If you’ve ever felt frustrated that your body “pushes back” when you try to eat less, skip meals, or be more disciplined, you’re not imagining it.
That resistance is not weakness.
It’s biology — and it plays a vital role in longevity.
After 40, the body becomes more protective of its energy reserves, muscle mass, and metabolic stability. When food intake drops too low or becomes unpredictable, the body interprets this as a threat. In response, stress hormones such as cortisol rise to keep you functioning.
This survival response may help in the short term, but over time it comes at a cost. Elevated stress hormones disrupt blood sugar regulation, increase inflammation, impair sleep, and accelerate the very ageing processes many people are trying to avoid.
This is why restriction so often leads to constant hunger, cravings, fatigue, irritability, and rebound eating. The body is not sabotaging your efforts — it is protecting your healthspan.
In longevity-focused cultures, extreme restriction is notably absent. In places like Sardinia, food is consistent, nourishing, and socially shared. Meals are regular. Energy intake is steady. The body receives clear signals of safety, allowing it to prioritise repair, resilience, and long-term health.
Longevity is not built by eating less and asking more of the body.
It is built by eating enough, eating consistently, and supporting metabolic stability.
When the body feels safe, hunger settles, blood sugar stabilises, inflammation reduces, and energy becomes more reliable. These conditions allow the systems that support healthy ageing — muscle, hormones, immunity, and brain function — to do their work.
If your body resists restriction, it may be offering important information. Listening to that signal, rather than overriding it, is one of the most powerful longevity choices you can make.
If you would like personalised support to move away from restriction and towards a nutrition approach that stabilises blood sugar, supports energy, and protects longevity, I am currently welcoming a limited number of one-to-one clients. You are welcome to get in touch to explore whether this approach is right for you.
Warmly,
Milvia Pili
Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner
