Truisms: Approaching a "No Diet" Diet

Well, maybe I wouldn't go THAT far....

There are certain truisms emerging after writing this blog for 2+ years, so this post might bore the 2 or 3 of you who've been reading it religiously. When you start believing something as true that shapes  your world, you start seeing it everywhere, but it's eery when articles in the media direct address it in the span of a week or so.

This past week, yet another signpost that in the battle to lose weight, forget about exercise.

A 2011 meta-analysis, a study of studies, looked at the relationship between physical activity and fat mass in children, and found that being active is probably not the key determinant in whether a child is at an unhealthy weight. In the adult population, interventional studies have difficulty showing that a physically active person is less likely to gain excess weight than a sedentary person. Further, studies of energy balance, and there are many of them, show that total energy expenditure and physical activity levels in developing and industrialized countries are similar, making activity and exercise unlikely to be the cause of differing obesity rates.
Moreover, exercise increases one’s appetite. After all, when you burn off calories being active, your body will often signal you to replace them. Research confirms this. A 2012 systematic review of studies that looked at how people complied with exercise programs showed that over time, people wound up burning less energy with exercise than predicted and also increasing their caloric intake.

I would never tell anyone not to exercise -- my exercise regime of bicycling and weight lifting is key to retaining sane, happy, focused, productive and communicative with those I love....but it doesn't help me lose weight. For many years a good friend would ask, "You ride you bike so damn much, why you still so fat?" Because it's about eating less and better, not doing more. Consume and spend less: less on food, and no need to waste your time in gyms and running around in circles.

I had to dig unspeakably far through Google Image Search for a "Fat Racist" to find this image.

Oddly related to fighting consumerism to aid in weight loss and public health, the recent racist mass-murder  in South Carolina saw an interesting response that neither blames racism or gun culture directly, but anti-intellectualism that allows simplistic, fearful thought to grow and discourages the shame that should be applied to those who espouse fundamentalist views in public and in politics.

Corporate influence on climate and environmental policy, meanwhile, is simply more evidence of anti-intellectualism in action, for corporate domination of American society is another result of a public that is not thinking critically. Americans have allowed their democracy to slip away, their culture overtaken by enormous corporations that effectively control both the governmental apparatus and the media, thus shaping life around materialism and consumption.

The drive to eat more is profitable. Offering any solution other than eating less is profitable. Reason and truth that contradicts the drive to eat more is unprofitable. Anti-intellectualism is the solution to keep the stock price high. Who care if a few eggs, or church goers, or entire classes of little kids, get broken in the process?

But to get back on track, as we're not trying to solve all of the world's ills, but just lose some weight and keep it off. So truisms so far:

• Eat less to lose weight, exercise for other reasons.
• Capitalism will do anything to make you eat more.

and thirdly,

• Diets don't work.

Diets don't work for a variety of reasons, from biology to psychology. Mann points the finger, first and foremost, at human biology. "Genes," she writes, "play an indisputable role in regulating an individual's weight: Most of us have a genetically set weight range. When we try to live above or below that range, our body struggles mightily to adapt."
Second to biology, Mann blames a combination of neuroscience and psychology. Our brains are hard-wired to want food for survival, she explains, so restricting calories creates a psychological stress response, which facilitates weight gain, not loss. Also, she adds: "Studies show that willpower, the thing we all blame ourselves for not having enough of, is in many ways a mythical quality and certainly not something that can be relied upon for weight loss."

Books about a "no diet" diet address the question I occasionally get asked as I've maintained a significant weight loss for a few years now: "How did you do it?" Modern "diets" that are published in books with snappy hooks don't really answer it other than "stay forever uncomfortable on this cockamamie scheme we put on you." Eat cabbage soup for 2 meals a day for the rest of your life? Pretend to eat like a caveman? Cut out all carbs/fat/protein/food of a certain color/randomly chosen villain? Balderdash.

You just have to work with the biology, psychology and resources you're given. Anti-intellectual magical thinking will profit someone other than yourself, and will literally and figuratively keep you on a treadmill to prevent you from actually becoming engaged in life in a meaningful way, but it won't help you lose weight and keep it off.
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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2720
Very much an up and down week, a lot going on.

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MONDAY COUNT: 3550

SLEPT: 11pm-6:30am, 7.5 hrs
Hungry -- probably still in calorie deficit from the 100 miles I rode yesterday.

AM SNACK: 6:45 am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST 1: 9am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:45am, steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, sardines and avocado on whole wheat toast, health salad, pickles, momma salad, chests, 1010 cal

PM SNACK: 5pm, ice cream sandwich, 430 cal

DINNER: 7pm, mahi mahi, asparagus, poppa salad with dressing, 600 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7:30pm, popcorn, +/- 400 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, 3 kid granola bars, one kind bar, 500 cal
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RIDE CREDIT: 740 cal
TUESDAY COUNT: 2925

SLEPT: 9:30pm- 5:30am, 8hrs

AM SNACK: 5:45 am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 9am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, Greek yogurt with honey, almonds, vanilla, 450 cal  

BIKE SNACK: 2pm, homemade granola bar, 290 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

DINNER pt 1: 5:15pm, poppa salad, dressing, veggie straws, 330 cal

EVENING SNACK: 5:45pm kind bar, 200 cal

DINNER pt2: 8pm, Chipotle burrito, chips & salsa, ice cream 1925 cal
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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2970

SLEPT: 9:30pm - 12:30am, 3 hrs

AM SNACK: 4am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST 1: 9:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST: 10am, steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken meatballs, lentil curry, steamed string beans, pickles,  650 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30pm, momma salad, cheezit, 310 cal

PM SNACK: 5pm, poppa salad with dressing, 200 cal

PM SNACK: 6pm, slice of streetza, +/- 300 cal

DINNER: 8pm, burger, fries, oysters, sticky bun, water, +/- 900 cal
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THURSDAY COUNT: 2660

SLEPT: 10pm-6:30am, 8.5 hours

AM SNACK: 7am, iced green tea, 

BREAKFAST 1: 10:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST: 1:45pm, Fage yogurt with honey, almonds, vanilla, 450 cal

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, momma salad, cheezits, 410 cal

DINNER: 7pm, stuffers french bread pizzas, poppa salad with dressing, flourless chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream, +/-1640 cal

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BIKE CREDIT: 715 cal
FRIDAY COUNT: 1495

SLEPT: 9pm-12:30am, 3am-5:30am, 6 hours

AM SNACK: 6am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST 1: 10am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11am, Fage yogurt with honey, almonds, vanilla, 450 cal

BIKE SNACK: 2pm, homemade granola bar, 290 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad and cheezits, 310 cal

DINNER: 7pm, mussels over pasta in wine and oil, ice cream and flourless chocolate cake, glass of wine, +/- 1000 cal

Diet as Religion

Pray to Vegetable Jesus...

Food, shelter, companionship: there's not much more that we truly need. Some would throw in "God" or "religion" in the mix, but that would be like confusing software (content) with hardware (framing device). The need for grub, a roof and sex are all innate drives within us necessary for the continuation of the human race, and religion is one way to make sense of what otherwise can seem completely without order, meaning or pattern.

Recording my food logs that follow these entries every week is something of a ritual -- ritual: the foundation of any religion that creates a feeling of order and security. There is comfort in the repetition, in hopes that loyalty to this thoughtful "prayer" will lead me to self-improvement and improvement of that which is around me. So it is with little surprise that a professor of religious studies finally got around to just saying it: most cockamamie diets being pimped these days require the faith of religiosity, because they're not based in the reality of science. (Bolding mine.)

Religion helps people make sense of a chaotic world: Suddenly, there is order, and there are instructions. All you have to do is follow them. “You have a certainty about the choices you make,” Levinovitz said. “That gives you a way to make decisions, and it makes for a comforting world.” Likewise, nutrition science is a chaotic discipline. Eggs are bad for you until they’re not; MSG is a dangerous food additive until it’s not. It’s understandable why people would pick a way of eating and then stick to their guns; it gives them some solid ground to stand on amid ever-shifting recommendations.

But what about when diets aren’t comforting? Many of them, after all, suggest worlds in which modern life is overflowing with toxins, even in safe-seeming foods — shouldn’t these beliefs be aversive rather than attractive? Not so, said Levinovitz. He used the Food Babe, the very popular food blogger who sees terrifying chemicals everywhere — and who is frequently wrong in her doomsaying — as an example. “One thing I realized — why would you want to live in a world filled with toxins? Why would you follow the Food Babe — isn’t that a terrifying world to live in?” Levinovitz said. You could easily make the same statement about religion: Why would you want to believe in a world where humans are inherently sinful creatures? The idea sounds upsetting from a nonreligious perspective. “But it’s not. It’s a comforting one … The only thing scarier than a world full of toxins is a world in which you don’t know what the toxins are.” If the choice is a nuanced, complicated understanding of the world that contains some uncertainty or a more clear-cut and sharply defined approach, the latter vision is often going to win out.

So beliefs that gluten is the devil, or carbs are the root of all problems, or if only we ate like cavemen did thousands of years ago, or whatever specious thought can pop into your head about food...they all can give focus and "answers" that the science and research can not. As long as you buy in, don't question too deeply, and "keep the faith", your answers will always be true.

Did Mary get pregnant without ever being touched? Did all those Genesis guys live to be 400? (No, not Tony and Phil, the biblical ones.) Is our guess at what a paleolithic diet really better than the modern diet, even though the lifespan was literally half of what it is today? Does food require moral judgement: is there inherently "good" food and "bad" food,  or is all food just different ratios of fat, protein, carbs and nutrients? With a smattering of contaminates?

One of my best friends in the world is a vegan, through and through, walks it and talks it. I enjoy observing her diet when dining with her, and on rare occasion cooking for her. Her food and her lifestyle and spirituality are so intertwined that I suspect she would not be offended by the idea of diet as religion. Diet is religion, and why wouldn't it be, as food is a key point where the world enters us and we become the world. Why not treat that world kindly as we want ourselves treated?

Why does this feel more like a defense of cannibalism?

As with religion, diet is a framework that is bendy enough that it can be used for good or evil. Good: saving the world. Bad: trying to look like an unrealistic role model for the sake of others. My dietary religion is not organized, published or followed by anyone other than myself -- I have a direct and personal connection to my diet god, no gatekeepers or priests or hucksters needed. My holy trinity:

1. Makes me feel better
2. Makes me look better
3. Supported by science

Another religiousy-feeling organzing concept in regards to food was popularized by Mark Bittman a few years back: Eat real food, mostly plants, not too much. The framing device I personally keep coming back to to help make sense of why our food supply has been seemingly degraded and making us fat and sick is quite simple: Capitalism's amoral drive for profit takes advantage of and amplifies the human's amoral drive for sensual pleasure, regardless of civic responsibility or consequence. Damn, I should write a book about that and start my own diet religion...Scientology will have nothin' on me...

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 3141
Good week. Eating neither slim nor out of control. A few weeks to the scale, to see if this is the way to go...

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MONDAY COUNT: 3550

SLEPT: 10pm - 4:45am, 6.75 hrs

AM SNACK: 5 am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, Fage with almonds honey, vanilla,  450 cal

LUNCH: noon, falafel, chicken soup, health salad, pickles, 610 cal

PM SNACK: 2pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, slice of pizza, +/- 300 cal

DINNER: 7pm, flounder, asparagus, poppa salad with dressing, 520 cal

EVENING SNACKS: 7:30pm, popcorn, +/- 400 cal

EVENING SNACKS: 8pm, peanut butter crackers, kind bar, chocolate chips and cashews, +/-  800 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2730

SLEPT: 9pm- 4:45am, 7.75hrs

AM SNACK: 5 am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, Steel cut oatmeal, 450 cal  

LUNCH: 2pm, chicken meatballs, curry lentils, steamed strignbeans, pickles, 620 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, 100 cal

DINNER: 7pm, grilled pork loin, poppa salad with dressing, 700cal

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, popcorn, kind bar, +/- 700 cal

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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 3050

SLEPT: 11pm-4:30am, 5.5hrs

AM SNACK: 4:45 am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST 1: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, Fage with almonds, honey, vanilla, 450 cal

LUNCH: 2pm, grilled pork loin, poppa salad with dressing, pickles, 720 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

PM SNACK: 5pm, cashews, 310 cal

DINNER: 7:30pm, chipotle burrito, ice cream, +/-1380
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THURSDAY COUNT: 3645

SLEPT: 10:30pm - 6:30am, 8 hr

AM SNACK: 7am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 7:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, steel cut oatmeal,  450 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, sauteed shrimp and mushrooms over poppa salad with dressing, pickles, 575 cal

PM SNACK: 2pm, Jamaican patties, 830 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad and cheezits, 310 cal

DINNER: 7:30pm, Stouffer's Frenchbread Pizzas, 820 cal

EVENING SNACKS: 8:30pm, chocolate chips & cashews, veggie straws, +/- 500 cal

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2730

SLEPT: 9pm-3:30am, 6.5 hours

AM SNACK: 4am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 7:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, fruit smoothie, 450 cal

LUNCH: 12:30pm, almond butter and grape jelly on whole wheat, slaw, pickles, 610 cal

PM SNACK: 2:15pm, momma salad and cheezits, 310 cal

PM SNACK: 3:15pm, slice of streetza, +/- 200 cal

DINNER: 5:15pm, hot dog, fries, ice cream, +/- 1000 cal

If food was money: Budget vs. Plan

You go on a diet. Money goes on a budget.

Budget is an ugly word. Remove a lower curve and a suspiciously French T and y'got 'Pudge'. There has been a lot of life changes the past three months that I've referred to obliquely, most of which are outside the scope of this blog. However, one of them is strangely simpatico with the rhythm and reasoning of what I write here.

I do not refer to the weekly emissions of blotivating and poorly researched "Google-thinkin'" essays about food, but the food diary I keep that follows below it. (I know, you don't read it, I don't blame you.) The purpose of writing it and putting it up to public consumption/ridicule is that it keeps me honest. It's easy to snarf down an extra thousand calories of chips here, an extra 800 calories of cookies there without thinking twice and forgetting it the next day. However, when you know whatever goes in your mouth has to be written down before its forgotten, then you think twice. And when you sit down at the end of the week to figure out your average calorie consumption, you reflect on what is good or bad about your habits, both food-wise and whatever triggered it.

The most boring plan ever.

"Budget" is harsh. It delimits what you can spend.  It's a negative, it implies going without. A budget is a diet, and we all know all diets either fail or become....an eating plan for life, forever more. "Plan"is kinder. It says what you plan to do, and allows for a certain flexibility. I've realized that while I've started with a calorie budget to force me to lose weight, it has been evolving to more of an eating plan where I use hard-earned wisdom in determining what (and how much) I consume. I guess that's why despite my regularly busting my calorie budget the last few months through the harsh winter, my weight has hovered stably.

Since the new year, I resolved to start treating my finances as an adult. Despite never really having any money issues up to this point, I do have young kids whose expenses are my expenses. Just as their existence has been inspiring me to get a grip on my health and fitness, it has also inspired me to take measures to make sure I can always provide for them, and provide well. Haughtily, I thought, I don't want to budget...hmmm, but can I plan?

Me, a few months ago.

There is a lot of apps out there to help people lose weight. I've experimented with "My Fitness Pal" and a few others, and found them all frustrating. Most foods aren't in there, or aren't particularly accurate. Calorie counting is such mushy science -- no one really agrees on the energy content of most foods, and I've just had to muddle through. Vibing the official calories crossed with reducing portion sizes, recalibrating macronutrients and food groups to trustworthy nutritional thinking and paying attention to how my body responds; all these factors just don't have an app yet that can handle them.

Magical Canadian Eyebrow Man & alternative nutrition guru: NOT a source of trustworthy nutritional thinking.

While a restaurant pizza's calorie value might be shrouded in mystery, how much your going to pay after tax and tip is not. Just as I've used this blog to manually record every thing I eat and it's caloric values, I've been using the software/app combo "You Need a Budget" to manually record every penny in and out, to get a clear picture of what my financial life is like. The clarity and good feelings I get from finally getting a handle on my eating has now bled over to my bills, statements and stubs (and soon several new accounts, insurance policies and maybe even a property). I don't quite have a budget so much as a clearer plan for spending, saving and goals. I feel very lucky to have figured this out without having an emergency prompt me, and it's the concept of a "calorie budget vs. eating plan" that brought me there.

I've lost 45 pounds so far over 2 years. It's taken some focused planning, educating, investing, moderation and trying new things. Before I tried, they idea of even bothering to try to lose weight seemed too big and overwhelming to even try. I was wrong. Will growing 45 pounds worth of savings and assets to appreciate now and pass along to my children be that much different?

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2602

Monday was a day on an airplane. Didn't record it as I was enjoying vacation-brain, but I did pull back on the eating, simply from a sense of responsibility and guilt.

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2155

SLEPT: 8pm-4am, 8 hrs
Jetlag coming back is easy to get over. Slept 8 hardcore hours of sleep, despite the usual wiggly toddler sleeping by my side.

AM SNACK: 4:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 8:45am, Fage whole yogurt with honey, vanilla and almonds, 285 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, falafel, chicken mushroom soup, health salad, pickles, 530cal

PM SNACK: 3 pm, momma salad, pistachios from Grazebox, 200 cal

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, poppa salad with bottled ranch dressing, 120 cal

DINNER: 6:30pm, whole wheat spagetti with homemade tomato sauce and grated cheese, broiled asparagus, 560 cal
Ran out of fish, need a Costco run desperately. Carb-heavy protein-light dinner sure, but it's not a new habit, and a nice departure from the regular that kept within budget.

EVENING SNACK: 7pm, cheetos, 300 cal

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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 3045

SLEPT: 9:15pm-4am, 6.75 hrs
Good day, but so hungry in the evening, real physical hunger, not from stress, or lack of sleep, or emotional turmoil. I think a resolution for next month is to measure these snacks properly, that'll probably shrink 'em. Don't think I should eliminate them, as they keep me sane, but they should stand up to scrutiny.

AM SNACK: 4:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, Steel cut oatmeal, 300 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken meatballs, steamed string beans, Madras lentils,pickles, 680 cal

PM SNACK: 3 pm, momma salad, with black pepper rice crackers from , 205 cal

PM SNACK: 5pm, poppa salad with  bottled ranch dressing,  120 cal

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, cashews, 330 cal

DINNER: 8:15pm, shirataki stir fry with shrimp, shitaki mushrooms and oyster sauce, 360 cal 

EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, cheetos, 300 cal

EVENING GORGE: 9pm, peanut butter & chocolate syrup, +/- 600 cal
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THURSDAY COUNT: 2420

SLEPT: 11pm-4am, 5 hrs
Good work out in the morning, felt strong. Nice dinner at a friend's house, worth the calories.

AM SNACK: 4:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am,  Fage whole yogurt with honey, vanilla and almonds, 285 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, tofu and grilled onions deglazed in wine with sirracha, quinoa, roasted brussels, pickles, 815 cal

PM SNACK: 3 pm, momma salad, with cheesy crackers from , 240 cal

PM SNACK: 5pm, poppa salad with  bottled ranch dressing,  120 cal

DINNER: 7:45pm, shrimp dumplings, pork & chive dumplings, scallion pancake, small slice of homemade poundcake, +/- 800 cal
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FRIDAY COUNT: 2790

SLEPT: 9:30pm-4am, 6.5 hrs
Woke up feeling pleasantly slightly sore from yesterday's lift. In honor of spring, washed all my windows inside and out before the sun came up.

AM SNACK: 4:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9am,  fruit smoothie, 400 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, almond butter & grape jelly on whole wheat, roasted brussels, pickles, 610 cal

PM SNACK: 3 pm, momma salad, with smokey crackers from graze box , 220 cal

DINNER 1: 5:30pm, 1 slice of pizza, a few bites of cake, +/- 400 cal

DINNER 2: 8pm, tasting menu at Le Cirque, no wine, +/- 1000 cal

How did I do it?

Fiddy Cent to star in the feature length Tyrone Bigguns movie!!

"How did you lose the weight?" I've heard this question a few times in the past few months. That is the wrong question. Within that question lies the path to gaining it all back and then some. The reason the weight-loss industry earns billions of dollars year after year after year is not because the people who buy into it lose weight, even though they do. They earn billions, rather than mere millions,  because the the customers/victims of the weight loss industry are put on a perpetual cycle of losing and gaining weight.

We need a new word, because "diet" ain't cutting it. On one hand, a diet is simply your way of eating. On the other hand, the word "diet" has come to mean a temporary proscribed way of eating and living to achieve a weight loss goal. When you're on the "diet", you lose weight. When you go back to your original diet after you meet your goal, you eventually balloon back to where you were, but probably heavier due to the tole of the whole process. This is insane. All "diets" are insane by design. Any "diet" that is not intended to be used as a model for eating and living until the day you die is a false diet, and hence gets the quotations.

"How did you lose the weight?" is wrong. "How are you losing weight/maintaining your weight loss?" is what we should be asking. I blame capitalism and the consumer culture of instant gratification.

I find most cooking shows, particularly competitions, dull and shrill, especially when they assume their audiences can't cook and have unsophisticated, childlike tastes. Still, it caught my ear when this bona-fide competition-winning media chef announced a new show, "Cook Your Ass Off". He himself lost around 50 lbs, and is now going to act within the framework of the same media that wants nothing more than you to endlessly consume and feed your desires....to be skinny?

Close buddies to the weight loss industry is the fitness industry. A while ago I wrote about the book "the 4 Hour Body" in which this guy wrote about you can get totally ripped by working out just 4 hours a week. In reality it was a book about starving yourself 6 days a week, then gorging yourself one day a week -- you didn't even really need to work out those 4 hours. Does it work? Probably. Can you do that for the rest of your life? I guess so, if you hate yourself and you hate all the people who you can potentially bond with over food. Y'know, like your family.

Over the past year, once I started showing a weight loss, I've been asked on occasion how I did it, and I'm usually finding myself at a loss for an answer. My fall-back answer is "read the blog".  A friend's husband keeps a weekly blog about an American President who died well over a hundred years ago -- what his bones are doing week to week nowadays I dunno, but several of his readers and friends have encouraged him to turn his writings into a book. Suffice to say, no one has suggested I turn this blog into a book, though Gawd knows there is a hell of a lot more money in "diet" books than a tome about a long dead, non-big-5 head of state.

Why can't I develop a million-selling diet "blook" from my weight loss success? Because I don't have an easy, pithy slogan that can answer a complex question. (Well, not honestly, anyway.) No one wants to hear that it's going to be slow, it's going to be hard and it's going to be forever. I make a reasonable living in a non-food-related industry, and have no urgent need to compel anyone to spend one more damn penny on anything that perpetuates the cycle of "diets". If you want to spend money to lose weight, this is my hard-earned advice:

1. Spend more money on good homecooked food by spending less in restaurants.
2. Spend a little on basic work out equipment like a set of weights and a weight bench, or a bicycle, and don't even bother with a gym. Use your weights and bike regularly.
3. If your not happy with how you eat, don't look to the weight loss industry. Eat more vegetables, whole fruit and less sugar and grains.
4. Finding you can't eat right, even though you know what right is? Go see a shrink who deals with eating issues. If you don't have insurance, go to an Over Eaters Anonymous meeting, as at it's core it's just free group therapy which you pay for by wading through some people who don't understand that religion and God-worshipping doesn't always go hand in hand with spirituality. 

It ain't easy, it can't be made into a zippy catchphrase, and to be honest, it's a plan cut to my size and specifications; you need to explore and figure out your own roadmap. Yes, you can figure out your own roadmap by trying others on for size, but don't be a zealot and don't be a dupe -- take what works, leave the rest behind.

Route 64's Food Roadmap....to Constipation Alley!

Two articles struck me this past week, as my head has been churning with the thoughts that came from discovering I gained a pound last month. They both suggested that people, taken as a whole, are stupid and insane. One was a bit about research that indicates the majority of American seek out food in grocery stores labelled "All Natural", despite the fact that the label is absolutely meaningless and not regulated. Arsenic and lead are all natural, as is high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oil and all the salt in the Dead Sea.

The other article was from a restaurant industry journal, which delivered the latest report in dining trends. There is a disturbing trend that people who are going to eat out less next year because....they want to eat healthier. This is the first time health became more of a concern than money.

Does this mean people actually value their health more than just having food as cheap as possible? Will restaurants have to put more of an effort (and more budget into) buying better ingredients, cooked better and less processed? Let's not go crazy, as I suspect the restaurant industry is targeting a demographic whose idea of "healthier" is extra french fries, because potato is a vegetable. More likely, people will be "healthier" by eating out less and then consuming more frozen, microwaveable prepared meals from the freezer section. Give me convenience or give me death. Oh heck, just gimme both.

I guess I'm pessimistic because as the survey suggests, a key to being healthier is eating in restaurants less, but it is reports like this that help the industry sharpen it's tallons to redirect people's desire to be healthy....right back into restaurants. After all, any and all McDonalds food is "part of a well-balanced diet." What, exactly, is a well-balanced diet? Well, it's all-natural, of course. And according to McDonalds itself, probably excludes french fries and sugared soda.

Balancing act.

The implications of last month's gained pound is rattling around in my head -- next week I'm visiting the nutritionist I consulted before starting this blog for a check in to gauge her opinion.

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2438

From the average, clearly I busted my budget, but looking at the reasons why, I'm happy to say there wasn't a binge.

• Monday: Sick family members necessitated quick, convenient food. Not common.
• Tuesday: An portion controlled extra evening snack to meet a real physical hunger.
• Friday: Home cooked meal, had a special guest over, ice cream and chocolate syrup was a nice way to end the week with friends and family around me, and c'mon, it was only 130 cal over budget.

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MONDAY COUNT:2785 

SLEPT: 9:30pm-4am, 6.5hr
Got a good lift in in the morning. Did an extended commute to work, oy, too cold. Holy crap, I ran out of matzoh ball soup! How did that happen? Must make soup this week.... A lot going on, must focus...came home to a sick house, just didn't have the time or focus to cook, so I baked off some frozen pizzas and added the asparagus as an afterthought, realizing the hot oven and time worked just as well for it. Right before bed, realized I hadn't stopped moving since I left work, and treated myself to some corn chips. Didn't need them, busted the budget, but it was NOT a binge and it felt right.

AM SNACK: 4:15 am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:30am, steel cut oatmeal, 415 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, chicken sausage, madras lentils, steamed string beans, 660 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30 pm, momma salad, hummus, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 5pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian dressing, 150 cal

DINNER: 7:30pm, French bread pizzas, roasted asparagus, 950 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, Fritos, 300 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2555

SLEPT: 9pm-4am, 7 hours
The main task of the morning was making Butternut Squash soup, with homemade chicken stock. Surprised to find the calorie count is almost twice the matzoh ball soup. I didn't use any dairy or cream, and carefully measured the coconut oil I used to soften the onion, but unlike the previous soup, the main component is the vegetable (.47c/g), rather than just stock (something like .1 c/g) Oh well, it's still a) full o' vegetable and b) relatively low calorie.

Tired in the evening, busted out the extra cheetos after having fritos with dinner in hope of spendng less time eating to get to sleep earlier. Didn't work that way, just too much goin' on. Funny, had to check myself, was honestly hungry when I ate the extra cheetos, it was not a binge....though the thought of wolfing down a bowl of peanut M&Ms did flash through my mind.

AM SNACK: 4:15am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:30am, whole fage with almonds, agave and vanilla, 310 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, falafel, butternut squash soup, health salad, 770 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30 pm, momma salad, hummus, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 5pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian dressing, 150 cal

DINNER: 7:30pm, hake loin, roasted brussel sprouts, fritos, 715

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, cheetos, 300 cal

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BIKE CREDIT: 585
WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2000 

SLEPT: 9pm-3am, 6hr
Not as much sleep as I would have liked, but there are only so many early-morning ride days with temps in the mid 40s before winter shuts the gate. Breakfast was delayed due to sitting in a DOH office waiting to get a permit for an event next week (can't really write about it yet, I signed a contract that makes me mum without explicit permission.)

AM SNACK: 3:15 am, granola bar, iced green tea, 575 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:30am, steel cut oatmeal, 415 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, chicken meatballs, sofrito black beans, roasted brussel sprouts, 510 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30 pm, momma salad, hummus, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 4:45pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian dressing, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 6:30pm, cheetos, 300 cal

DINNER: 8:15pm, stirfry with shirataki noodles, shrimp, shitaki mushrooms, oyster sauce, 325 cal
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THURSDAY COUNT: 2320

SLEPT: 9:15pm-3:45am, 6.5 hours
Woke up 15 min early on my own, but looking forward to hitting the weights and getting chores done. That does sound a little nutty, doesn't it? Went out to a midtown businessman pub with a friend I don't see nearly often enough for dinner, indulged a bit with her -- we used to go buck-wild eating together years ago, so I didn't feel bad about greatly enjoying the meal. I ate relatively reasonable the rest of the day, and had to cycle to and from Costco with 120 lbs of shopping, so the sugar came in handy.

AM SNACK: 4:15am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, whole fage with almonds, agave and vanilla, 310 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, sauteed chicken breast, quinoa, roasted brussels, 550 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30 pm, momma salad, hummus, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 4:45pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian dressing, 150 cal

DINNER: 6pm, French onion soup, moules frites, brownie with ice cream and chocolate sauce, +/- 1000 cal

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2630

SLEPT: 10pm-3am, 5 hours
Not enough sleep, but could not be helped. Had to get up to do chores and chop 40 lbs of onions -- if I fall behind on knish production at this point, it'll domino down the schedule.

AM SNACK: 3:15am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 6:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, fruit smoothie, 410 cal

LUNCH: 1:15 pm, almond butter and grape jelly on whole wheat, health salad, 610 cal

PM SNACK: 1:45pm, shrimp summer roll, +/- 150 cal

PM SNACK: 3 pm, momma salad, babaganoush, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian dressing, 150 cal

DINNER: 6pm, scallops, butternutsquash soup, knishm broccoli, ice cream and chocolate syrup, +/- 1000 cal
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WEEKEND REPORT
Saturday was a gut-buster, starting with breakfast at McDonalds, going through cookies, pizza, a hot dog and more, though I didn't have much dinner, just wasn't hungry oddly enough. Woke up at 3 on Sunday after 7 hours of sleep, got in a caffienated 45 mile ride that did my head good. Spent the day making a kick-ass cake for my son, whose birthday we celebrated in the afternoon. Eating wasn't great, but it didn't feel compulsive -- between ride, prep and party, I was just too busy to really slam too much food down. Perhaps this suggests a way forward? Maybe I should look into a scheduled, structured repeating activity for me and one or two of my kids to participate in and keep my face out of the feed trough?