What Do I Eat?

Well, I'm not on Weight Watchers, Atkins, Nutrisystem or any other official plan*- although I've done each one of those at other times in my life. (I'm still working up to the My History of Fatness post.) I'm not dieting. I can't "diet" anymore, because a diet implies that on/off mentality that has pretty much doomed every weight loss attempt I've ever made. So here's what I do- I don't know if I can even distinguish it by calling it a "plan":

• I'm trying really hard not to self-medicate with food-- I'm inspired by Geneen Roth even if I'm not doing everything she suggests.
• I'm upping the fruits and vegetables, aiming for 2/3 of the plate (but I don't always achieve that!).
• I trust my wonderful husband (who does most of the cooking at our house) to eliminate as much fat as he can from the recipes he uses. He loves trying new recipes and cooks a lot of Thai, Indian and Mexican food... num.
• We eat "real" food... fast food and sodas were never much a problem for me (for which I feel very grateful).
• I practice "hara hachi bu" as much as I can... if I can't accomplish the 80% full thing (which can be difficult, as my husband is a great cook!), I try to stop eating before I'm completely full. I find it easier to answer the question "Am I hungry any more?" than "Am I 80% full?" This is kind of a Big Deal for me because I've spent so many years of my life overeating to the point of pain or dieting, accompanied by constant hunger pangs.
• No mindless eating (another Geneen Rothism)-- if I'm going to have some chips and salsa I arrange the chips (blue corn chips from Trader Joe's) and salsa (roasted tomatillo from a Rick Bayless recipe) on a plate and eat them at the table.
• For a while, I had an Absolutely No Chocolate rule (even through Valentine's Day!), but I've relaxed that a bit. Chocolate is a trigger food for me, and I don't trust myself to leave it alone, so I try hard not to lead myself into that particular temptation. (Easter, for example, was a bit of a nightmare-- See's Bordeaux eggs, 'nuff said.)

I guess my plan boils down to Michael Pollan's mantra: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Of course, See's chocolate was once a plant...

This morning Wii Fit told me I'd lost 1.1 pounds in the last week, which brings my total so far to 20 pounds (since the Christmas/hot buttered rum blow up). This seems glacially slow to me, but this is really the only way I can imagine succeeding. I can happily eat this way for the rest of my life, and I hope to be able to move this way (or even more) for the rest of my life and that is a fine, fine thing.

*Just wanted to note that I'm absolutely not denigrating these or any other programs or diet- if it works for you, more power to you!