Settling In.

Here in Northwest Ohio winter has finally arrived (although I was OK with it staying away) and we're settling in for the duration. I'm also settling into my new eating routine.

Someone asked me today what 'plan' I was on. I replied "My own". Being the rebellious type I know myself to be, to attempt to follow a plan that someone else developed would be setting myself up for failure. I did do my homework though. I recently read "Eat To Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman and "Food Rules" by Michael Pollan. Much of what they had to say made sense to me. One of the points that the good doctor put forth is that we here in America are getting obese, spending too much of our income on healthcare and dying sooner than we should largely because of our lifestyle. I can't speak for everyone, but when I stopped and took a good hard look at myself, I saw that my highly processed convenience food diet and the 'stress level' in my life were killing me. My goal is to improve both.

I'm starting by cutting WAAAAAAAY back on the amount of 'fast food' I consume and replacing it with things my great-grandmother would recognize as food (i.e. fresh veggies and fruits) ala Pollan. I'm also pleased to report that I've avoided the office candy dish and 'celebration donuts' all year (I know it's only been 2 weeks but this is a BIG accomplishment for me).

I also have to give credit where credit is due here. I COULD NOT be accomplishing this without the direct support of The Princess who pre-prepares almost all my breakfasts and lunches (even though I've never asked her to). Even as I type this she's in the kitchen cutting up the green bell peppers that have replaced candy bars as my work snacks. I've added a 'ticker' to the header of this blog so you all can see how I'm doing with the weight loss portion of my plan.

In the meantime I'll see you all on the #twitterdiet chat session on Twitter every Sunday & Thursday night from 8 to 9.