Alton to the Rescue

If you know me, you know my food network hero is Alton Brown. Here on the second day of my new life, Alton has a show in which he shares how he was able to drop 50 pounds in 9 months without doing any sort of diet, but rather changing his dietary makeup, much as I have set out to do. In his typically brilliant fashion he compartmentalized his eating habits into four lists:

List 1: Eat Every Day

• Fruits
• Whole Grains
• Leafy Greens
• Nuts
• Carrots
• Green Tea

List 2: Eat 3x Per Week (at least)

• Oily Fish
• Yogurt
• Broccoli
• Sweet Potato
• Avacado

List 3: Eat Only Once Per Week

• Red Meat
• Pasta
• Dessert
• Alcohol

List 4: Never Eat

• Fast Food
• Soda (diet or regular)
• Processed Meals (TV dinners, etc)
• Canned Soups
• "Diet" Anything

He followed these guidelines religiously along with one additional rule: eat breakfast everyday, without exception. That's it. I can't tell you how excited this made me. Everything on these lists is completely doable for me. I love all vegetables, I love nuts, I can easily avoid fast food and soda, fish and avacados are my FAVORITE THINGS. I do have issues incorporating fruit into my diet, but leave it to Alton to show how he makes his morning breakfast smoothie using purple fruits and soy milk. Purple fruits happen to be ones I love (blueberries, blackberries, pomegranates, grapes) particularly when they are in smoothies. I also put in a banana, a dash of honey, and some oats. It's the perfect way for me to get my daily intake of fruit without it being painful. Hooray!