The lesson of the cold
Living in a harsh climate, where the wind whistles between the timbers and where the sun hides for weeks, means organizing one's forces with an almost military economy. Food cannot be mere entertainment or fleeting pleasure; it must support long efforts, constant vigilance, thermal resistance. The resulting dietary logic is disarmingly simple: favor foods that provide stable, dense energy — proteins and fats — and drastically limit intakes that cause exhausting energy highs and lows. It's a question of vital functionality much more than nutritional dogma.
The frost crunches beneath my feet. My breath forms white clouds. I feel the strength of this morning's meal still within me.
Lasting satiety has profound social implications: it allows you to go through entire working days without weakening, to be truly present for your family, and not to depend on quick and often mediocre recovery foods. In this sense, our Polish culinary tradition is an intimate and intelligent response to the environment in which we live. Reducing fast sugars simply means reducing energy interruptions and gaining mental consistency. It's allowing yourself the luxury of no longer being a slave to your hunger every three hours.
I remember the winters when we only came home for dinner. We were holding on to a piece of meat and a lot of fat. No one complained of fatigue.
Choices that protect and stabilize
High-quality fats and complete proteins are excellent carriers of satiety, the best that nature offers us. They slow the absorption of nutrients, maintain the body's internal temperature and promote a state of metabolic calm where hunger no longer interrupts daily life. Taste and comfort are never sacrificed on the altar of performance: we find in the rich texture, in the necessary chewing and in the diffuse heat of the dish a form of deep pleasure which supports the body without ever harming its stability. It is a reconciliation between pleasure and need.
Thus, entering into the idea of lasting satiety means accepting another temporality of the meal: fewer nervous oscillations, more serene constancy. For me, this is one of the major keys to health in cold regions: a meal that lasts for the body, soothed digestion that does not use up all the available energy, balanced vitality throughout the day. It is a form of freedom rediscovered in the face of the demands of rapid consumption.
Tradition, science and inner peace
What I observe today, in reading recent research and talking with those who study these metabolic questions, is that science is finally beginning to confirm what our ancestors knew purely empirically: prolonged satiety promotes intellectual focus, reduces impulsive behaviors linked to sugar crashes, and allows for better regulation of overall energy. Fats and proteins are not enemies to fight; these are the essential pillars of a diet that respects human biology.
The relationship with the northern climate also means accepting that long, cold weather requires particular patience — in cooking food slowly, in thinking about what we put on our plate, in understanding what really nourishes us beyond calories. People who grow up in these landscapes naturally learn to value duration over immediacy. It is a school of life.
I also noticed that when people switch to a diet based on this lasting satiety (less carbohydrates, more good fats and proteins), their relationship to different times of the day changes radically. There is less frenzy, less energy crisis management at 11 a.m. or 4 p.m. The mind can finally focus on complex creative or intellectual tasks, rather than being constantly parasitized by the search for the next sugary boost. It’s a cognitive liberation.
The silence of falling snow. The calm of my stomach. Everything is in order.
Finally, understanding that the climate shapes our best eating habits means finding a profound peace: that of knowing that we do not have to fight our heritage or our environment to be in good health. On the contrary, rediscovering them and slightly readjusting them for our current living conditions is a form of practical wisdom. It's living in your body as you live in your house: with care, respect and foresight.
I look out the window at the white landscape. I feel strong, anchored, nourished by a tradition that has understood the essentials. Tomorrow will be cold, but my energy will be unwavering.
Satiety is a state of mind as much as a state of the body.
