It is the darn food after all 🍎

That’s generally been my experience too. Food governs weight, not physical activity so much. I rarely walk many places these days, except maybe a few laps around the office, and some weeks are a bit lazier then I used to be. But I haven’t seen significant weight gain. To be fair, I do ride my mountain bike to work most days, and I burn a lot of calories that way – but I used to walk a lot more then I do now.

When I gave up on eating processed food and most meat, the pounds almost melted off my body. Not because I massively stepped up exercise but because I made my own food using the healthy, basic ingredients and not the things that come in packages with fancy labels.

I kept it simple, choosing whole foods – especially lots of fruits and vegetables, cooked with olive oil, whole wheat flour, oatmeal. I limited carbs somewhat – choosing healthier carbs like oatmeal, raw cornmeal and whole wheat flour. I quit artificial sugars, though I do use Splenda in pancakes and sometimes with onions or baking bread when I want something a bit sweeter.

The things I’ve learned to love aren’t fancy or organic. They’re just basic foods, emphasizing those basic ingredients that anybody can read about on the internet being super healthy. You have to develop a taste for them, but then you began to love them not just for the taste but knowing the wonderful things they are doing for your body. Remember this, if a package is good for your burn barrel, it’s bad for your health. If it’s good for your compost pile, then eat lots of it.