Mark's Daily Apple

Talked with Jodie earlier today. Her day job is as a personal trainer. She mentioned to me one of her clients, who is trying to lose weight with the Atkins Diet. Now I don't have anything against Atkins, in fact my diet is very compatible with it. It's certainly been skewed in the media, and a lot of people have put themselves on the diet without any understanding beyond "eat lots of steak and skip the potatoes." Inevitably, that approach doesn't succeed, leading people to fall off the wagon and gain back the weight. Then all the critics say, "See, we told you fad diets don't work!"

My main point is to share with you a blog that I read on a regular basis, Mark's Daily Apple.

Now I read a lot of blogs: blogs on exercise, blogs on paleolithic eating, blogs on low-carb eating, blogs on intermittent fasting. RSS is my friend.

But the one blog that seems to pull all the strands together is MDA. Mark talks about health, fitness, diet, and living a sane life in an insane world. He's big on variety in exercise (The case against chronic cardio), eating quality meats (organic, free range), healthy fats (fish oil, omega-3s, nuts, etc.), and veggies--but pass on the grains and carbs! Doesn't have much good to say about the USDA Diet Pyramid, which is pretty similar to the Canada Food Guide. He shuns sugar, candy, packaged "food products" and fast food, but encourages Sensible Vices such as dark chocolate and red wine. There's recipes and a great series called Eat this today, feel better tomorrow. He even has a post on Why the Atkins Diet works.

Anyway, Jodie, you should give this link to your client, and give him an assignment (you're his personal trainer, and he pays good money for your advice, so he'd better follow it!) Read the latest MDA post every day for a month. Follow the advice and start (slowly) to make changes. Same advice goes to everyone else.

While I'm on a diet/food/nutrition rant, I'll wrap up with Michael Pollan's Twelve Commandments for Serious Eaters, from his book In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto:

1. "Don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food."
2. "Avoid foods containing ingredients you can't pronounce."
3. "Don't eat anything that won't eventually rot."
4. "Avoid food products that carry health claims."
5. "Shop the peripheries of the supermarket; stay out of the middle."
6. "Better yet, buy food somewhere else: the farmers' market or CSA."
7. "Pay more, eat less."
8. "Eat a wide variety of species."
9. "Eat food from animals that eat grass."
10. "Cook, and if you can, grow some of your own food."
11. "Eat meals and eat them only at tables."
12. "Eat deliberately, with other people whenever possible, and always with pleasure."

By the way, Chemo #7 was yesterday. I feel like crap, but good food and a walk with the dog will have me feeling better in no time. One to go!