Growing up, everyone in my family had a unique relationship to carbohydrates. I witnessed my brothers’ journeys, and think they illustrate the way we all navigate our relationship to food. My hope is that through sharing two human’s paradoxical paths through a single macronutrient that met in the middle, you will walk away feeling secure in your food choices and that you are both in charge of and growing into the diet you need, constantly.

Pre-elementary school, I’d say both of my brothers ate healthy portions/proportions of carbohydrates. They were never deprived, always replenished and nourished, and whatever bulk of their plate needed to be carb-filled was. It wasn’t a psychological neurosis of any sort.

…

Jump to the middle and high school years, and the free-to-eat carb habits began to crumble and careen in different directions.

My oldest brother–five years my elder, struggled with his weight during that phase of his life, and found his way out through the Atkins diet, a carb-quitting, protein and fat-fitting diet that essentially shamed carbs.

My middle brother–three years my elder, had the opposite struggle: it was difficult for him to put on weight. And to be a revered opponent on the basketball court, he needed a little more bulk to his frame. 

I watched one brother pick up a $5 Little Caesar’s Pizza after school, rip all of the cheese and sauce off, and pack it into zero-carb tortillas for his post-school snack.

I watched the other brother pick up that same $5 Little Caesar’s Pizza after school, and eat it just as it came, built on bread.

They both reached their goals at that time, which were intimately-tied to *being of a certain weight and/or size*. 

…

Fast forward to their early 30’s, and they basically swapped places in terms of their carbohydrate approach.

My oldest brother became aware of a constant brain fog, slogginess, and general malaise that he had been living in like a frog in boiling water but didn’t know why. He hired an amazing health coach who woke him up to the reality that a lot of trauma and fear related to carbohydrates had been running his nutritional life. He empowered him with education on the necessity of carbs as well as (achem, achem) the BENEFITS of carbs for all of his goals, weight and beyond.

My middle brother wanted to become more shredded and hyper-focused on his work–his business empire–his baby, and found the edge through intermittent fasting and cutting out carbs until dinner. And when the carbs were allowed, they were strict to sweet potatoes. He did experience the much-touted brain clarity intermittent fasting can proffer, going hours busting out his genius on whiteboards and in meetings and in copywriting sessions. 

…

Skip ahead to today, and they are both in a much more balanced, wholesome place in both relation to and their integration of carbohydrates into their daily consumption.

My oldest brother basically went from a carb-fear mongered soul to a carb-loving soul, including fruits and whole grains with every meal. 

My middle brother basically went from a hard core, militant no carbs till the break-fast approach to carbs dripping in throughout the day from all sources–from sourdough breads to pastas to pizzas.

…

I feel their journeys with carbohydrates mirror pretty much all human journeys with nutrition and any other thing that fits into the category “basic human need.” 

As a youngster, you are either informed or not informed–and can be informed scientifically correctly or based on media/marketing messages which are often incongruent with scientific veracity about “the thing.” You mostly operate based on what your parents tell you and feed you.

As a young adult/teen, you begin to shape your decisions based on what is popular and accepted vs. what makes you feel good, oftentimes abandoning the latter for the former. This is when the negative habits develop. 

As an adult, there is a crossroads–you can choose to become the curious student of the truth or stay uninitiated and at the level of understanding from your youth which you accepted without questioning. Those who never revisit and re-examine their dietary choices (especially in alignment with your unique needs) may never know how their food affects how they feel. Those who bravely dive into the world of nutrients and attack the question how do I feed my body the best way I can? join a bigger Journey…one that will have many unfoldings as their consciousness and self-awareness rises.

Usually, the very first (or initiation) for those who decide to play with their dietary choices shows up with a tone of certainty, declaring: “Aha! I found the perfect diet for my life.”

But nobody’s diet stays the same for a lifetime; because, no body stays the same for a lifetime.

So, revision and refining becomes a cyclical process for the adult in relation to their food choices. This is the bigger Food Journey I am referring to.

Today, I chose to talk about carbohydrates, but it can apply to fats, proteins, and all micronutrients. It can apply to where you eat, who you eat with, how you eat, when you eat, how much you eat, and…ooh, here comes the big one: why you eat.

I’ll leave you with that thought to chew on: WHY DO YOU EAT?


Let this question guide your next best choices on your food journey.

In Gratitude,
Coach Abby