Getting back to our nice and good animal instinct

How does an animal living in the wild know what to eat? Some species learn partly by observing other members of the same species, however, a large part of every animal being able to meet it's nutrient needs on an ongoing basis is instinctual. Bears don't count calories to ensure they've stored enough fat for hibernation, they just know and so they eat and eat until they're ready to hibernate. 

You may be wondering how that can possibly relate to us as humans, who live in a modern world where hunting and gathering our food is basically never practiced, at least in most parts of the world? And where convenience and highly stimulating flavor combinations are the predominant drivers for many of our food choices? Well it's actually not at all your fault that you enjoy food that tastes good to you. And actually it is an evolutionary adaptation to have the foods that provide us with the most long term survival potential to be the foods that appeal most to our gustatory mechanisms... bring on the carbohydrates and salt, the fat, and the proteins. 

First you need to change your mind. You have grown up believing that consuming other animals and animal products is fine, you are not to blame, but emotionally at least on a subconscious level, humans feel guilty for eating other sentient beings.

Cravings are there for a reason. Would an animal want to eat, only to deny itself? Most animals eat only when they are truly hungry. So all you need to do to get back in touch with your body's innate sensor that will allow you to achieve optimal health and wellness is to eat whatever good vegan good food you crave.

True and lasting changes to neural pathways may take time. But in the end being totally free of disordered eating patterns is worth it. You're worth it. And for me, all my binging has stopped and it's only been a year. I honestly just don't feel like eating, which is something I don't think I could say at any other time in my life, and it's not that I'm depriving myself since I always eat when I do feel like eating, but I'm totally free of food's addictive pull and feel happier than ever.  

But what about nutrient needs you may wonder? And to be honest I wonder the same thing. Because I do fully believe that we, right from the time we are babies, innately know the nutrients that will provide us with what we need, so we will naturally be drawn to eating the types of foods that contain what we need, just like any other animal. As I mentioned before, I'm a recovering supplement addict also, so I am all too familiar with the feelings that are associated with taking supplements, because when you decide to spend money on yourself to improve your state of health, your state of wellbeing is instantly elevated. Even the thought of taking supplements would make me feel better about my health lol! But that would only be true for you if you believed the supplement was going to do you good. The approach I'm talking about reduces the need for supplementation since I believe that by learning to trust ourselves and eat what we are drawn to eat we will ingest all the nutrients our bodies need to be healthy, and that health problems are a result of a lack of loving and respecting your body by creating a disorder in your psychology by consuming guilty foods.

So then all that is needed to achieve optimal health and wellness is learning to trust yourself. So from now on you only eat vegan foods you want to eat, and you eat until you feel like stopping. A radical change for most people, but I encourage you to take a leap of faith in yourself, and to trust that deep down you would never want to do anything to harm your health, so whatever vegan food and in whatever quantity you want to eat, is ALWAYS the right thing. This is the compassionate approach. I also know that around the world eating any amount you want is not an option, so being used to a restricted amount of food can also be healthy. It is also the issue many poorer individuals do face. I have experienced some feelings of food scarcity, it is extremely challenging convincing yourself you have enough when it is hard to believe. So I am encouraging everyone to choose to donate to both local and global charities that support ending food insecurity and helping the entire world meet all their nutrient needs with healthy vegan foods :)