I’ve lost 2 pounds. Honestly, I don’t miss them, but I’ve wondered if this 10milediet would fatten me up or slim me down or neither.
Since the only carbs that grow – to my knowledge – in my 10 miles are potatoes, perhaps it’s just that. No crackers, toast, rice, pasta. That alone would account for those two evaporated pounds.
But wait. I AM eating foods that in my striving to lost weight are big NO NO’s. A quart and a half of yummy rich fatty milk. I’ve downed a half a cup of olive oil. And honey. Lots of honey (i’m a stevia gal, a bit like people who drink diet coke to compensate for other indulgences).
The point being that a 10mile diet is a really different frame for eating. It’s eating what’s at hand, nourishing yourself from really fresh food that didn’t travel the normal 1200 food miles but under 10, and some 10 feet from my backyard garden. Not because it’s good for me – tho it is. Because it is what grows here and I’m an animal (with a too big brain) and animals are all local eaters (except in captivity).
What food is “good for you”? We are so disempowered in our food choices. We know what is “good for us” by reading magazines or labels or books about the latest guaranteed diet. We can no longer hold something in our hands, sniff it and decide. Weston Price-ies say eat nourishing animal fat. Vegans say no. And we’re not even going to talk about the pills we down because the doctor says they will raise or lower something in our bodies. Every adviser has their reasons and science to back it up.
My partner Joe used to have a picture of a thick fatty steak by his desk with the title : Health Food of the Future. One, he liked steak and had cancer and was restricted to what he called “rabbit food.” But his point, being an iconoclast of the highest order, was that “they” come up with new certainties about foods every year. Eventually, he figured, juicy fatty steak would be the latest tofu.
So now I’m going to eat my totally Tricia fritatta. Oh, but aren’t eggs bad for my cholesterol. I measured it before this 10 mile diet and it’s high. I’ll go back in October to see the result. Good news, bad news. Some say even high cholesterol isn’t bad for you.
By the way, my cat is out probably eating a local mouse. She knows what’s good for her.
Very thoughtful post, Vicki. We encounter the same paradoxes when we live in different cultures–the Japanese eat rice every day and have the lowest obsesity rate on the planet. Italians and pasta, Greeks and olive oil, French people and everything–the list goes on & on. We’re living in Japan as of two weeks now, and have lost weight immediately even on a high-carbohydrate, low protein diet because portions are smaller, snacking is almost absent, eating is as aesthetic as well as nutritional experience, and communities are set up for people to walk and bike everywhere possible. Keep posting about your experience!
Just read all the blog posts Vicki. I’m inspired! I’ve been eating 90% farmers market produce & eggs this summer, supplemented by non-local grains and beans and fish. The CRUNCH factor would be hardest for me on your 10-mile diet… but you could make kale chips! or oven-baked french fries… good look hunting down the hazlenuts.