When we first started “eating like hobbits,” it felt a little bit like a quirky experiment.

Inspired by that earlier season of change I wrote about in “Elevenses, Luncheon, and a Healthier Us: How Eating Like a Hobbit Changed Our Lives,” we shifted from skipping meals and grabbing whatever was convenient to building our days around intentional, balanced, cozy little feasts. We leaned into second breakfasts, real lunches, and snacks that felt more like tiny celebrations than guilty secrets.

What surprised us most back then was how quickly our bodies responded: more energy, fewer crashes, and a general sense that we were finally working with our bodies instead of against them.

Now some time has passed, and I thought it was a good moment for a follow-up, because the experiment didn’t fizzle out.

We kept going.
We kept eating better.
And our health has kept getting better, too.

At some point, “eating better” stopped feeling like a project and started feeling like just… life.

The Hobbit-inspired structure we fell in love with, regular meals, nourishing foods, and not waiting until we were about to faint to eat, became our new normal. We still joke about elevenses and luncheon, but behind the playfulness, there’s something very real: we’re more intentional and kinder to our bodies than we used to be.

And we’ve got some very real, very tangible results to show for it.

Both my husband and I have dropped a few pant sizes since we started this journey. It wasn’t overnight, and it wasn’t about crash dieting or obsessing over the scale. It was slow and steady, clothes fitting more comfortably, belts tightening a notch, and that surreal moment of realizing, “Hey, I think I need a smaller size.”

Even better? Our lab numbers have improved right along with our waistlines.

Those once-intimidating bloodwork results now look a whole lot friendlier. Things like cholesterol, blood sugar, and other key markers have moved in the right direction. Our doctor has been genuinely pleased with the progress, and there’s something incredibly empowering about seeing those changes in black and white. It’s reassurance that all the small daily choices are adding up to something bigger.

Here’s what else has changed as we’ve stayed dedicated to this path:

• Our energy levels are much more steady throughout the day. No more dramatic mid-afternoon slumps that make everything feel harder than it should be.
• We’ve both noticed improved digestion, less bloating, fewer “mystery” stomach issues, and a general feeling of lightness instead of heaviness after meals.
• Our sleep has gotten better. Eating earlier, more balanced meals means we’re not going to bed feeling overly full or underfed. We drift off easier and wake up feeling more rested.

And while the pant sizes and lab numbers are wonderful, they’re really just physical proof of something deeper: we’ve built a way of eating that actually supports the kind of life we want to live.

We’ve also become a lot more intentional about what we eat, not just when we eat. We’re still not food saints, we have days of “whatever, that frozen pizza is going in the oven”, but those days used to be the rule. Now they’re the exception.

A few small things have helped us stay on track:

• Planning simple, realistic meals instead of imagining we’ll magically want to cook a five-course feast on a Tuesday night.
• Keeping grab-and-go healthy options around, yogurt, nuts, hummus, pre-washed veggies, fruit, so we have a middle ground between “cook from scratch” and “drive-thru.”
• Allowing ourselves grace. One off day doesn’t ruin anything. We just pick back up at the next meal.

The difference now is that going back to our routine feels natural, not like “starting over.” It’s just what we do. Health-wise, the long game is where the magic really shows.

It’s not just that we feel better in the moment (though we do). It’s knowing that each day of better choices stacks up, little by little, into something bigger:

• Fewer days where we feel drained and foggy.
• More days where we feel capable, energized, and present.
• More confidence that we’re supporting our bodies for the long term.

We’re still very much works in progress. There are goals we haven’t reached yet and habits we’re still building. But the direction? It’s good. And that feels incredibly encouraging.

Most of all, this continued journey has reminded us that change doesn’t have to be dramatic to be powerful. We may not live in the Shire, but a little bit of that hobbit wisdom has definitely burrowed its way into our kitchen, and our hearts.