Ok, so don’t freak out, but today I ate oatmeal. I have felt this urge to revolt building for around a month now, but until today I haven’t followed through. I think this is a result of a few perspective shifts. First, in my last few posts considering diet, I have mentioned how I don’t like to make rigid dietary commitments. In the context of those posts, I was referring to veganism or raw. While still very interested in such diets, I never wanted to make the full public commitment. Even with the paleo, as I am sure you have noticed, I initially revolted by eating sprouted lentils. Now, this whole diet revolt in general isn’t about making an stance on me being non-committal, but rather reinforcing the importance of not being too strict with diet.

Second, I like variety. I like to change up my diet. I enjoy dietary quests. Ever since I got interested in nutrition and food when I first went vegan, food has just interested me. Vegan, raw, paleo, bodybuilding, and ‘anything goes’ diets have all been apart of my life. What I am starting to realize is that I don’t like to stick to one single diet for a long time (my longest stint was veganism for 3 years). Maybe it’s because of my initial zeal, but I can get strict with what I will or will not eat. However, I think it is completely natural and normal to cycle though food preferences.

I have had, what I felt, were good reasons for everything I decided to eat or not to eat. But guess what? In the grand scheme of CR, calories and nutrition appear to be the most important longevity ingredient. Don’t misunderstand and think I am advocating for fake fortified foods or a dietary free for all, but I think that I personally will be able to handle the mental rigorousness of CR better if I expand my food options.

Third, the oats spoke to me. I don’t speak oat, so I do not know what they said, but they looked like they wanted me to eat them. I don’t think I have the same sensitivities to grains as QB, but my body isn’t too fond of wheat. However, I’m not sure eating oats is a major problem for me. I used to eat oats every day for breakfast, so they have some psychologically soothing powers too. I am sure some people can say the same things about doughnuts, but I am not talking about doughnuts.  :-)

I have been struggling with the rigidity of my diet lately. I have whittled it down quite a bit over the last few months. My food has been getting repetitious and boring, but I think I have been subconsciously yearning for some cooked food. If eating oats helps keep me on CR, then oats have their purpose in my diet. With these last few weeks and my strange problems that sure seem to have coincided with Hg exposure, I have been reevaluating my diet. For what ever reason, something clicked in my brain, and I just couldn’t find the motivation to keep up my usual diet. I wanted oats, more cooked veggies, and maybe even some well cooked beans. I used to be such a bean girl. I don’t have any desire for meat, though. Eggs, yes. Maybe even some organic yogurt. Gasp. Personally, I think this is rather normal. I think most people on strict diets eventually has trouble staying on them. As I said, I am generally non-committal with diets.

What about your commitment to CR?  

CR for me is about a lifestyle. So is eating healthy. I am introducing oats, more cooked veggies, and maybe a few legumes in my diet, not scarfing down fast food and twinkies. Ha. My mindset on how I eat and how much I eat is different from *what* I eat. In general, my main goal is to eat a healthy CR diet. I may go through phases of eat or not eating this or that, but in the end I think that a healthy CR diet is the main key of this grand personal experiment. I am not a little lab rat whose food is chosen for me. I have to choose what and how much I eat, and the instincts of the human brain are very strong. 

Oh yeah, I promised a recipe. Simple yet tasty.

Cranberry Blackberry Oatmeal (serves 1)

40g Oats (there were whole, gluten free oats)
40g Cranberries
40g Blackberries
stevia
1-1.25C water

I simmered teh cranberries and blackberries until they popped, then added the oats and water. I let the mix simmer for about 10min, stirring often. I added the stevia at the end. I really enjoyed this, but maybe that is because it has been a while since I ate a bowl of oatmeal.