Experts

When I worked at FEMA, I was often part of a panel that had to hire subject matter experts -- or as we liked to call them, SMEs (it's just fun to say) -- to fill us in on areas of training (and disaster assistance in general) with which we were unfamiliar. I learned how important it is to verify the credibility and qualifications of the people who provide you with information. This helped me a great deal when I left government work and returned to teaching. Part of what I had to teach my students was to sift through the multitude of sources out there to find only the most reliable to use in research writing. (Of course, that's the ideal situation. It doesn't always happen that way in real life.)

As I think about that, I wonder how I can be so confused by the different "best" approaches to eating for optimal health. I did a great deal of research before I planned to start Paleo; when that proved impractical, I found gluten-free to be the next-best feasible option. Now I've done further research, this time on plant-based eating, and I'm only more lost. I know that the authors of all the books I've read are experts in their respective fields, so I'm left with the conclusion that no single plan works best for everyone. Instead of locking myself into a plan that 1) won't work well with my lifestyle or 2) may not be the best weight-loss/nutrition for my body, I'm mixing it up a bit. (Last week I was talking about going vegan, but I seriously don't know what I would eat if I never ate animal products again. I could live without the meat; I'm less sure I could live without dairy. One thing I have discovered over many years of deprivation-dieting: there's no better way to set up cravings than to declare something off-limits.

For the next month, I'm going to stick with fruits, vegetables, and gluten-free grains on a daily basis, along with small amounts of animal protein on occasion. Nothing will be off-limits, so there will be nothing to crave. Again, that's the ideal situation. It won't necessarily work out that way in real life.