Husband on board?

Tonight, my husband and I were out eating dinner and he starts telling me about a guy at his dojo that has transformed his body by cutting out carbs. I wanted to smack my forehead. Or maybe his. I've been trying to sell him on moving in a more primal or paleo direction with me for some time, to no avail! And now he says he'd like to try eating more "like that guy." Okay, so I've got an opportunity on my hands. I know I'll forever love my sweets and my south Indian husband is forever going to love his rice, but we can make most of our meals a low carb affair together. Hooray!

Then he tells me that he's got to have a VARIETY of vegetable side dishes at any given meal if he is to successfully slash his rice intake. Apparently, he can't eat a piece of meat and a side of greens and be satisfied like me. But there's no way I'm cooking five types of vegetables for lunch and three more types for dinner; if he wants more than I'm already making, he's going to have to make it himself. I care about him and his health (he is a healthy weight, by the way), but I also care about my sanity and my ability to keep cooking fresh meals. Having to do more than I feel is reasonable is a surefire way for me to become resentful and ditch the whole low carb cooking venture.

So in the end, I'm not planning on changing my current approach much at all. I'll keep adding to my vegetable repertoire; he really liked the roasted beets and sauteed beet greens I made the other day for the first time. And I'm going to figure out some nice low carb Indian meals for his enjoyment. I'm thinking tandoori chicken and curried cauliflower, for starters. I will continue to insist we start going to restaurants that serve something other than piles of cheap starch, even if it means paying more and eating out less frequently.

With us, it's clearly a matter of "direction, not perfection"...but I like where we are headed.

A little less conversation

It started happening again almost as soon as I started blogging. I got sucked into the world of nutrition research, laying in bed with my iPhone reading late into the night. Compiling lists of links and resources to put on my blog for the benefit of others. Wringing my hands over the latest debates.

The deal is, I’m taking cues from low carb advocates such as Gary Taubes and various people in the paleo and primal communities when it comes to changing my diet. The more I learn, the more I understand that there is significant diversity and disagreement among these folks. That is not a bad thing; the back-and-forth is part of scientific advancement and I value the ongoing scholarship. But as I explained in my very first post, I need more action, less contemplation. Many of the finer points being debated don’t matter to me because it’s not like I’m going to tweak my diet every day based on the latest thing I read.

I think of the Pareto principle and tell myself that 20% of the changes I make will yield 80% of the results I want. So cutting out grains and sugar from my everyday intake will get me most of the way there. And once I’m 80% of the way there, and weight loss starts to stall or whatever, maybe then I can freak out about how many yams I should allow myself each month or whether poultry and pork are tipping my Omega 6:Omega 3 balance the wrong way. I have a long way to go with more fundamental changes to make before I start fussing over all those details. I do not have to go from 0 to 100 overnight.

(Not only that, but I find people who place their nutritional ideologies at the center of their lives and identities to be absolute bores. Really. I’m not vying for first place at the Paleo Pageant; I want a healthier body so I can do things OTHER THAN sit around with a laptop researching diet and reading the latest ego-driven arguments engaged in by laypeople on various message boards and blog comments sections. Ugh.)

I wonder what it would be like to do an information fast? Block all the chatter. Use the knowledge and resources I already have, including the cookbooks I already own. Stop worrying so damn much about doing things “right”! See how far I get. When I can’t get any further, go look for answers amidst the noise. Until then, stay away from the noise and focus on execution.

I think I’ve got my new plan!