Last month I made the case that summer quietly changes your biology. The heat shifts your appetite. Your body naturally reaches for lighter foods. I suggested that instead of resisting that seasonal rhythm, we should lean into it. Summer, I argued, is one of the easiest times of the year to build new food habits because your body has already cracked the door open.
Now I’d like to push that idea a little further.
Because what you put on your plate this July isn’t just lunch. It’s information.
One of the privileges of working at The UltraWellness Center is being surrounded by people who have spent decades asking a deceptively simple question:
What if food could change the trajectory of health?
Our founder, Dr. Mark Hyman, has spent more than twenty years writing about this question through books like UltraMetabolism, The UltraSimple Diet, The UltraMind Solution, The Blood Sugar Solution, Food: What the Heck Should I Eat?, and most recently Food Fix Uncensored. While each book tackles a different aspect of health, together they tell one remarkably consistent story.
Your body is listening to every bite you take. That may sound dramatic, but biology agrees. Every meal sends thousands of tiny messages throughout your body. Your immune system pays attention. Your hormones pay attention. Your gut bacteria certainly pay attention. Even your brain joins the conversation. Long before your taste buds have forgotten lunch, your cells are deciding whether today’s menu promoted healing…or inflammation.
Kind of makes that afternoon bag of chips feel like it has a bigger job decision, than a grab and go. For many years nutrition was reduced to a math problem.
- Calories in.
- Calories out.
- Eat less.
- Move more.
We all want easy solutions and if only it was simply SIMPLE. If you’ve ever wondered why two people can eat the exact same meal and experience completely different energy levels, blood sugars, hunger, or weight changes, welcome to modern nutrition science. Your metabolism isn’t a calculator. It’s more like the conductor of a very large orchestra. Hormones, sleep, stress, gut microbes, inflammation, movement, genetics, and food quality are all playing instruments. When they’re in sync, you feel remarkably good. When they’re not…well…that’s when life starts sounding like a middle school band rehearsal.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as a health coach is this:
- People rarely fail because they lack information.
- They fail because they’re trying to change everything at once.
That’s why I loved writing last month’s blog about summer habits.
Nature is already making one part easier. Salads suddenly sound appealing. Watermelon somehow tastes better than cookies. Grilled vegetables become exciting again. Nobody has ever posted a picture of beef stew on the Fourth of July and said, “Living my best life.” Your biology is working with you. Take advantage of it.
Here’s another shift that Dr. Hyman’s work has consistently highlighted over the years. The question isn’t simply, “What shouldn’t I eat? “A much better question is:
“What can I add?”
- Can you add another colorful vegetable today?
- Can you add healthy fats that help you stay satisfied?
- Can you add more fiber so your gut microbes throw you a little thank-you party?
- Can you add enough protein so you aren’t prowling through the pantry at 8:30 tonight wondering why the crackers are calling your name?
Notice I didn’t say perfect. I said better. As coaches, we know sustainable change almost never arrives through dramatic overhauls. It comes through repetition. Tiny decisions. Daily votes.
- Every breakfast is a vote.
- Every grocery trip is a vote.
- Every time you choose water instead of another sugary drink, you’re casting another vote.
- Eventually those votes become habits.
- Then those habits become your lifestyle.
One of my favorite ideas from Dr. Hyman’s work is that food isn’t simply fuel. It’s instruction. Food tells your body whether to store fat or burn it. Whether to calm inflammation or fuel it. Whether to stabilize blood sugar or send it on another roller coaster. Whether your brain feels sharp this afternoon or foggy enough to forget why you walked into the kitchen in the first place.
(Although, to be fair, some of us walk into the kitchen and forget because we were distracted by the dog.) The point is this: Nutrition isn’t punishment. It’s communication and your body is an excellent listener.
So where do we begin? Not with perfection .Not with another Monday morning promise that somehow evaporates by Wednesday afternoon.
- Start with one meal.
- Maybe breakfast.
- Maybe lunch.
Build one plate that looks alive. Colorful vegetables. Good protein. Healthy fat. Something that grew from the ground rather than a factory. Repeat it often enough that it becomes wonderfully boring. That’s actually the goal. The healthiest habits eventually become the least interesting because they simply become who you are.
Last month your body opened the door. This month your plate gets to walk through it.
- One meal.
- One habit.
- One summer.
- One small step at a time.
Because the remarkable thing about nutrition isn’t that one healthy meal changes your life. It’s that hundreds of ordinary meals eventually do.
