I Can Has Foodz?

My friend Michelle, who recently started her own blog, left a comment for me here asking about my diet. As promised, I'm dedicating a whole post to food today. Her question was (in case you're too lazy to go back a post and look at the comments), essentially, what do you eat?

That question would be much easier to answer if I was on a diet -- South Beach, Atkins, Zone, whatever -- but I'm not on a diet. Diets do not work. Well, I mean, they can work in the short-term. You can live on two bowls of Special K a day and drop weight, but it won't last. Why? Because you can't eat that way for the rest of your life. It seems like such a simple concept, but it's taken me a lot of years and a lot of failed attempts to really understand it. You have to change the way you eat, your lifestyle. Even two rounds of Weight Watchers didn't drive this home for me (more about that in another post).

I don't count calories, fat grams, fiber, or "points." Much to Smith's chagrin, I also don't keep a food journal anymore (I should probably start again, though). So, Michelle, there really isn't a magical menu I can type out for you. I try to eat mostly lean protein and vegetables, fresh fruit, lots of water. Here's a few essentials that I always try to have on hand:

Chicken breasts
Plain oatmeal
Salad (get the bagged stuff -- it's cheaper and already washed & cut up)
Greek yogurt (plain -- add fruit to sweeten it)
Whole wheat or multi-grain pasta
Pasta sauce
Frozen broccoli (cheaper than fresh & lasts longer)
Bananas (for smoothies)
Lara bars (or Clif bars, or PowerBars -- for snacks)
Avocados (for guacamole or to add to salads)
Tomatoes
Fresh fruit
Canned soup (low fat/low sodium type)

That's pretty much it. I don't buy a lot of processed or pre-packaged food. I do not buy junk food. If it's not in the house, I can't eat it. I've tried to set up my pantry and freezer so that I can throw a healthy meal together without a whole lot of thought or advanced planning.

My eating habits aren't perfect, and I don't know if they ever will be. All I can do is make the best choices possible at each meal. And if I make a bad choice (yes, it happens) I have to accept the consequences and move on. I still eat crap from time to time, but I eat it far less frequently and recently I'm enjoying it less every time. My body doesn't like junk anymore, and it is always sure to remind me of it whenever I eat something I shouldn't.