You Are What You Eat?

So, perhaps one of the biggest head scratchers of my whole "Commit To Fit" campaign has been learning the diet plan I'm using.   Of course, there are big portions of it that are universal healthy eating cornerstones like limiting portions, reducing sugar intake, combining the plan with exercise, etc. Thankfully, as I mentioned before, I love vegetables.  My awesome spouse, who is also taking part in the diet plan, is tremendously talented in the kitchen and has seemingly enjoyed trying her hand at some creative uses of vegetables.   I've enjoyed such incredible dishes as stuffed baked zucchini,  cauliflower rice and smashed cauliflower (better than mashed potatoes if you ask me), and
a delicious green and kidney bean salad.   The part which has confounded me most is what is an essentially unlimited ability to consume protein.   This means as long as I use 85% lean ground beef or lean turkey I can have as many hamburgers as I desire.  Newer, revised versions of the plan encourage at least 2 portions of dairy, like string cheese or cottage cheese, as part of the daily intake.  It just seems so totally counter-intuitive to what we learn growing up, things like the food pyramid.  The idea of a balanced diet does resurface after the initial 2 week "Phase 1" but, for now, the fact is that I'm totally able to eat baked pepperoni chips, garlic herb cashews and cheese sticks and still lose weight.  It is almost too good to be true.

Since I'm speaking about too good to be true, I'd like to point out one last quirk of plan, the "Oktoberfest rule," as it too is certainly an idea I can get behind. Being born in Hamburg, Germany, the Oktoberfest is a special celebration for Dr. Agatston, one of the main folks behind the diet.   He recognized the need to forget the diet some days for people to enjoy special celebrations, hence the Oktoberfest exception, and the diet allows any amount of beer to be consumed on a single day of celebration.  This can be adopted for other celebrations as well (though ideally not with great frequency) with examples including St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco De Mayo, or a birthday.  To this concept is music to my ears.    My beer fridge is prepped to get started (see picture). Challenge Accepted!