A quick reminder of what this newsletter is about and what I email you about in general.
Project Vibrancy Newsletter is a place where I explore and share the mindset side of vibrancy, as well as the nourishment side.
Vibrancy = nourishment + healthy mindset
I've shared hundreds and hundreds (thousands?) of recipes online since 2006. It makes me so very happy when people prepare them, love them, and feel good from eating fresh, delicious food.
Quick note: if you enjoy my deep dives and free content, please consider upgrading to my paid newsletter! In it I share assignments, books, podcasts, recipes, studies, chats with experts, and more. I spend many hours each week developing and sharing free meal ideas, recipes, nutrition presentations, and this version of the Project Vibrancy Newsletter. Paid subscribers allow me to continue to gather information and ideas and share both with you. Thank you!
I started teaching online classes during the pandemic, and from those classes, I started working 1:1 to coach clients who wanted more guidance and accountability to use healthy food to reach their health goals.
Not for just one meal, but for a lifetime.
Coaching, as I'm sure you can imagine, is about a lot more than cooking and recipes, although that's certainly in the mix. It's also about mindset and finding ways to create new, lasting habits.
This newsletter shares ideas about mindset, and behavior change, and effective-while-pleasurable ways of thinking about health and nutrition.
Recipes matter! But exploring beliefs around your body, food, and health is where it all comes together into an actual vibrant lifestyle.
So hi, that's why I'm here. Sharing it all! There are still recipes and meal planning tips, of course.
The other emails I send are for giving you a heads up when I have coaching spots open, or am making a free presentation on Zoom, or am speaking at an event or on a podcast, or am teaching a cooking class. I make sure to include a lot of health nuggets (and stories) in those emails too.
In effect, I share as much information as I can muster about creating a vibrant, healthy lifestyle and I so appreciate that you're along for the ride. Thank you!
OK onto this week's vibrant theme...
I am obsessed with finding the sweet spot.
If you coach with me, you'll hear me say it a lot.
It's really just another term for moderation. I define moderation as the line between deprivation and decadence.
It's the place I strive to be, most of the time.
And there's only one way to find it: experiment.
You'll hear me say that a lot too.
I look out across the landscape of our very odd American food culture and I see people swinging wildly between deprivation and decadence in their attempts to find their personal sweet spot.
The place where they can just eat food that tastes good without trashing their health.
Perhaps I'm alone in being drawn to this simple, easeful, pleasant interaction with food, but I don't think so.
I think it's what Americans love about vacations abroad. I'm not saying Europe is perfect, and processed and fast food (and the ailments that follow them) are growing there too. But European food culture is still more geared toward whole food meals, eaten sitting down, with other people, and our bodies respond so well to it!
That's the vision of "healthy" that appeals to me. I'm not terribly interested in the version that somehow ended up being juice cleanses, fasting, smoothies, meal replacement bars...
...which just set up accidentally over-consuming more than we intend when we do truly eat (because none of what I listed is truly eating), as our brains work to set things right.
If you haven't noticed, our brains are not easy to manipulate. We cannot under-nourish our bodies for hours and days on end without very powerful appetite hormones and shifts in metabolism taking over.
If you pick a fight with your body about energy needs, you are 100% going to lose the fight.
So, how to get away from this wild swinging from deprivation to decadence, from hunger to over-eating, from the guilt and confusion and just not feeling good about it, and find that sweet spot of moderation?
First, it helps to recognize it. I've talked with enough clients now to know that everyone experiences these swings. They're very baked into our culture with the way that work environments, long commutes, grocery stores, restaurants, food companies, and even school/sports schedules dictate when and how we eat.
I mean...Europeans spend 2 hours per day eating, Americans spend 1 hour per day. The fact that many of our meals are eaten at desks, in the car, on a sofa, on the road, or running out the door has an enormous impact on what types of foods we eat. (And it of course makes it easy to skip meals and then feel ravenous later.)
I'm assuming you can't quit your job, or eliminate your commute, or take your kids out of sports.
So, after recognition, and acceptance of the current landscape, comes brainstorming some new moves.
How can you work within the confines of your circumstances to engineer better choices?
How can you create experiments to see what is doable and effective given your job, your life, your family, and your preferences?
If you eat out a lot, can you do some simple meal planning for the nights you do eat at home?
It doesn't have to be every single night. Start with one or two nights and move up from there. Declare every Tuesday as Taco Tuesday and lean into the theme. Prepare a protein, veggie garnishes, and a starch your family enjoys.
Make enough to take leftovers to work for lunch the next day.
It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be relatively often, consistently, to see results.
That's just one idea. I continue the conversation, with more moderation-exploring questions, and tips, in the upgraded version of my newsletter. Join our Project Vibrancy community there to learn more!
Painting by Stacey E. Meyer (my sister, based on the photo below).
I sent a coaching-related email last week talking about the power of naming an elephant in the room and facing it.
I got so many cool and thoughtful emails back - thank you!
Oftentimes the thing we most seek is momentum. Feeling stuck or trapped is incredibly hard on human beings and really messes with our heads.
It can make us do stupid sht, just to mix things up, and while sometimes that's necessary, I think it's worth experimenting with more productive momentum-generators first. (And then blow things up, if you must.)
I took this photo in 2002. God I love elephants. Just not in my room.
And so I offer: face an elephant in the room.
You'll get something dreaded out of the way, which alone feels amazing. Tackling scary and dreaded tasks is proven to give us boosts of feel-good neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine.
But don't forget that you'll also create momentum. Often in some totally unrelated - but important - way. If you're into the concept of manifestation, facing an elephant is a superpower.
I'll have more to say about this soon, but I'd love to know what you think!
Does the idea of facing an elephant in the room resonate with you?
If you like to geek out about behavior and habit change, then you might already be following James Clear. This quote is from his Instagram just today@jamesclear.
I myself am an over-thinker and under-action-taker. You might be the opposite. Most people tend toward one or the other. That's cool, as long as you know it and counter it where necessary so you can create momentum without being impulsive. (I think I just named another sweet spot, right?)
I'm happy to be here with you talking and thinking about ways to benefit from the powerful and pleasurable medicine we call food.
But don't forget that it all only works when you take action!
Whether it's eating a balanced breakfast, doing some meal planning, or facing an elephant, you've got this.
I'll leave you with this recipe for Blueberry Kuchen, in honor of fast-approaching July 4 shenanigans. This is my long-time, go-to July 4 dessert, thanks to my dear friend Susie Shubert. I've adapted her recipe to have a delicious gluten-free crust.
The combination of cooked and raw blueberries is what puts this simple, beautiful, and actually nutritious dessert over the top. Enjoy!
If you want my recipe for Wonton Filling Meatballs with Dipping Sauce (such an amazing appetizer), two books I'm enjoying right now, continued thoughts on how to harness the power of moderation, and a doable-and-effective mini-assignment for the week, join me over at my paid newsletter.
Have a fabulous week!
xoxo Stephanie
Want help knowing how to eat to beat cravings, easily prepare healthy and delicious meals, stop wasting food, and boost your energy so you feel and look...dare I say...vibrant?
