All formal like...

Well based on the comments and e-mails I've got apparently y'all seem to think that I think things out further than "have to do this, off we go weeeeeeee" which happens to be my default setting.

But I was thinking about it after reading them (and feeling guilty about my headstrong without direction comments) and thought I'd actually best set some real goals instead of just a wishy washy thing. Not to knock the wishy washy, because the goal there is simply "be healthy", but I feel maybe I should spell out ezackly what I'm doing in case you're silly enough to follow my example.

First up, food.

Food is hard. Everyone has to eat, and no matter how many times you do Optislim at some point you have to put real stuff that you chew into your mouth. We've all seen the healthy food pyramids which are strangely devoid of chocolate, KFC and icecream, but we've developed this mentality that treats are a necessary part of life. Here is my new theory... because life is stressful we feel the need to treat ourselves very regularly. It has to stop. Now. Seen those 5+2 ads on tv? Now be honest (because honestly what you do is no skin off my nose) but do you actually eat it? Do you know what a healthy diet looks like?

Not just low fat, not just low chocolate, not just no soft drink - but do you know how to eat healthfully? Honestly? Maybe you can put together one day's menu, but a week? Be honest with yourself if not with me.

Toast with a spread is not a particularly healthy or vitamin dense breakfast. Half the fortified cereals in that aisle from the supermarket are crap and full of sugar. Breakfast should be one of the main meals of the day and needs to be packed with vitamins, minerals and low GI carbs and protein to get you through the day. And it (breakfast) needs to be eaten. I hate eating as soon as I wake up, so I eat breakfast about half an hour later in the morning when I actually feel hungry. Yoghurt with museli and chopped up fruit is great (watch the sugar and fat of your museli though if buying pre-prepared) and should easily get you through to lunch. On supercold mornings I also love avocado on dense grainy toast or boiled eggs.

Which brings me to the next point - no snacking. This is when people tend to eat biscuits/cake etc. The mid morning sugar dip is often when people have a bit of a break, make themselves a nice warming tea or coffee with a few heaped spoons of sugar and "treat" themselves to "just one" biscuit. If you've eaten a decent breakfast you shouldn't need much around mid morning but if you find yourself starving (remember as well that the hungry growly feeling in your belly is also telling you you're burning off calories) then try fruit. Fruit and vegies. Water filled ones with high fibre are best.

If you're still feeling hungry after an apple, drink water. I find hot water satiates better than cold, and in winter I love a slice or two of fresh ginger and a small squeeze of lemon. A lot of people can not tell the difference between hunger and thirst. How many people honestly drink the recommended 2L of water a day? Unless I'm exercising I know I don't, even though it's my beverage of choice. If, after all of the above you still feel hungry, go for a walk, hang out some washing, do anything besides sit and watch tv or similar. Like a smoker going cold turkey you need to learn some new habits and getting up and about is obviously a double benefit.

You've heard that weightloss tip to carry around a bottle of water with you at all times? Think of it as your Nicorette inhaler. If you feel like you must have something in your mouth take a sip. Don't add cordial, not even the "diet" ones unless there is no other way that you will drink water. I still disapprove but it's better than nothing =p

No softdrink. At all. It's full of acid that corrodes your teeth, empty calories if you buy the full strength ones and additives if you buy the "diet" ones. The bubbles and acid wreak havoc with your digestion and can lead to feelings of bloating and heartburn. If your belly is already heaving you will not be in the mood to eat healthily (even if it will make you feel better) and it's easy to "treat" yourself again. If you're one of the people that has a 2L bottle of softdrink in the fridge most of the time throw it out and do not buy it again. There is NO NEED. Unless of course you enjoy flatulence.

Lunch time coming up. Time to eat a good whack of your vegies and protein. This should be probably your main meal of the day. Avoid thinking of bread as the main part of your meal, ditto rice or pasta. Fresh fruit and vegies are plentiful in Australia and cheap if you buy in season. Even cheaper again if you grow your own. Actually go to a fruit store and look at the produce instead of chucking it into your trolley in a rush. Smell it, touch it, think about what it is. As a hangover from my vegan days I love salads, and I will throw whatever looks bright and colourful into a bowl. If you can't see at least 3 bright colours in your meal you need to add something else.
I think the reason salads get such a terrible reputation is because people don't know how to dress them. There are cheap "lite" commercial salad dressings, which are fine, but I prefer to make my own. Aside from anything else it always tastes better when you get to choose your own flavourings. Salads are also awesome when you add your favourite herbs. I have a never ending love affair with mint and Vietnamese styled salads so chuck it and chili in with everything. Lemon juice, salt, pepper, a teaspoon of good mustard and a teaspoon of good olive oil for skin and hair and you have a fantastic base dressing.

Protein in a salad/salad sandwich/wrap is pretty easy - boiled eggs, lean chicken or pork, cheese, beans, lentils all work and require very little preparation. If you're not up for making a salad dressing buy tins of tuna in sauce and mix them through. Add lots of greens so you have a large meal in front of you, filled with fibre. Then look at your large bowl and contemplate this - there is likely to be about half the calories in that large, colourful bowl as there would be in one standard Mars Bar. You'll notice there aren't really any processed carbs in that lunch, and that's typical for me, though I often have a lavash bread wrap with the above crammed into it. I doubt in either case though you'll be feeling hungry for quite some time.

Afternoon tea. 3pm is the killer, your sugars are dropping, you're starting to feel a little bit tired/weary... if you're at home you can distract the kids with Playschool while you have your cuppa or if you're at work you can duck out to the vending machine for confectionary goodness. Assuming you actually ate your big lunch and chewed it carefully and balanced it right, you shouldn't be feeling starving right now, just in need of a little sugar spike. Again fruit is your friend, as is one of my favourites - chopped up raw vegies with tzatziki or similar. Good grazing food but still full of vitamins and minerals. If nothing else I really want you to look at the food you're about to put in your mouth and think about what it is and what it has to offer you.

Dinner is much the same as lunch, but try and eat before 7pm if you can, unless you're in the habit of going to bed quite late. Don't let eating be the thing you do right before bed as you have very little chance to digest your food. In winter this is hard but avoid making most of your meal carbohydrates, especially pasta or rice. They're not hugely nutrient dense foods and they can make you feel bloated and heavy. I'm not anti-carb by any means, but I think we rely on them too much as they are quick, cheap and easy meals. Although pretty boring, the standard meat & 3 veg of generations past actually makes much more sense.

I don't eat dessert often, but occasionally have a massive sweet tooth after dinner. I've found yoghurt + muesli is great but if I need decadence this is my new favourite which I justify by riding extra hard the next mornign - I melt 4-6 chocolate buttons (dark is best but white also very tasty) in the microwave until lovely and smooth and melty which I dip assorted cut up fruit (strawberries are the definite winner) into. It's a tiny amount of chocolate, but is so nice to savour, as opposed to gorging myself on a cadbury bar. Note this is not every night but an occasional treat.

Now at this stage I'm sure some of you are shakign your heads and saying "all things in moderation". But I am challenging that and saying that some things do not need any moderation at all. It's like telling an alcoholic that they can get plastered in moderation, or a smoker trying to quit that they can have a pack every now and again. If you are overweight, then you do not need any of the "bad" foods, and they will give you very little. At best they will lift you up for 30 minutes before crashing your blood sugars and making you feel tired, grumpy, irritable and depressed. Does this mean I will think you're evil if you have chips for dinner one night? No, not at all, in fact we had pizza on Tuesday night. But it was a lazy choice which I freely admit, and it could so easily have been substituted with a low fat curry from our favourite takeaway. I'm not beating myself up for it - but I do have to think about it, the number of calories consumed, and how much extra work that I don't particularly want to do to keep me on the path.

When you're conscious of what you're eating, even when it's not nutritionally sound, it tends to be easier to moderate. The biggest issue I have with "everything in moderation" is that so few people seem to understand what a moderate amount is. Eating one treat a day is too much. Eating a treat because you've been working hard is a bad idea - food shouldn't be a reward, it should be a fuel.

Perhaps the most salient piece of advice I can give on the food issue is that you have to find something else to treat yourself with. Hot bath, a facial, a wax, a sleep in on the weekend, a massage from your partner, sex, a haircut, a run, something that can make you feel good without repercussions. My favourite of all is probably flowers, something about the scent reminds me that life is so worth living and I want to get as many years as I can. We only get one shot at this.

OK essay and ranting over - I'll be back later with the exercise/fitness post. I also haven't forgotten to post stats, but have to work out some sort of table widget html thingo so that it looks neat.