Preface: By popular demand (i.e. one person) I was asked to blog about my diet and weight loss.
I am one of those, melodramatic fools, neurotic to the bone, no doubt about it.
I have lost some weight, but it was actually never my goal. Yeah, I weigh myself multiple times a day, but overall, I'm comfortable with my weight. What I am focussed on is losing fat. A year ago, I was hitting nearly 20% body fat, I'm now at 13% that translates to losing 10 pounds of fat, which is funny enough the "weight" I lost. Not to brag, but that is really quite remarkable... to lose 10 pounds and have it all fat and not any muscle mass.
As I get older, I come to the realization that I have choices to make. On one hand, I could eat what I want without a care in the world, or in the other, eat what I need to live a healthier, fuller life.
First off, a bit of background on me.
For years, I've eaten awful. Never a concern in the world about all the crap that goes inside me. I used to get excited when McDonald's coupons came in the mail and I'd go through the apartment recycle box to pick up some extras. Two Quarter Pounders, fries and wash it down with some Coke... yummy!!
This type of thinking isn't one summer, one year, or even a decade. It was a lifetime. In Grade 3 I would order 3 hot dogs at school, with the teacher asking me if it was for a younger sibling... um, no. Chocolate and pop were also mainstays of my diet.
But I happened upon a book, that just seemed to make sense to me. Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto To summarize, he says real food (i.e. not the prepackaged stuff at the supermarkets, which he labels as "edible foodlike substances") is more difficult to come by, more expensive to purchase, and more difficult to prepare. However, it is necessary to enrich our lives, enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy, and bring pleasure back to eating.
Nowhere in the book does he suggest eliminating animal meat. Reducing, yes, but not eliminate. That was of my own doing. Since I am a very binary, I didn't want to limit animal products since the word "limit" is way too arbitrary. I know some people that morally eliminate red meat. I find it odd that it's okay to eat a chicken, but not okay to consume marshmallows (eg. gelatin) or heme iron (i.e. required for her health). For me, I chose instead to eliminate all animal meats, but eggs. I have some reservations on fish, but instead of it being strictly a moral decision, I decided to eliminate it on my concerns with overfishing and the huge repercussions that we are likely to suffer.
Was it hard? Not really. I tell myself, I want to see my family and loved ones for as long as I can. If that means making small sacrifices, like what I eat, to make that happen, then it's worth it.
Here's some my thoughts/advice:
- Start off slow, flirt with a healthier eating. Don't purchase the 5 pound bag of alfalfa sprouts on day 1. Start with small changes in a healthier direction.
- Minimize the portion of animal meats to a couple of finger sized portions, while bulking up on the vegetables.
- Make sure you have plenty of your favourite fruits around all the time. Given a choice of eating some chips or going to the store to buy an apple, the easy to access chips are going to win every time.
- As a runner, I don't worry to much about consuming too much carbs, but I do try to avoid simple ones (i.e. white bread, pop, etc.). I'm anti-Atkins.
- Reduce unnecessary fat. I like cream in coffee and peanut butter and that's only some of my vices. But I do stick with tomato sauces for my pasta and mix in egg whites when possible.
- Watch Food Inc.
I view losing fat/weight as a bonus to what I hope is a longer, healthier life. A bonus in terms of letting me run faster/longer/better. I honestly don't know if this lifestyle choice is going to let me live longer. I hope. I'll let you know when I'm on my deathbed ;)
"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." - M Pollan
