If you could sum up a healthy eating philosophy in one sentence, something you could be mindful about without obsessing about each mouthful what would it be?

I've been thinking about this since the convo started yesterday, and I really like Michael Pollan's creed (very slightly modified):

Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants.

So that means I mostly avoid the processed, artificial stuff and try to eat mostly fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, eggs, and cheese. I don't eat meat, so I try to make sure to get my protein in other ways, but honestly, it's usually not hard. Breakfast is Kashi cereal with unsweetened soy milk; lunch is usually a pb&j sandwich and yogurt with honey (or TJ's curried lentils with yogurt, yum); afternoon snack is an apple; dinner varies but usually involves a decent amount of vegetables. It's not perfect, but it's pretty good.

I lost about 20 lbs four years ago and have kept it off by making some simple changes. I went fully vegetarian, I started paying more attention to portion control, I stopped eating dessert every night (though I still have it probably 2-3 nights a week), and I now look at ingredients and try to avoid products with sugar added. (My peanut butter does not need sugar!) I also get a good amount of sleep most nights -- we're usually in bed by 10:30 and asleep by 11. I could probably lose a little more with more regular exercise, and more importantly, it would help me feel better. But overall, I'm pretty happy with my body and my state of health these days.

Dr. Seuss does Star Wars

This is my fave [link] of Jabba and whatever his pet is called. Note the trap door.

eta: The Han Solo dialog on this is excellent: [link]

Do you guys really like the taste of diet soda? Because I don't know why it has Slurmlike addictive qualities.

I like Diet Dr. Pepper. Other diet sodas (and regular Pepsi) taste so bad to me that I'd rather drink water or unsweetened tea.

Lean protein and whole grains and snack on fruit?

This is me. That and portion control. I do like dessert, so I make a processed food exception for Jello dream mousse and have one of those most nights. Satisfies my sweet tooth and only 60 calories.

When I first started eating this way I DID have to think about food a lot, but once I settled in, I really don't. Even better, I don't have to worry about high blood pressure and feeling sluggish. I'd rather go through a month or two of feeling hungry sometimes and retraining my palate in exchange for not suffering from all the ills of the heart disease my dad had.

David, one sentence? Can't do worse than Michael Pollan:

Eat food; not too much; mostly plants.

For me, that means using a smaller bowl to dish things out; steel-cut oatmeal; whole grains; more salads; lots of roasted vegetables in the winter. I just discovered how great parsnips and turnips are, roasted with olive oil in a 425F oven. NOM.

I used to eat a lot of pasta, and use those box-rice/noodle mixes, like Rice-a-roni and so forth. Now I can't imagine it. I still cheat and end up eating cheese & crackers for dinner sometimes, but I buy expensive cheese so I don't eat it too fast, and I try to vary my diet.

I still don't get enough vegetables, though. Hard to keep them from rotting when you live alone.

Yeah, it's rare that I don't end up throwing away the last little bit of bagged or boxed salads, or the last banana. Tomatoes, corn, and broccoli seem to last long enough for me to finish them.

I wish I could find a way to make vegetables non-disgusting. Without the addition of cheese, that is.

I prefer most vegetables uncooked. I think at least in part because the Midwest way of cooking most vegetables is to cook beyond the point where they've lost all texture.

My natural inclination is the carb. Bread, potato, noodle, whatever. I like fruits and vegetables, but getting enough protein is tough for me, mostly because I'm lazy, especially in the morning. And trying to convince S. that bacon is not really the healthiest protein has been tough.

But dining is a big source of enjoyment in my life, and doing all the point-calculating and management would turn it from a pleasure into an onerous chore.

This is my biggest problem with losing weight.

I'm just trying to get myself used to smaller portion sizes.

I've been making myself do this by taking leftovers pretty much every time I eat out (my monthly cheeseburger excepted - they done't travel so well or have much reuse potential), and not cleaning my plate when that's not feasible.

Further proof that Malki! lurks here (especially the mouseover text)?

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