Day 2: Protein First (Why Clean Eating Starts Here)

rusticrootsheritag
Jan 1
2 min read

If you’ve ever tried to “eat clean” and still found yourself hungry an hour later, craving snacks, or feeling like your energy crashed halfway through the day — this isn’t a willpower problem.

It’s a protein problem.

But it’s also a nutrient problem.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to eat better is starting meals with carbs or eating foods that look healthy but are nutritionally empty. Toast, cereal, oatmeal, smoothies, and ultra-processed “health foods” might fill your stomach, but they don’t actually nourish your body.

And when your body doesn’t get what it needs, it keeps asking for more.

The Rule for Day 2

Start every meal with protein. Add everything else after.

That’s it. One simple rule.

Protein helps stabilize blood sugar, reduce cravings, and keep you feeling full longer. When your body gets what it needs first, everything else becomes easier — including saying no to foods that don’t serve you.

Why You’re Still Hungry After Eating

Here’s the part most people never hear:

Modern food is often nutrient absent, even when calories are high.

Our soils have been depleted through decades of chemical farming, monocropping, and synthetic fertilizers. When soil is dead, plants are weaker. When plants are weaker, animals fed those plants are less nutrient-dense. And when food lacks minerals, amino acids, and fat-soluble vitamins, your body never reaches true satiety.

So you eat. And eat again. And still feel hungry.

That hunger isn’t greed. It’s your body asking for nutrition it didn’t receive.

Protein from animals raised on healthy pasture — paired with real fats and whole foods — signals safety and abundance to the body. That’s when cravings quiet down and energy stabilizes.

What “Protein First” Looks Like in Real Life

This doesn’t have to be complicated or fancy.

Breakfast: Eggs (any style), leftover meat, or an egg-and-vegetable scramble
Lunch: Chicken, beef, lamb, or fish with vegetables and healthy fats
Dinner: A solid portion of meat paired with vegetables and optional carbs

Notice what’s missing? No macro counting. No measuring. No eliminating entire food groups.

This isn’t keto.

This isn’t carnivore.

And carbs are not the enemy.

We’re simply restoring the foundation.

This Is Bigger Than a Diet

What we’re really talking about is health sovereignty — understanding where your food comes from, how it’s raised, and why your body responds differently to real food versus industrial food.

That’s the heart behind the Sovereign Health Summit.

Health doesn’t start in a pill bottle or a doctor’s office. It starts in the soil, moves through the food, and ends in the body. When we reconnect those dots — soil to plant, plant to animal, animal to human — real healing becomes possible.

This challenge is a small, practical step in that direction.