just this much and in the next newsletter I’ll share more about how quantity control is my Achilles heel—and some of the tips and tactics that can help if you’re struggling in this area, too.
Thank you