A Food Lover’s Foray into a “Fad” Diet (that really does seem reasonable)

Three of my favorite things: cats, cheese, wine

Two things: 1) I love to eat.  2) I am and have been extremely skeptical of anything even remotely resembling fad diets, no-carb funny business, vegan or macro-biotic malarchy, etc.  It all just seems so silly.  I mean…right?

For all serious food-lovers who saw “Julie & Julia,” I think we all nodded (and perhaps giggled) with understanding at one key scene in particular:  Julia and her husband are discussing possible activities and potential professional endeavors with which she may want to become involved — this was before she was a chef.  Paul asks her, “What is it  you really like to do?”  Julia’s answer, plain and simple, is “Eat.”

Honestly, I couldn’t relate more to Julia’s answer.  I am profoundly passionate about food & cooking (and all permutations thereof, involving cooking classes, cook books, talking about food, wine, etc), and am unbelievably thankful to have some absolutely fabulous cooks & food lovers around me – almost all the time, in fact.

But I’m also, as many die-hard food lovers are, quite concerned about health, fitness, and maintaining a healthy weight.  Herein lies a bit of an obvious dilemma.  How often does one indulge?  What does “indulge” mean when looking at the scope of, say, a week?  To what extent should or can we indulge when we do?  Is indulging really that important?  How strict should we be with our diets?  How can we enjoy food passionately – and even cook with butter once in a while – and not turn into a pork chop?  Trust me, I was a chubby kid — these are serious questions, esp. considering I’m part of the “eat fervently” and “clean the plate” club.

Before I get into the aforementioned “fad” diet, I should explicitly state that I am not overweight.  In fact, I’m more fit than I’ve ever been in my entire life, and I’m probably a mere, say, 5 pounds above what I would consider to be my “ideal” weight, that is, the natural weight at which my body seems most happy.  I’m too tall & too athletic to expect to be much less than my natural weight.

I state this to emphasize that I have not entered into this diet because I have unreasonable expectations of how my body “should”  look.  Someone close to me was interested in trying it, and so I’ve joined in solidarity.  And I’m happy I did because my indulgences the last few weeks were over-the-top, and I do feel this has gotten me a bit back on track health-wise.  But there, of course, is another question mark — were my indulgences really that bad?

Okay, so the diet: I’m not doing to mention it by name, though I have managed to disclose the secret to a couple friends.  In any event, this post is not an advertisement for the diet itself, but rather a diary documenting two things I love – eating and being healthy – and how I’ve entered into something of which I was extraordinarily skeptical. Alas, it seems…well, so far, so good!

The key points of the diet (many of you will know what this is right off the bat, but it’s more fun for it to remain nameless):

1. Stay away from refined carbs – so no bread or pasta or fruit (esp. during the first 2 weeks)

2. No alcohol during the first 2 weeks; after that, wine is fine.  THANK GOD.

3. Eat lots of veggies & lean protein – that includes eggs & turkey bacon at breakfast

4. No butter, no fatty cheeses; low-fat cheeses are fine

5. No sugar or honey; artificial sweeteners are fine.  This I have trouble with because I just don’t see how artificial sweeteners are good for you.  How can they be?  In any event, they seem to be doing the trick right now.  Mix in some splenda with non-fat Greek yogurt, a little bit of vanilla or almond extract, and you have quite a yummy treat.

I actually think this diet seems quite reasonable and balanced, and I’m finding myself pleasantly surprised.  I’m on day 3 and I feel pretty good – definitely way, way better than I did after I pigged out at a friend’s Memorial Day BBQ…it’s indulgences like that that make me glad to be on this path right now.  I mean, super sugary sangria, heavy cheeses, guac, greasy burgers, chips & salsa galore…oh, and someone brought a chocolate-peanut dessert treat that basically tasted like a combination of 10 different delectables from the Halloween bag, all chocolate in nature.

Here is a downfall of this diet I’m on: the creator says that exercise is not key to losing weight on this particular plan.  Now, that might be true, but no exercising?  Really?  That is an absolute key ingredient of good health and is usually my excuse for allowance of excessive culinary indulgences.  I wouldn’t recommend the latter attitude towards exercise, but I think if I didn’t run as much as I do, I most definitely would be a porker.

In the last, say, 10 years of my life, I couldn’t have begun to imagine that I would be doing a diet like this.  It seems to go against my philosophy of eating, cooking, enjoying food, enjoying what the earth provides for us without much fuss or worry or obsessing or indulging our body-insecurities we probably picked up in our terribly awkward youth.  But I have to say, I’m pleased with this current – and perhaps longterm – lifestyle choice.  It seems to be reasonable & I feel pretty good.  I’m eating tons of veggies, which is great, and I haven’t had to contend with that horrible full feeling after a decadent bowl of pasta.  So my body seems to like this.

Pumpkin custard profiteroles; a holiday treat since 2002 and no, it is not an acceptable dessert on this diet I'm doing

Thanksgiving in Maine last year; what a spread! No dieters around that day, that's for sure.

I will follow-up this post with a couple homemade recipes and an update on how I feel 10 days from now…when I can FINALLY have a glass of wine.

Best wishes for health this summer.  🙂