As I sit here writing this I’m comfortable in my hunger.

I woke up early, made my coffee, read my daily scripture, went for a weighted walk in our neighborhood in the dark (8k steps) and listened to Rich Roll. It was a podcast episode between him and Jillian Turecki on red flags in relationships.

I’ve eaten breakfast – lunch is prepared and so is dinner. I’m being intentional, applying necessary discipline and here to share.

My stomach is empty but my cup is full. I mention this because most people find their hunger discomforting but there is a massive difference between knowing you’re fed and being hungry and not knowing when your next meal is and being hungry. Reassurance is everything.

Tracking using Carb Manager has helped me recover not only from the weight I gained on Carnivore (5 lb) but it has also reminded me of some age-old wisdom I gathered during the initial stages of my healing journey in 2005. When I was 21 years old I entered my first eating disorder recovery program founded upon the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. For two consecutive years I put everything I ate onto a scale and weighed my food, measured my life and claimed a sense of balance over eating that I had never learned. Twenty years later I’m leaning on that same wisdom and various bits I picked up along the way. Tracking is similar to what I did in recovery – 3 meals, weighed and measured but with a lot more freedom to play.

These are my macros – most days I go a bit over on protein, sometimes I go over on fat. I’m still working to increase my carbohydrates which is an adjustment after 3.5 months on a meat-based diet. You can set your macros to custom in order to fit your particular lifestyle and energy demands.

Tracking is science. Bare bones basics. You enter your height (5’9″) and weight (130) and decide whether you’re maintaining, gaining or losing (deficit). Once you reach your optimal weight you stabilize by increasing your calories. Most women fall into a caloric maintenance around 2000 and a deficit around 1700. You never want to go too stark too fast – when you reach dangerous caloric territory you risk losing your hair, your menses and your sanity.

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Hello 3 little bears.

Tracking is self love, self discipline and boils down to self worth. If you don’t believe you don’t deserve to live in a body that is mobile, free, energetic and boundless – then this isn’t about diet anymore it’s about your blockages. Thankfully you’ve arrived at Therapeutic Eating – so you’re in the right place.

I’m not writing this to convince you to track your food – I’m just here to share with you what happens when you eat a more balanced diet – higher whole food carbohydrates, lower the fat and sufficient protein. The issue I faced with carnivore was regardless of eating less or more food I kept gaining weight so it was a lose lose (in the end). Worst of all I had no energy, my insulin spiked, my glucose tanked AND metamorphosed by the mercy of gluconeogenesis and my mood plummeted. The answer wasn’t to dig my heals in deeper – the answer was to pivot.

Carbohydrates to save the day. Tracking to regulate.

By adding carbohydrates back in – no not M&M’s and Kraft Mac & Cheese! by carbs I mean apples, papaya, avocado, squash, banana, raw honey – my health turned right side up. I’m embarrassed to admit that I had to relearn something I had practiced for years. I had subscribed to the Carnivore WOL and thought it was going to rewrite everything I ever thought I knew about food and health.

This is the power of diet dogma – it rears its sneaky head by powerful influencers & doctors who disguise it as The Proper Human Way – only to learn it’s too good to be true. I’d be lying if I wasn’t slightly angered to discover I had traded in my identity as a high volume plant based vegan for a meat based diet only to feel gravely disappointed. But alas – the silver lining: I’m here to talk about it and what’s better than a good story right?

On any given day do you allow yourself a chance to balance your macros, fill your plate and plan your day of nourishment? If the answer is no, that’s ok, you’re not getting graded but I will tell you that if you don’t have intentions, your intention isn’t to succeed. This is especially true if you want a better relationship to your body. Food is only one path to healing your body – the rest resides in a spiritual solution. You might be rolling your eyes about now and you have my sincerest blessing to continue down the path of discovery. I promise you, however, it’ll eventually lead you to surrender and that, my friend, is a righteous place to be.

Every healing journey MUST have an element of faith – faith in an omnipresent God, faith in the universe, faith in love. You must have faith. Wake up early, light candles, drink your coffee, read a scripture or listen to a morning meditation and get moving. You have ONE life and no one can save you from yourself but you – you’re not alone.

I’ve devoted the remainder of my energy on this topic to writing an essential document for your recovery – so please click here for additional support, my

xo

Katie