About The Diet ...

(No that's not me! Image courtesy of Google Images!)

I have been putting off writing this post for way too long, trying to formulate in my mind exactly what I want it to be. Should I list the do's and don'ts I plan to follow? Should I go into detail about the lifestyle changes I want to make? Should I explain why I feel the need to eat the way I plan to eat?

Well, I should probably get all of that information down in writing to some degree but really it boils down to this: I want to be healthy. I want to lose weight. I want to feel good about myself. And I want to be fit (meaning I want my body to work the way it should -- without aches and pains during or after movement!)

So that about sums it up. Right now, I'm overweight. About 50 pounds overweight (as much as it just KILLS me to admit that.) I know that I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high liver enzyme levels (thanks to a really crummy SAD diet that is loaded with fat and toxins), and I'm bordering on having diabetes. Yup, I'm kind of out of whack. And I hate it. Hate it. HATE IT!!!

But happily, I know I can turn all this around. All of the health issues I am facing can be reversed and actually managed quite naturally if I change my diet and eating habits and start exercising. SOOOOO -- that's what I'm going to do.

So what's my "Plan"? I'm going to start eating real food. Mostly plants. Not too much. (Yes, I'm borrowing that from Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food and Food Rules ... a very wise man.) In addition to that I'm going to eliminate sugar from my diet (as much as possible anyway ... mostly I'm just planning to give up eating stuff like cookies, cake, and other just about every condiment going.

(Nope, not me either! Image courtesy of Google Images)

It means staying away from processed foods as much as possible. You know, all the stuff that comes in a box. The whites -- sugar, flour, pasta, rice, potatoes, salt.

I'm giving up dairy. And I plan to limit the fats I use to cook to olive oil.

As much as possible I plan to follow the guidelines promoted by Dr. Joel Fuhrman in his book Eat To Live, Mostly what I plan to eat are fruits, veggies, lean proteins (beans and some meat and eggs), and some whole grains. That's about it.

As for exercise -- well, yeah. I need some. Daily. Since I'm not much for going to a gym and putting myself on display for all the world to see when I look my absolute worst, I'm opting for the home gym routine. I have a treadmill (albeit, a dusty one!) and an elliptical machine. I have an area set up in our basement that has a TV with a DVD player and VCR so I can exercise along with Leslie Sansone's Walk Away The Pounds routines. I also have some hand weights and a rebounder. So I think if I can just get myself down there once or twice a day, I've got the exercise covered. (I will admit though -- I like to get outside and walk too and I have aspirations of becoming a runner. Someday. Someday. But I digress.)

(Maybe someday this will be me ... Image courtesy of Google Images)

So that's my plan. Eat nutritionally dense food, Stay away from the processed "white" stuff. And exercise. I would love to be at my goal weight by my birthday at the end of February, so I have that timeline kind of wedged in the back of my mind, but I figure I'm in this for the long run. Even after I reach my goals, I'm going to continue on with leading a healthy lifestyle so it really doesn't matter. I know my weight, health, and fitness levels will all get to where they are meant to be if I just stick with it.

I'm planning to share my progress. And recipes. And frustrations (which are sure to come.) And I would love some encouragement! Support is so important!

There it is.