NOT TOO MUCH

Michael Pollan's suggestion is "not too much", but what exactly is "too much?"
Most of us probably think we don't eat too much, but are we really eating more than we should?

It seems that every day we are bombarded with things we need to eat less of: sugar, red meat, fried foods, fatty foods...the list seemingly never ends.

Pollan wants us to reign in our eating habits, and in order to help us do so, he offers a few keys:

• Pay More, Eat Less
• Eat Meals
• Do All Your Eating At A Table
• Don't Get Your Fuel From The Same Place Your Car Does
• Try Not To Eat Alone
• Consult Your Gut
• Eat Slowly

I can definitely see two that are going to be particularly difficult for me this week: Do all your eating at  a table, and eat slowly. Being a college student requires you to be in a wide variety places at a variety of times. I often find myself eating a quick meal at my desk while working on homework or doing some reading. In addition, I usually have to eat quickly before class, work or a meeting. I think the most important thing I have to realize is that no matter where I am in life, I am going to have the same struggles. Whether it's eating at my desk at work or grabbing something quick after a long day, I need to be more focused on the way I eat now so that in the future I can continue to have proper eating habits. I be posting updates in this post as the week progresses to discuss how eating "not too much" has affected my eating habits.

Eating "not too much" has been somewhat difficult. The main difficulty comes from the way food is packaged. It seems that often I may have food that is in portions which may be too lare, but what is left over is still too small to keep. I'm not sure how I'm going to confront this. Another difficulty I have had is not eating at my desk. With my busy schedule, it is extremely difficult to eat away from my desk. Although I haven't exactly always eaten away from my desk, I have focused on eating more slowly. I have found that this makes eating much more of a relaxing experience rather than simply eating for nutrients. I think eating more slowly has helped me also to realize how much I eat and focus more on eating "not too much"

THE GROCERY STORE

Last week I took on the challenge to shop at Publix with the following considerations in mind:

• Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as a food.
• Avoid eating products that contain products that are unfamiliar, unpronounceable, more than five in number, or that include high-fructose corn syrup.
• Avoid food products that make health claims.
• Stay out of the middle of the supermarket
• Get out of the supermarket whenever possible

On the whole, I feel I was successful. I was not, however, successful in limiting products that contain ingredients that were more than five in number. I did limit myself to products where I was familiar with all of the ingredients. 

In my shopping experience, I did have one interesting find: the Haagen Dazs "Five" brand of ice cream.

Each of these flavors of ice cream contains only five ingredients which are clearly listed on the front of the carton. I wonder if Michael Pollan's suggestion of five ingredients had any impact on the launch of this product line. 

I must say that there's something different about knowing exactly what is in your food - It tastes better. Whether this difference in taste is psychological or an actual difference in taste, I'm not sure.

EAT FOOD

Week 1: Eat Food

In the first three weeks of my blog, I will incorporate, one by one, Michael Pollan's recommendations into my diet. This week I will focus on his first recommendation: Eat Food. While this first recommendation may seem to be a simple one, it is actually quite complicated. 


In today's world of buying food in boxes and eating at restaurants, most people are probably unaware of what they are actually eating. Pollan argues that there are all too many "edible foodlike substances." In order to ensure that we are truly eating food instead of these processed substances, he recommends the following:

• Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as a food.
• Avoid eating products that contain products that are unfamiliar, unpronounceable, more than five in number, or that include high-fructose corn syrup.
• Avoid food products that make health claims.
• Stay out of the middle of the supermarket
• Get out of the supermarket whenever possible

This list is certainly not going to be an easy list to follow, but I welcome the challenge!

Well this challenge has certainly been more difficult than I thought it would be! I didn't realize the amount of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and caffeine was in so many of the things I consume daily. Needless to say I have been experiencing some headaches that are probably due to lack of caffeine and/or sugar intake. I certainly feel much more tired than usual today, but it's probably because I simply didn't realize how much I truly depended on sugar and caffeine to get myself going in the morning.

I think my main habit that I'm going to have to overcome is soda. While Michael Pollan does say that you can "cheat" every once in a while, I certainly do not just have a soda every once in a while. I definitely have at least one daily, and sometimes as many as three or four. For now, I'm going to give up soda altogether until I can trust myself to drink them in a more responsible manner. I'll let you all know how that goes...