Food vs. Ph00d

My official "weigh-in" days are Saturdays. So, it stands to reason that Saturday usually shows my crappiest number on the scale during a whole week of post-pee scale-standing.

That's mostly irrelevant to what I'm planning to say today, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway as a general reminder that what the scale says on one arbritrarily chosen weigh-in day is not necessarily an accurate representation of overall performance.

That being said, let's talk about ph00d. Ph00d is my word. My own horrible, netspeak, 1337-bastardizing word. I'm currently reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. I read The Omnivore's Dilemma last year and it really struck a chord with me and helped to propel me down one of the longest stretches of weight loss I've had in over a decade. So, with my motivation coming and going more often than the tides, these days, I thought it was time to spend some more hours devoted to Mr. Pollan and his engaging journalism.

Food, as Pollan points out, is basically in the minority of the stuff we stick in our mouths. We eat chemicals. We eat thoroughly refined and factory updated sugars and carbohydrates. We eat antibiotics disguised as cows, pigs, and chickens. Ph00d. Chemical representations of classic comforts created by the latest technology, for your chewing pleasure (but is it, really?).

I'm going to do my best from now on to get things back to basics. To food as it used to be, as opposed to ph00d as it is. My goal over the next few days, weeks, and months is to eliminate the ingredient lists from my life. I'm keeping a few of my processed babies - you can pry my All Bran from my cold, dead, not-constipated hands; the occasional mini Kit-Kat as a post-lunch treat; icy, fruity popcicles in the summer - but for the most part, I'm going to try and stick with what my body can actually recognize as food.

Meats, fruits, vegetables, and the following REAL items, in moderation - sugar, butter, peanut butter... when you're eating like this, it doesn't leave a lot of room for screw ups, does it?

1) Did it grow in the ground? OR Did it come from an animal?
2) Were there Terminator-esque machines of Matrix-y proportions involved in its creation?

If your answers are 1) Yes and 2) No, then you're good to go.

Sayonara, ph00d. Don't let the door hit ya where the scientists split ya.