Rules vs. Principles

1.Eat only in the parasympathetic nervous system 

2.Eat like a snob 

3.Eat protein at every meal 

4.Eat the rainbow 

5.Eat less processed food Notice how you feel and adjust 

These are my nutrition principles. 

Not yours. 

Mine. 

They each have meaning to me. 

Everyone has a friend that is so “IN” to nutrition that they don’t invite them for dinner. 

I’ve been that friend. 

I used to only drink bottled water (tool) 

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with diets, particularly approaches to eating, experiments and or value based approach to food one might choose. 

In many cases the challenge isn’t the diet choice but our wording around it. 

Where it gets interesting for me is when you dig down into what someone has to do, to eat this certain way it often comes with RULES 

A LOT of rules, 

time restriction, quantity restrictions, cooking restrictions, preparation restrictions, micro nutrient restriction and more. 

All still fine, but when you dig down into why someone is doing the diet, it isn’t long before you come across the word freedom. 

And a bunch of rules, in what ever area of life, create more stress and less freedom. 

We intuitively know this so whether it’s diet, exercise, meditation, home, relationship, adventure, or a thing at work we “really should do” we put it off to avoid the move towards restriction. 

The way I eat today comes with principles.

Rules are many, principles are few, rules will always change, principles never do. 

A life of rules creates restriction. A life of principles creates freedom.

Ed Ley 
 

P.s what’s your primary food principle?