New Year's Resolutions regarding food

HAPPY NEW YEAR.... Avid readers of the blog will note how often and how diligently I have tried diets and attempts to be healthy and lose weight. You may have also noted how I've slipped back into old habits afterwards. Just scroll down a bit, and click on the label "Food and Nutrition." There you'll find chronicles of my past exploits.

But, this year will be different. For one, I'm not just fasting for Lent, I'm doing this round the clock. Secondly, I'm especially motivated, because of THIS picture. (Link Coming Soon) When I took a look at myself, I realized it's time for a change.

So there's a few things I'm going to commit to for the new year.

A) Eat Food, not food-like products. No fast food, no junk food, no pre-processed food. I'm following the code of Alton Brown, "We never buy what we can make." It's been proven that if you took ground beef, made two patties out of them, put them with Thousand Island Dressing, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a sesame seed bun; you'd have a burger that's MORE healthy than a Big Mac from McDonald's. That's because McDonald's uses processed meat and "stuff." The process actually makes the food LESS nutritious. So, instead of buying pre-made stuff, I'll buy the ingredients, and make it from scratch. I'm even working on doing my own Ketchup and BBQ sauce.

It's also, I hope, going to be cheaper. The more you process a food, the more people are involved, and therefore, the more expensive it is. So, even the pre-made taco kits, with the pre-made sauce, and the pre-made seasoning; are more expensive than just doing all that yourself, simply because you have to pay the people who mix and package the stuff at the factory. Cheaper, healthier, better.

2) I'm going to save money my bringing my lunch. I guarantee that I eat much more less satisfying stuff when I run out to eat lunch. And my frequent stops at Starbucks on the way to work are making me late. Thinking about it, I average $10 per lunch. Over a two week period, (I get paid bi-weekly) that's $100. Plus $7 for coffee, water, and a breakfast Sandwich, totalling $170 a week for food. OR... 5 cents per homemade granola bar, which is healthier; Keurig Pod, less than $1; and an estimated $2 for a sandwich I bring from home. And that's INCLUDED in my grocery bill, not in addition to it. And I'll be less likely to go out for fast food. The convenience of hitting Checker's or Taco Bell is replaced by the convenience of eating at my desk. Eating at work also frees up more time to be awesome at work.

And finally... D) Exercise regularly. I'm going to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity and conceive the strangest project ever imagined - to wake up extra early, hit the pool at the local YMCA and do about 20 minutes of swimming per day. I'm very unmotivated, to say the least, when it comes to exercise. Heck, I even tried the Wii Fit game, and got bored with it. Swimming, however, is an enjoyable pastime, which I would happily do for fun; and at the same time, get a good aerobic workout. It DOES require a few sacrifices. I now have to get my butt out of bed at 5:30, instead of 6:30ish. This will require rigid timing, if I am to get there, swim, shower, and get to work by 7:20. So, no snooze button, no "just 5 more minutes." Knowing me, I'll need to preset an entire duffel bag the night before. Plus an earlier bed time. I'm scared....

But, I'm more scared of a heart attack, and high blood pressure. I'm more scared of being THAT guy with the belly. I'm more scared that my children will develop my lazy habits. So for them, for my wife, for myself... I'll do my best to make it happen!