Is food just a fuel?
popular blog “Zenhabits.net”.
In what I consider to be a very interesting read, Leo (the author
of Zen Habits) boils down nutrition to a very interesting and
controversial conclusion/question-
“In the end, let’s teach ourselves some simple things: food is just
fuel. Most of us need to eat less. Food isn’t love or entertainment
or anything else like that. It’s just fuel.”
Living up to it’s name, Zen habits takes the Eat Stop Eat
concept of food-relationships and boils it down to the zen question
of – What if there was NO relationship?
A great read and over 100 very interesting comments.
http://zenhabits.net/2009/06/its-time-for-a-new-relationship-with-food/
Happy reading!
BP
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Brad, thanks for the alert about the post. I went there to read and left a post myself. Lot’s of heady conversation and it was fun to sift through it and leave my own thoughts. I’ll post them here as well.
Interesting conversation. And what a treat to read the different contexts!
As someone who years ago found myself reeling from a long and colorful diet and exercise history, the primary way in which I extracted myself from the mess was to implement 2 primary strategies:
1) simplify the eating “rules” to:
eat when I was hungry until I was not
eat high quality as much as possible.
2) disentangle myself from the stress of the whole thing with insight meditation technique.
It worked. I gained some and then lost 50 lbs, which I have kept off for over 10 years.
This overhaul allowed me to build an entirely new relationship with food, eating, and my body, and the process has become the foundation of my holistic fitness business.
These details are very relevant to the conversation. You see, what I wanted most of all was a good relationship with food, eating, and my body. I didn’t want to rely on pigeonholing “food as fuel” because it wasn’t the happy, healthy, enjoyable feel that I wanted to end up with. It seemed to be a forced way of controlling the food picture, kind of like a stern reminder.
Food is necessarily connected with much more than just being fuel because it is central to our survival. We can’t afford to get bored, ignore, or otherwise not address it. No wonder there are so many hooks! Becoming at peace with this and learning how to dance with it is ultimately so freeing.
As for Brad’s fast book, I think it is primo and it has totally revolutionized my idea of fasting and I utilize ESE successfully, as do many of my clients.
Thanks for the great conversation!
Cheers!
Lani
I think that’s a rather narrow and bleak view, and quite asinine really. It’s like saying what if sex were just for reproduction?
We’re not cyborgs, we’re human. And part of being human is enjoying all of the flavors, textures, and social contexts and tradition that food offers us. To overlook that would be foolish. Yes, we should be mindful of what we eat and look after our health. But we’re here to enjoy ourselves.
Sometimes when I’m really trying to lose weight I find I’m better off isolating myself from friends, because it usually involves going out, eating, and drinking. But I try not to do it that often. We’re all going to die some day, I’d rather say I had some fun. It’s all about finding balance. What’s the use of being lean and healthy if you’re sitting round by yourself?
Brad,
Quick question unrelated to your post. Do you track your body fat percentage as well as your total body weight? If so, what BF% are you able to maintain year round following eat stop eat? Thank you for your time.
-Anthony
Certainly many of us would weigh much less if we only ate for fuel, and derive no pleasure from it whatsoever. I know I would. But Billy is right, we’re humans, not robots, and it’s going to be hard to convince people that they shouldn’t eat for pleasure. Calorie reduction strategies need to be realistic and sustainable, and denying ourselves the social and pleasurable aspects of eating is not particularly realistic.
I did enjoy the article and comments but felt strongly the article reflected an American “reaction” not a European one. I feel personally we need t reembrace the PLEASURE of long, healthy meals with family and friends and not just have a fuel relationsip with food.
Can people who think food is JUST fuel really enjoy food ?
Brad, this is great! You know my position on food… more the merrier. All kidding aside food is fuel. But if I want to trim down I limit that food to just enough to fill the tank to cross the finish line darn near empty every night and try to ensure optimal performance with cleaner fuel selections while not overfilling my tanks and storing excess weight and fat.
Hey think of this. When I was fortunate enough to live in France, I saw a couple of legs of the Tour de France. These guys burn fuel all day long and the fuel of choice after a few hours was not sports gu’s, but plain and simple cans of coke and electrolyte drinks. Now if anyone understands simple fuel sources its these guys.
I keep reminding myself calories in calories out. Then I try to choose my fuel sources intelligently for my desired goals and tell my clients the exact same thing. In fact I tell them point blank what fuel sources to consume.
OH hey, this for Wazzup… trust me, I LOVE FOOD and I think it is a fuel source an enjoyable one in fact.