WHY???

Why Am I Doing this Any Way?

This was the first thought that came to my mind this morning.

I have struggled with my weight my entire life. I've been very (very) large, and quite thin - and everything in between. In past efforts, I've pretty much focused on weight loss.

And my weight loss plan usually went like this:
Join Weight Watchers. Stick to the program for awhile. Eat smaller portions of the junk I love. Throw in a few extra veggies and fruits. Exercise here and there. Have some success. Get a little cocky. Start eating bigger portions. Start "taking off weekends" from the plan. Stop going to meetings. Gain it all back.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

But something happened to me at the beginning of my 39th year. That something was the idea of being unfit, unhealthy and 40 years old. I wasn't ready to throw on a pair of give-up-on-life pants (sweatpants) and call it a day. I wanted to lose weight, get fit, and be healthy - for myself and my family.

I started my usual plan mentioned above because honestly, it's the only plan I ever had. I lost 75 lbs and then started sliding. The big difference this time was that I started to run in August 2011. THANK GOD for this amazing, life-changing discovery. Truly, it is what changed everything. I learned how amazingly forgiving my self-abused body was. I learned that I was capable of being strong and determined. And it made me hunger for MORE - an even healthier lifestyle.

I started to read about the real food movement. I started to learn more about all the "food-like" manufactured and processed substances we are putting in our bodies, and how those things are designed to create emotional and physical dependency. No wonder I always failed. The manufactured western diet is actually designed to make us fail, crave more, buy more.

So, this is really about breaking those addictions, and learning to appreciate and crave real food.

Some of the sources that have educated and inspired me:

1)“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

― Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto

 

 In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto is a great place to start.  

 

Pollan's  Food Rules is a great pocket-size book that gives you common sense "rules" about how to eat a clean, real food diet. Rules like:
Eat only foods that will eventually rotEat only foods that have been cooked by humansThe whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead

2). Food, Inc Only watch this movie if you really want to change your life.   You WILL want to change the way you eat after you watch it.  

3).  100 Days of Real FoodThis is the blog that made me believe that I could really do this. Real life, practical ways to start eating real food.