The Buzzword is...Detox

The seven pound carry-over from Thanksgiving to New Years. I, myself have had just about enough food over the passt several weeks, especially this last week. And I wouldn't have traded those wonderful bites for anything in the world. But now's the time to cut back.

Eating whole foods is the way to go, and when it comes to cutting back for a bit to get those tiresome seven pounds off - the average weight gain during the holiday season - it has every bit to do with eating whole foods.

- Water, the most obvious of all, drink plenty to flush out your system.
- Eat whole foods, plainly, as opposed to something like a stir-fry or a casserole. Have some steamed veggies with baked chicken - not in a tortilla or mixed with anything - along with some brown rice. Not too bland, but blander than you would normally eat. Get the idea, eat well - plain and bland, but palatable.
- Cut out most dairy and sugar.
- Avoid the salt shaker.
- Don't snack, ever.
- Watch your portions, think of a deck of cards, for each serving.

Life is a contradiction and its up to us to get back on track. I ate about a handful of funyuns, which I used to actually buy once in a while. They were in front of me in a big bowl, so I munched on them. Of course, they're processed and full of salt and left an after taste in my mouth that was in no way like a real onion. I was interested, while I was eating them and thought of how much I used to like them. Eating stuff like that is an addiction; it's salt and fat and empty calories. It is fake food. I thought a lot about my 'bender'. It is easy to stray at a family gathering where food is on just about every inch of flat space. At the time it was not about calories, it was about 'Is this really food?' It gets sold as food and it's eaten. With each crunch I was trying to figure it out. And I didn't figure it out. Now, I don't even care to figure it out. It was ironic that I took those bites, a contradiction staring me in the eye. It was inconsistent and in total opposition to my way of life. In the end, it was a few bites that I knew weren't good for me. And life is a contradiction. Isn't that what holidays are for?