This week’s guest poster? A Renaissance woman.

by

Erin Carter is a 27 yr old, married, mother of a 3 yr old wonder (MizFit note: she wrote the bio. Im certain her three year old is wonderous—but Ive not met him/her).

She’s a senior student/intern in a Clinical Dietetics program and amateur cook, handywoman, gardner, mechanic, and writer.

She currently blogs at Zeneriffic with plans to launch a more comprehensive article based blog to include how tos, recipes and more. (MizFit note: please to commence launching that blog STAT. Especially the how-to’s if they’ll include your mechanic skills.).

Progression and the Temptation to Rebel

I’ve been going about it all wrong. When it comes to trying to self improve (well, myself obviously) I often wonder why I can’t stick with something, why I feel stifled, and will I ever figure things out? I’m sure many people go through this even though it feels awfully solitary at times. It occurred to me today how I believe this can be turned around, for me and anyone else that may struggle with stick-to-it-ness.

Of course this greatly applies to diet and exercise, I’ll stick to diet as that is my area of expertise. We’ve all experienced the high of starting a new program, a new diet or new workout regime or just a new habit in general. “THIS is going to be it” we say, “I’ll be changed forever and it will just become easy to do fill-in-the-blank for the rest of my life!” The zeal of the newly converted and I am certainly not a stranger to this feeling, in fact I love it and I think that is at the root of why I cast aside diets and workouts and move on to the new best thing.

I’ve come to grips that this is not going to change for myself and I am embracing it rather than condemning it. Most people need to rebel against something at some point, the have-tos start to feel oppressive regardless of the benefits and this is a big reason that diets fail for the majority. I know that not everyone is wired the same way but if you like new challenges, fail at sticking with something overly rigid or long-term and would like to feel empowered by this instead of ashamed, take a moment to consider a different perspective. I will share my personal story in the hopes that it may help someone else; I can’t be the only person on the planet that is longevity challenged.

Let’s look at becoming vegetarian for an example:

In the early months of 2008 I was completely lacto-ovo-vegetarian and loved it. Three months was a long time for me to not change my mind on a diet and it didn’t come crashing down until I became very sick and started dreaming of a turkey breast sandwich with thick slices of cheddar cheese and a mix of ketchup and mustard. A similar sandwich was something I had growing up and I think that’s why I backtracked to it when physically down. After that I continued eating meat again and haven’t really felt great about it or enjoyed it too much but fear has kept me from trying again. I simply don’t feel prepared to jump in whole hog again (meat pun not intentional) and it has admittedly been nice to not feel ostracized amongst animal noshing friends. There are many reasons I feel a vegetarian lifestyle is a good one, even a great one, but I have known I would not be able to permanently maintain the change unless additional factors were thrown in.

I’m going to use the idea of progression to prevent regression here. A pot of lentils are currently soaking on our kitchen counter and I will be making at least one major meal a day vegetarian and continue that until I feel I’ve accumulated enough knowledge or recipes (or disgust for eating meat) in order to make two major meals vegetarian, and so on. I also wish to acclimate my husband and son to meatless meals as a major hurdle last time was the separate cooking. That was not something I am willing to do and so my husband fended for himself and I had my own dishes and it all felt very splintered and sad. My primary impulse is constantly to rush headlong into a change, burn out and then give up or continue on with an extremely heavy heart. I’ll take a moment to state I do not judge others on what they eat and I view the meat eating vs. herbivore issue on my own personal level regarding how it makes me feel, what I think about how it affects the environment, and what I think about how the animals themselves are treated. A perfectly healthy diet is achievable whether you feel the same way or not-this is an example of how I plan to use progression.

With each new habit added you experience that, “Woo hoo a new thing to try!” feeling since you’re not attempting a complete overhaul all at once. I predict building habits securely without feeling repressed and allowing for periodic changes that don’t destroy the previous additions will revolutionize my life. (MizFit note: LOVE THIS. Entirely what I do/did as well. layer healthy habit upon healthy habit. it can be a challenge to maintain the old while adding the new—-but riding the wave of the ‘woo hoo’ helps a LOT in that regard.)

If you’re starting from the beginning and simply wanting to improve your diet I’d say a good jumping off point would be including 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily and not focusing on anything else until that becomes natural. Many think a serving of fruit or vegetables is a huge amount but in most cases equates to only half a cup, certainly in the doable category. If even that feels like an insurmountable task, try 2 servings and build from there. No chance of overload or becoming overwhelmed because you jumped in the deep end without first learning to coast across the shallows wearing floaties.

Apply this to suit your own needs, if you’ve been paying attention to your health and diet for years obviously this may sound ridiculously simple but keep in mind it is completely adaptable. Try throwing in a Meatless Monday or a weekly fatty fish meal, a more widely varied variety of vegetables, milled flaxseed, etc. You get the idea.

Thanks Erin. Ridiculously simple is never a bad thing in my opinion as Ive found that, usually, then it’s something Ill actually *do.*

Here’s to Fatty Fish Fridays in Casa MizFit (I love that suggestion) starting this week.

Bumbling Band? Thoughts? Questions? Lunching Tofu Thursdays in your domicile? Please to hit Erin (and us) up in the comments.

Oh.

And please to enjoy another violation of my I SO NEVER DO THIS rules.

we have a treat tomorrow.

A three letter treat.

Im so excited. And I just cant hide it (singitwithme).

I know. I know. I know. I know. I know you want this. You want this.

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Comments

  1. Aha the horse whisperer approach! I’ve often used this to get into healthy diet and fitness habits in the past, but these days I am trying to apply it to things which make me more uncomfortable.

    At the moment I’m doing it with spontanaiety.

    I’m trying to do one teeny spontaneous thing a week. I get very stressed when my routine is broken (you brought jelly pots for pudding! I hadn’t put that in my meal plan but now I want one! Does not compute! ARGH MELTDOWN!) but it stops me doing fun things like going out for lunch with a friend on a whim or going to visit my mum this weekend because we’re both at a loose end. I’m slowly learning that if I LET GO and try these things every now and again it’s OK.

    It’s getting there, slowly!

    I like fish Fridays. I may join in with that too.

    TA x

  2. Fantastic guest post and I am sure we all can relate. I know that every new diet and every new exercise plan, and each new self-help diet/life book gives me the “this is it – my life will change” feeling but even though it never does change (completely), I learn something each time, I try new things and I am better for it…great post. Lots to think about.

  4. TA? I love that phrasing: one teeny spontaneously thing a week as it is all babysteps to success and loosening up routine is SO FRICKEN HARD…but so very worth it.

    Debra (whom I must OUT as one of my dayjob bosses. how supportive is SHE for stopping by here at the crack of dawn?!) Im with you on the fact it seems every book I, too, read gives me that AH HA! moment…until Im done.
    then I try and decide which snippets REALLY made me think and incorporate only those into my life.

    FGF? you are INDEED proof. slow & steady & smart & snarky & (s)fabulous wins the race every time.

    M.

  5. Great guest post, and I totally agree that when it comes to change, gradual is better than radical.

    But now I’ve got that Pointer Sisters song in my head. And fter all those aerobic classes in the 80’s I’ll never get it out again!

  6. Does the Wisconsin fish-fry count as “fatty fish Friday”? We’re talking beer batter, deep fried cod – sometimes still all you can eat. With coleslaw and french fries…that would cover both fatty and fish!

    *grin*

    I just started WW this week, so I’m getting the whole change thing – good thing I was eating pretty right to start with – but 5 fruit/veggies a day? Oy!

    Good post. Thanking you.

  7. I’m not singin’ unless we all do the Neutron Dance.

    SO been there with the trying to be vegetarian while the kids aren’t! Although I did manage the extra cooking (would never leave the fam to fend), I didn’t have a REAL reason for the change, so it didn’t stick.

    I need a constant and inspiring reminder as to why I”m doing something in order to incorporate it (like, going to the gym today because my jeans fit and it’s a beautiful thing…)

  8. Neutron Dance? Id forgotten about that one in all my excitement (rimshot!)

    and linda? can we (the royal) start by adding one fruit and one veggie per day as per the ToddlerTinySteps to health?

    (and yes. Im only 10% kidding)

    MarianneMartha (see? even this noncook got the reference! go me!)? have a great workout…

    M.

  10. *singsong* Looooove this.

    It’s how I accidentally found myself on a diet.

    I said to myself, “someday I’ll be on a diet. I’d better find recipes I like NOW”

    And then all the sudden those recipes were really all I was eating. *grins*

  11. Ninja? I think THAT’S why my younger personal trainer self used to say that this is all *simple*

    Not to execute (by a long shot) but the concept.

    As you detailed above with the food.
    As my clients & I would map out with the workouts.

    The ‘eat less move more’ of it all.

    Easy CONCEPT to grasp….

    I quickly learned to revise my language 😉

    M.

  12. Yes, yes, yes on getting in all your veggies! There’s really no point to focusing on counting micro-nutrients or points until you’ve got that nailed.

  13. great tips!! I am so blessed to have a family who loves fish so we add it twice a week and since adding in more veggies my son suddenly loves carrots and spinach…….who knew?! Small changes add up! Last night I made my old unhealthy biscuits with half whole wheat and used mostly applesauce for the fat………..hello…………..NO ONE EVEN CARED! Start them out young and they won’t be picky 😉 as adults.

  14. I love the guest posts…it’s so fun to find other bloggers. I love her point about not jumping in the deep end without learning to cross the shallows with floaties. It’s so true, and yet the visual is really cute. 🙂

  15. annette I SO HOPE you are right with regards to that final sentence in your comment.
    I clingeth to that.

    And FBG?
    I loved that image too.

    Some days I require floaties to make it through myriad parts of my day.

    M.

  16. Baby steps are what I’ve been taking for the last 4 months since joining a gym and trying to change my eating habits. Some steps were bigger than others, but so far all the steps I’ve taken have become part of my life. My latest steps include natural peanut butter and introducing ground flaxseed into my diet.

    This is also working with my weight lifting and running training. I’m going back to the start with my running because I didn’t do so hot the first time around. As of last night, I ran for 30 seconds, walked for a minute or so, rinsed, lathered, repeated for 30 minutes. I’ll keep increasing the running time each week and then ease out the walking until I’m actually RUNNING! Can’t wait!

    Great guest post!

  17. Ha, ha, Marianne!! The Neutron Dance – I’m in!! (OH, wait, I can’t find my wristbands and headbands…….)

    Baby steps. The Bag Lady is all about the baby steps! Did she mention she went jogging this week? (If you can call what she was doing “jogging”……. Truth? She tripped over a rock whilst on her walk and had to run in order not to fall down…..)

  18. angie? KUDOS ON THE RUNNING and the **smarts** of interval training with it.
    that’s so the way to go…for this woman anyway.

    and BL? as much as Id like to blow your shofar (there’s a joke for the Jews in the house) I was waiting for YOU to do it.

    **cue confetti shaped like MizFit the Calf**

    M.

  19. Fatty Fish Friday sounds like a great plan. I am trying new foods each week. This week was sweet potatoes. I was surprise how much I actually liked it. Great post!

  21. Ah yes, that sticking-to-it issue…I know it well. I do try to eat healthy, mind you, and make sure I’m getting fruits and veggies…But I have yet to find/stick to a way of eating that will help me lose the weight I need to lose.

    About the vegetarian thing – I quite happily eat vegetarian breakfasts & lunches, but my husband is dead set against the idea of meatless dinners. I will often do vegetarian dinner if I’m on my own, but I don’t see myself ever going completely vegetarian because of my Husband (though I often think I’d like to).

  22. Great post! I can really relate to Erin’s struggles to maintain once “the zeal of the newly converted” wears off.

    As an on-and-off vegetarian for most of my life, I will tell you that the times I am happiest with my food is the times I’m the least neurotic about it. These days I eat veg 90% of the time – because I want to – but if I crave a chicken sausage with my kids or turkey soup when I’m sick or a steak when I’m on my period? I eat it and don’t feel guilty.

    Looking forward to her new site as well!

  23. In response to your comment to me – yep, I’ve been walking since that post and boy am I exhausted . . . and sweaty . . . and smelly . . . probably resembling Forrest Gump about now . . . HAHAHHAHHAHAHA.

    I’m walking sporadically – I am in survival mode again – there has been major stress at our house – but I AM surviving! (Now tell me how to survive the onslaught of Halloween Candy!!)

  24. It follows a psychology principle as well – sucessive approximations (small steps to your goal getting reinforced until the whole is accomplished). You didn’t go from being an infant laying on our backs to running, right? Kids start by moving their legs, scooting on the floor, crawling, etc. Who knows why we expect different results from dieting and exercise. Like it has to be all at once instead of “baby steps”.

    Why it takes someone else remdining me of my training instead of using it in this area too I’ll never know. Reglardless, thanks for the reminders!

  25. welcome back Izzy.
    and dont be me.
    year after year I buy the stuff I like (and with the excuse that it isnt around all year. I HEART THE CANDY CORN) ostensibly to give out and it is gonegonegone by 10/31

    only then do I get the stuff I loathe (and prolly that the kids loathe judging by the low traffic volume up in herre).

    charlotte? chickensausage sounds GREAT. what time should I come over?

    and Java? this: I have yet to find/stick to a way of eating that will help me lose the weight I need to lose.
    I know. but you are looking and that’s the step which gets you there.
    and I adore reading your musings—for what it’s worth.
    it helps me clarify a lot in my own head.

    I often need the reminding (shout out to Diana)

    M.

  26. I’m a huge believer in baby steps and making one small change at a time. I hate feeling overwhelmed and like to feel successful. One change is doable. So, for this week, I’ll try making a different grain then the typical white rice.

  27. Marianne & Miz: THANKS for sticking those songs in my head. My poor child will be covering his ears all day, I am sure 🙂

    I can totally relate to this post. I’m trying to make my diet more vegetarian-ish. I’m not going there all the way, but I just want the majority of our meals to be veg-heavy, with beef, pork, poultry and fish part of it, but not the main thing.

    I posted the Vegetarian 100 on my site a while ago, if anyone is interested (it has been on lots of other sites, too). That list if good for vegetarian meal inspiration. No recipes, but good ideas to help you think of what recipes to look for!

  29. Loved the guest post! I totally agree that we all have a natural impulse to rebel, even when (especially when?) it’s not in our best interest. I had mine last night when I ate a box of wheat thins just for the hell of it.

    I like the idea of building habits slowly, and I’ve been thinking about setting a veggie-oriented goal. This post was excellent motivation!

  31. Oh man do I ever love the Pointer Sisters!

    This was a good post- I am very fond of trying things one at a time like that. Its all baby steps, and suddenly you realize you’ve overturned your whole lifestyle. And it wasn’t an uncomfortable experience at all!

  32. After reading the article i thought, i don’t even know how many serving of fruit and veg i eat a day. So i checked for today and i’m getting 7!! Something i wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on.
    Lately i’ve been getting more tofu into our eating plans. I put almond tofu into our smoothies and hubby brags to others about it 😉 Today we’re having veggie and tofu stirfry for lunch!!
    But it is definitely small things at a time. And do-able things 😉

  33. oooh and speaking of *7* Suzanne….check out the twitter box (points upward)!

    Breast cancer prevention, too.

    M.

  34. Hmmm… slow change. What a novel idea.
    I have the tendency to jump in with both feet and quickly fail.

    Baby steps… I’ll have to try that.

    My daughter is vegetarian for 2 years now. My son’s favorite meal is a giand cheeseburger.
    It makes dinnertime quite a challenge for me. 2 meat eaters and 1 veggie that doesn’t like salad…

  35. I’m about to lose control and I think I like it… (Oh yeah!)

    Love the Pointer Sisters moment there. 🙂

    And I LOVE this post! This is such a great, healthy, SUSTAINABLE way to make long-term lifestyle changes. Most people I know who have made major, permanent changes have done it this way.

    I like the way Erin analyzes it too, as to WHY it’s successful. I hadn’t thought about the “whoo-hoo” feeling coming back each time you make a change, but that is SO spot on. Awesome.

    I’m gonna go do the Neutron Dance now, and maybe find me a man with a Slow Hand, to Jump (for my love). Not sure if he will, though, cause He’s So Shy…but maybe if I charm him enough it’ll be Automatic.

    🙂

    V.

  37. You know I loved this guest post ‘cuz I’m all about the teensy steps. For one thing, spreading them out keeps me from getting bored. 🙂

    I’m currently in a try-one-new-food-each-week mood (this week is PB2), and that’s going well. I’m also trying to increase my “seat time” with the bicycle. Who knows what I’ll be changing before the month is over.


  38. Good gosh I HEART MY PB2.
    Yummy Tasty PORTABLE too.
    I go notta day sans powder’y you.
    When I run out I’m quite BLUE.

    M.

  39. I liked this post, because it presents a picture that I think everyone’s in: the happy idea that “this is it” in terms of diet and /or exercise, only to realize how much you hate it after a few weeks.

    And I love the idea of continually adding healthy habits. I’m up to 5 servings of fruits & veggies a day (and that’s when you take away the blueberries from my diet. LOVELOVELOVE the berries).

  40. Great post Erin!

    Taco Tuesday it just makes the night more fun. It is usually fish or 4% fat beef. Keeping it healthy.

    Thanks for the offer on helping me promote the WL challenge. I might take you up on it let me see if i can get some sponsors rolled up before too many people join and I have like 1 pair of socks. LOL!

  41. Another in a strong line of great guest posts. I would have to say that we all yearn to be healthy; however, we also want to get there as soon as we possibly can. You know, we fall for ads like lose 40 pounds tonight while you sleep. Our impulse to take giant steps but find out very quickly that we can’t step over the Grand Canyon. Immediately we view that as failure turn back to the foolishness that got us her in the first place.

    Another thought may be misplaced goals as to why we do things. My mother, god bless her, used to be part of “Weight Watchers” years ago and actually looked forward to the weigh-in. She half heartedly cared about the progress since the main reason was that she and her girlfriend could go to an ice cream parlor right after and get a hot fudge sundae. The reason was that she had a whole week before she had to be weighed again.

    Now as for fatty fish Friday let me shamelessly plug a post where I very much agree, but here too is another reason. http://homefitnessbody.com/blog/fish-fish-and-more-fish/

  42. tom? You and your fab writing (love the Grand Canyon line) feel free to shameless plug away!

    Any of you.

    As long as it’s contributing to the COMMENTversation I don’t mind!!
    M.

  43. I love Erin’s outlook. Similarly, I gradually added more vegetables/new vegetables/new ways of cooking vegetables to my diet until I loved them. It’s revamped my eating.

  45. Baby steps works so good for me with food, I been applying it to other areas. There’s always an overwhelming amount of work to do for a graduate student, but generally all day/week/year/decade to get it done. We gotta be able to impose a schedule on ourselves, which my sleeping-in-all-day self struggles with. A few little changes at a time, and once those are in place, I’ll add more!

  46. Loved this post! Like you said, it’s the ridiculously simple things that usually help me take hold – this is one of those concepts/ideas/strategies that you hear about all the time, but for some reason TODAY it hit me just right, makes more sense, and sounds so much more do-able than any other time I’ve heard it.

    Thanks for the inspiration!!

  47. part of my baby-steps is getting the architect & I down to one meat main meal/week AND getting myself up to one fish main meal/week. (He would like more meat, I don’t really like fish.) I throw in a bonus meat meal (something more exotic like elk or bison) once a month as a special treat.

    Next I’m going to work on the fruits & veggies. I go in spurts with that.

  48. im admittedly a carnivore (but I rarely eat red meat—so perhaps I should rethink that?) but I love the exotic meat meals and have somehow gotten off track with those as well.

    the leanlean like bison or ostrich.

    M.

  49. As I was reading, the voice of Baron Baptiste from one of my yoga DVDs came floating into my head: “Often, we want something now, we want it all at once, but–” um, paraphrasing, basically if we just start slowly and STICK with it we can get it, if you try to force a flower to blossom you break off the stem, etc, etc. (I thought I’d done that DVD too much only to discover now that I haven’t actually memorized it. Darn.)

    Yes. I’m actually pretty proud of my laid back, long-term approach to my goals (thank you, Baron) in a world that seems obsessed with instant gratification, and I am thrilledbutnotsurprised that Erin and so many mizfitters have adapted the same approach. I just try to spread it by not expecting toomuchallatonce from other people, either. Right now I am working on breakfast in our household. Once a week (to start) I will do something with eggs. Because granola bars are a pathetic excuse for daily breakfast and we need our protein.

  50. I love the concept of gradually building on healthy habits. That’s what I did when I first went vegetarian (I was vegetarian for 8+ years). I slowly eliminated certain types of meat and replaced those with veggie alternatives until I was able to come up with over a month of meals.

  51. Great post! The ease into approach is a great way to ease your self into a new routine. I have used that when I started to workout again, and when I quit smoking.

    I have been working on health site called peoplesmd.com. Its a great place where you can save your favorite health sites and information, and find new ones! There is some great information on diet, fitness, and healthy lifestyle. I think you guys would really like it!

  54. did I hear you volunteer, Mama Zen, to lead the Meatless Monday brigade with a guest post?

    m.

  55. Great post! My mantra during the Weight-Loss Diary was “one thing at a time.” Whenever I’d get overwhelmed with all the change, my nutritionist would say, “Just focus on one thing.”

    It really worked. Too much change all at once is just that…too much.

  57. This post? Was FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC!! I have been using the same principle with my exercise. I have to do at least 15 minutes of SOMETHING every day. Some days I only do 15 minutes, and some days I go longer, but if I get that 15 minutes, I count it as a win either way. Eventually my time will get longer; crazy work schedules (3 jobs, people, 3 jobs) make 15 minutes look like a large chunk of my day at this point, though, so that’s all I can do!

    I have a harder time applying it to my food, though. Not sure why. I like the Dieting Ninja’s psych-out approach, though: “I’m not dieting, I’m just PREPARING to diet!” I might steal that – I think it might work for me, LOL.

    Love the Friday Fish idea, too – I’ve got to learn some fish recipes for the cookbook (job #2), so this would be a perfect way to do that! 😀

  58. Good post. However, all of my successful weight loss efforts have involved cold turkey of some sort – totally cutting something out or strictly counting calories, etc. As long as I stay disciplined, I do fine.

    Simple moderation never works for me. NEVER.

  59. Oh Nitmos. If only I could come up with a snappy retort all about how Im giving away my a** tomorrow.

    Ive got nothing.

    and Marste? GOOD G-D I LOVE THE MARSTE.
    are you this chipper and enthusiastic about things in real life?
    please to move in with me for a little bit and follow me everywhere I go.

    Please to be my Lloyd (anyone?)

    and this MizFit OBVIOUSLY needs a smidgetad more rest as, Mozi Esme’s Mommy, at first read I thought you were referring to DELI MEAT.

    Now I get it & agree entirely.

    It’s all so personal (hence my belief that we all need to carve out our own *unique* path to health/wellness) and I have more than a few friends who’d chime in with an AMEN to your comment.

    for me it was all about *finally* figuring out what works—————–for me.
    M.

  60. Thank you so much everyone! It made my day to see all of the encouraging comments. Unfortunately I can’t hang around and respond to individual points or blather on as I would like to do…right now. The afore mentioned toddler needs my attention/homework is hanging over my head/etc but I’ll be back later tonight and I tend to hang around most days anyway. How could I stay away? *grin

  62. Well I am now having time to be online for a minute and find I’m exhausted and out of snazzy things to say. I love that you guys found what I wrote useful and it’s awesome to read how you already apply things in your own lives. I’m just grateful to be here. 🙂

  63. Only had time to scan through the other comments, but clearly I am not the only onhe who knows I need to take baby steps. I am currently wading through the shallows of my fruits and veggies — jumping off into the deep end turned out badly, as usual.

    And I definitely agree with the comments about starting kids out young — if only my hubby didn’t roll his eyes at my whole wheat pancakes and waffles…

  64. This is the part where we make fun of Mandapants for failing big-time on the month of perfectly clean eating.

    Because Jamba Juice kettle corn is that good.

    Guest post, though? TOTALLY awesome. And really resonated with me ’cause in making my first ever meal plan for someone I realized it’s a lot harder than it seems to give someone *moderate* directions. Not everyone is czarish about food (nor do they wish to be).

  65. Great guest post. I have found that baby steps are what got me to finally sticking with a food lifestyle that is not only healthy but beneficial to my waist!

  66. I love the idea of using “progression to prevent regression”, that’s a great way of describing all of my numerous failed attempts at a Whole New Me! I’ve never done a specific, prescribed Diet such as WW, Atkins or South Beach but I have tried various forms of healthy eating; Vegetarian/Vegan/Wheat-Free/Dairy-Free. This is usually a fairly easy choice for me to make seeing as I’m a single woman with no kids to feed! I’ve usually dived into my wonderful new idea head-first with a huge basket of fruit, veg and the contents of my local health-food shop. Then a week or two into it I encounter an obstacle like someone’s birthday cake, or I get a craving for a bowl of cereal with lashings of milk, and it all falls to pieces.

    BUT, and here’s the point to my longer than anticipated comment; I’ve kept some of the good habits from my various little experiments. I use lots of tinned beans in my cooking, and sometimes quorn or tofu too. I learned that dairy affects my sinuses and should be avoided in the evenings, or immediately prior to a work out. And I’ve learned that my body responds best to clean eating – LOTS of vegetables & water, some fruit, some protein and wholegrains etc. SO, my “failed” New Me Ideas were actually just experiments with a great big lesson at the end.

  67. The slow progression way to change is extremely effective, especially as a means to introduce healthy habits to your own life as well as your family’s. And a little change makes a big difference – I work for a public health campaign called Meatless Monday and we advocate cutting back your saturated fat intake by 15% (so going meatless one day out of 7) which greatly reduces your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke, the four leading causes of death in the U.S. And one of the main reasons that the gradual approach works is that you begin to see that it is relatively easy to adapt to a change in diet for instance.

    Anyway, if you’re looking for meatless recipes or if you want to learn more about our campaign be sure to visit http://www.meatlessmonday.com/recipearchive.

  68. Excellent guest post! 🙂 I’ve cleaned up my eating habits in the last few months because of gallbladder issues. Though I do great with exercise (hike regularly), I used to love rich fatty food. Back in July, I started having gallbladder pain, and since then I’ve been controlling it through a low fat diet and smaller portions.

    At some point I might have to have the gallbladder removed, but right now controlling it through diet is working wonderfully, and my doctor and I are keeping our eyes on symptoms. The gallbladder issues have been a blessing in disguise — I’m eating so much better (I don’t need to eat rich fatty food as heart disease runs in my family!), and I’ve lost 12 pounds to boot. 🙂

    I’d almost hate to have the gallbladder removed — I wouldn’t want to slip back into my old bad habits.

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