After the holidays

A year or 2 ago in the latter part of June, Thad asked electronics guru Joe P to come over to help him with his cable box and DVR.  Joe P said he would, but not until 'after the holidays'.  The rest of us burst into laughter, thinking he meant he wouldn't be available until Jan!!  But what he meant by 'after the holidays' was after the upcoming July 4th and Labor Day holidays.  From that point on 'after the holidays' has been a joke in our circle, reminding us of that funny misunderstanding. 

This came to mind yesterday as I was taking down the Christmas tree and decorations, since it is literally 'after the holidays'.  Fortunately this task is much easier this year than usual due to the minimal decorations we put up.  Within about 1/2 an hour I had the 4' prelit tree undecorated and back in its box, the 3 wreaths back in their boxes, and the mantle candles and greenery removed and the framed photos back up on the mantle.  It didn't take long to say goodbye to Christmas for another year.

'After the holidays' is when most people resolve to lose weight, myself included.  Honestly, I have been eating like a totally crazy person since early Oct with the justification that I would go on a diet 'after the holidays'.  Well, now it is time to pay the piper.

Last time I lost weight on Weight Watchers.  For whatever reason, I don't feel like going that route again, so I'm going to do Fit for Life.  I followed Fit for Life back in the early 90s and it worked great.  I lost 45 lbs in about 6 months and I felt terrific.  The concept is that weight loss will naturally occur with proper food combining.  Here are the simple rules:

• Eat fruit (and no other food) from the time you get up until noon.  Any kind of fruit; as much as you want.  Fruit and only fruit until noon, and not after noon.
• Combine proteins with vegetables in the same meal, with a desired ratio of 1 part protein to 2 parts vegetables.
• Combine carbs with vegetables in the same meal, with a desired ratio of 1 part carbs to 2 parts vegetables.
• Proteins and carbs are never to be eaten in the same meal, but may be eaten in the same day.
• Avoid processed foods as much as possible.  Natural is always better, even if it has more calories as is the case with margarine versus butter.
• Avoid dairy as much as possible, as it contains fat and calories.  The vitamin D people attribute to milk (thanks to the Dairy Counsel) can easily be replaced by leafy green vegetables.

You can buy the book if you're interested in the specific reasons behind these food combinations.  As with any every diet or lifestyle plan, its effectiveness will vary from person to person.  But I like that the book tells you that you'll get the benefits (weight loss, more energy) to the extent that you follow it.  So if you don't follow it 100% you will still get some benefits, unlike others which are predicated on never cheating in order to remain in ketosis. 

I'll keep you posted on my progress.