Food Freedom Day 267 Health Followup

Hello everyone!
This is a followup to my recent post where I expressed some concerns about my health.
I truly appreciate all of your responses and concerns and feel that you deserve a response. I also feel that I need to clear some things up.

First, I don’t make important and longterm life decisions in a matter of days, weeks or even months. I make these decisions based on years of intentional thinking. I have written on my acceptance of death and my impermanence many times over the last five years. My blog “On health insurance, age and death” published in 2015 is a worthwhile read on this topic.

Some people think that I am making my decision to continue with “ impaired judgement” and that I am “no longer able to evaluate my health objectively”. My thoughts are not different than they were during the year of preparation for this project. There have been no large changes in philosophy or thought patterns since I began this project. I did say that “I’ve felt some fogginess in my brain, some slowness.” The key word is SOME. It is not a daily occurrence. Occasional or infrequent would be accurate words to describe what I meant to say. I explained that I am not getting enough fat or protein. A key word is ENOUGH. I didn’t say NONE. Fish, coconuts, beans, avocados, some nuts and high protein greens and vegetables make up most of my protein and fat. I am not starving of fat and protein, just somewhat deficient.

I am not continuing this out of stubbornness. I can definitely be a stubborn person, but this is far more than that. I have many reasons to do this and they are reasons worth sticking to. Some have asked for a refresher on why I’m doing this. You can read that here.

I am indeed trying to prove to myself that I can do this but I am not afraid to admit failure. If I stopped today I’d already consider this a successful project. I wouldn’t have completed the goal, but I would be no less a complete human being, and only more complete than the day I began.

I am not doing this out of ego. Again, I already consider this a success and I know most of you do too. It wouldn’t be a hit to my ego to stop today, partly because I would be exalted for the success I’ve had, not considered a failure for not completing it. In fact a large number of people would likely prefer me to stop now. More importantly though, I just don’t operate largely based on ego. It is there, but it is not my overriding reason for action.

I am not a martyr. The word martyr is defined as “a person who sacrifices something of great value and especially life itself for the sake of principle.” I am no sacrificing much at all. I have learned that the more that I “give up” the more that I receive. I am not even selfless. I am a very complete, happy and healthy human living the life that I want. This is not the work of a martyr.

On that note, I am absolutely not dying. I said, “I have lived a long and good life already at the age of 32.” I didn’t say I’m ending it now. I would not die for this project. I absolutely would die for the purpose greater than myself, but this project is just a small piece of the puzzle that is my life’s work. Any worry of my dying due to a small lacking of fat and protein is highly unfounded and based on emotion. Many responded along the lines of, “you are still needed here to help others”. Yes, and here I will still be.

I am not a super human. Some people make comments referring to me as so. But I have no delusions of this.

Yes, I’ve seen and talked to a nutritionist. Neither of us believe that my current food intake is perfectly balanced, but we don’t believe that I’m in danger. I am getting plenty of food and I have a highly nutrient rich and diverse diet. Again, I have lost a negligible amount of weight. I just don’t have a perfect balance. I know what needs to be done and I’m working on it. That’s exactly the experience of this immersion.

It is so common for people to take in a very small amount of information and extrapolate out to make up their own mind on something. Sometimes this produces an accurate finding, but usually it results in large inaccuracies. That is what I see happening often when I write. I tend to have to write in short form for social media, so I can’t explain my whole situation in detail and I see from comments that people don’t take the time to check previous posts, or my long detailed blogs before coming up with their own opinion. Also, it is not accurate to compare photos on my social media over time because I often post photos out of order and the quality of the photography can completely change ones appearance.

In regards to the many suggestions… I’ve learned a lot from people’s suggestions and I appreciate them. One important thing to keep in mind with this project is that it’s not a matter of if something is possible. It’s a matter of doing it. Theory and reality are two very different things. Stringing it all together to growing and foraging 100% of ones food is a theory that few, if anyone, reading this have put to test. That’s what I’m doing and I’m succeeding for the most part.

I was a semi-expert fisherman in the past, but fishing for sustenance has been different. Yes, avocados and nuts have fat. Yes, I could raise chickens for eggs. Yes, eating insects is a possibility. Yes, I can hunt. Yes, all of these are options. I’m growing and foraging 100% of my food. The salt, the oil, the calories, the fat, the vitamins and minerals, the protein, every last bit. It’s all easy in theory and on its own but stringing it all together is exactly what I’m seeing if I can do.

I believe that I am seeing a dip to my health right now, but that I will overcome this dip. Today is day 267 of the year. I have a high level of confidence that I am going to pull through in the 98 days to come and finish this project off healthier than I started. I will get tested at the end of the year and compare the tests to the results from my day 1 tests. Whatever the results are, I will be transparent and admit if I was wrong.

I take it very seriously that many people look up to me and admire me. I’m careful to share accurate information with people and not lead people astray. I’m not suggesting anyone embark on this extreme project. I’m simply encouraging people to investigate where their food comes from, and if it turns out they don’t like what they find, to take the steps to remedy that. I want to inspire people to grow some of their own food, to learn the plants of the land they reside on, to support local food growers and to pursue a life that is in balance with our home and all the species we share our home with.

I love and appreciate you all very much. You don’t have to worry about me. You may not all see the bigger picture in my limited writing on social media, but the bigger picture is all here.
Love,
Robin