White Month

I've made some dramatic changes in my diet in recent days.

Theoretically, these changes are positive: less sodium, less fat, less meat, less calories... Etc.

In a country where 127 million adults are overweight and almost half of those are obese, less is a good thing, right? http://www.obesityinamerica.org/bythenumbers.html

At least that's the idea:

1) We plan meals. I mean REALLY plan meals. Have you ever sat down with a cookbook and parsed out line by line the nutrition information in every single crumb you put in a dish? It's boring. It's the "bug-hunt through spaghetti-code" version of cooking. How many calories are in a clove of garlic? How much sodium is in a banana? My wife is helping to shoulder this chore but it's no more fun for her I'm sure...

Of course once that's done, now it's time to parse out what fraction of a pot of food, is a serving. How much is appropriate and heathful to eat in one sitting? Volumetric or mass measurements might be the most accurate but if you lack good tools for such things, improvision is necessary. The other day I took a RULER to a pot of chili to determine how much there was (comparing height of liquid at a substantially constant area gives a meaningful approximatation of volumetric comparision) and how much a serving should be...

2) We schedule meals. 14 meal plans gives a two week rotating schedule of meals.

3) I work out. I've changed my workout to six days a week from 2-3 days a week.

I've been doing this for three days. Our plans cover doing this for another 200 days... I should be tickled; we're eating more nutritiously and more healthfully in a manner that is less expensive, more sustainable, and more environmentally conscious.



I'm about ready to club a large animal and eat its flesh raw.