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Lifestyle Changes Written by Owen Rothstein for Simple Again As the Marketing Director at Simple Again, rarely do I write in my own voice about a topic, any topic. I am constantly writing copy about products or services and always editing stories and editorials, so my influence is all over our writing, but never this way. The reason I’ve chosen to write the first The Good Life of the New Year is the topic… Lifestyle Changes. Because I am constantly (really, incessantly) reading articles about nutrition, diet, athletic performance, etc., I get a very broad view of not only the science involved in what and how we eat, I get a real sense of consumers expectations and desires. It will come as no surprise that the stereotype of the American consumer is fairly accurate. Many Americans want a “magic pill” that will keep them fit and healthy throughout their lives without having to watch what they eat and without exercising. Sorry Charlie, it just doesn’t work that way. There is no such pill. What’s more, most of what Americans have been told over the past few decades about low-fat/no fat, low carb diets and how they can help us lose weight is also completely misinformed. It turns out that current research is supporting what my grandparents seemed to instinctively know – a “meal” should consist of a protein, a vegetable and a “starch” with some liberally applied fat. That’s what was on the plate every time that my grandmother fed me (and my grandmother was an amazing cook). Whereas it may have seemed instinctive for my gran to do that, it was, in fact, hundreds of generations worth of my forebears that not only evolved to eat this way, but who had a closer (more communicative) relationship with their bodies that influenced these choices. When they ate this way, they felt better. When they had a craving for something, it was because their bodies were missing key nutrients from that food. They ate accordingly. They ate local foods because there was no other option. They ate seasonal foods for the same reason. Continued on next page. Nutrition Quarterly · 2020 – Volume 1 19 The Good Life