I Ate Meat For The First Time In 5 Years. Here's What Happened To My Body

Even though everyone's body is so different, there are a few things I have learned about my relationship with food and my body over the last few weeks.

Yup, you read that right. Your body is AMAZING. It is the machine that runs your life. Our bodies are sacred and they know what they need. My body physically told me to start eating meat again, which is why I did. My husband wanted to try bone broth and after seeing him drink it several times, my interest peaked. I tried beef and chicken bone broth from Boneafide Provisions and began drinking it every few days. A couple of weeks after that, I was making him dinner and the smell of a beef Bolognese smelled amazing to me. I felt my body telling, "Eat that...see what happens." And while I didn't try that Bolognese (yet), I did make myself almond flour chicken tenders the next day, and I was back in meat-eating action.

I've heard that every seven years our allergies and/or taste buds can change. I never really believed that until recently when I started craving things I have never liked before. Roasted carrots and cauliflower for example—I never enjoyed eating them at all, and now I can't go more than a couple of days without them. And lamb? Never in my life have I craved lamb, and now homemade lamb burgers are my new weekly staple. Just because you didn't enjoy eating a specific food one or three or even 10 years ago doesn't mean you won't enjoy it now.

Have you ever finished eating dinner and dessert and still felt hungry? Yeah...me too. In fact, I used to feel this every single day, even after eating a huge bowl of veggies, chickpea pasta, or another veggie-based dish followed by some chocolate or a couple of healthy cookies for dessert. I know it is OK to be hungry once in a while before bed, but there is no reason to be hungry or not satisfied after eating dinner and dessert. Ever since I started eating meat, I am satisfied and full through the night. I obviously still have my dessert (a girl needs her brownies) but I don't feel the need to eat again an hour later. The protein from the turkey burger or chicken keeps me going.

I'm not going to go off on a tangent here about female hormones (although I could talk about it for hours), but after reading Alisa Vitti's Woman Code (4x in a month), I learned how closely synced our hormones are with our lifestyle and the foods we eat each and every day. Not having the proper nutrients and vitamins can cause issues for us internally. This doesn't mean that everyone needs animal protein to keep their hormones in check, but if you are feeling off-balance at all, it is something to take into account.

So far, I have reintroduced chicken, turkey, beef, and lamb into my diet, and I have truly enjoyed every single one of them. My body has reacted well and is continuing to crave them each week. But there are definitely meats that I haven't had the urge to eat yet, like pork. Just because you are eating chicken, that doesn't mean you need to go nuts and eat every single meat imaginable. Eat what sounds good to you.

There is a reason why those "What I Eat In A Day" blog posts do so well. People are nosy and they want to know what other people are eating every day. I know I personally do. I love getting different ideas and inspiration from my friends and favorite bloggers. But that doesn't mean that what they are eating every single day is what I need to eat. Everyone's body is different and we have to remember that. It goes back to listening to your body.

When I took my first bite of chicken again, my husband anxiously watched me chew it to see what would happen. Would I turn green? Be hit with immediate stomach pain? We waited and...absolutely nothing happened. I chewed it slowly, swallowed and finished my whole meal. No stomachache, no weird aches and felt great the next day. It showed me how much my body really wanted meat again. It knew how to respond.

Remember, worry about your own body! Everyone else can worry about their own too.