ADDENDUM (Blog Note)

(Just wanted to mention: it occurred to me this morning as I lay in bed before getting up that the real reason I write OT diet posts is probably that they inspire me. Every time I write one it makes me enthusiastic about redoubling my efforts to cook and eat healthily, and I get strength to resist my bad habits. Because the reason I'm so preoccupied with this stuff is that I naturally have bad food instincts, so I have to make up for that with knowledge and conscious effort.

So thank you for putting up with me. Because I need the kick in the butt.)

Mike

Book o' the Week

Home Fires Volume II: The Present. There is of course a Volume I: The Past.  TOP reader Bruce Haley has produced documentary work relating to conflict, humanitarian crises and environmental/industrial/land use issues for 30 years. He received the Robert Capa Gold Medal for his coverage of the ethnic civil war in Burma.

These book links are a portal to Amazon.

Today at B&H Photo

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Comments

[Stephen Scharf]

Hi Mike, if I may share some insights I've obtained recently that may be pertinent or helpful.

My thought that part of what you're referring to here is actually form of... procrastination. I, and I'm sure other folks here as well, have struggled with procrastionation regarding executing on my aims and goals.

Well, I've had a bit of breakthrough on that front lately, and James Clear's book Atomic Habits was key milestone in breaking through that obstacle. Lately, I've been....getting stuff done. Not only am I executing on my aims and "deliverables", but there's the added satisfaction of "gettin' it done".

And, changing one's diet can definitely be part of that. My advice is: just start. You know what the "good habits" are because you did it successfully before. You'll not only be acheiving your aims, you'll feel better about things as well. Don't let "perfect" be the enemy of good.

Cheers.

[Jim Arthur]

I appreciate these posts for the same reason. They prompt me to double down on my lifestyle plan and eliminate any indulgences that have slipped into my diet recently. Awhile back I mentioned in a comment how I had made a common sense lifestyle change and it’s worked out really well for me. I’m losing 1.5 pounds per week on average, eat as much as I want, and almost never weigh myself. Because my approach is common sense…to me, I don’t need to think about it much, reference a book or website, or track/log my caloric intake.

My change was to eliminate 90% of the common sense bad stuff (fast food, chips/crackers/pretzels, beer, sugar, dairy) from my diet and replace them with fruits and vegetables (canned, frozen, supermarket “fresh”, doesn’t matter). In addition, I resolved to exercise (walking, stretching/yoga, light weight lifting) for one hour per day. The result has been that I feel much better/younger and have far more energy…so much so that I started doing all the neglected repairs that were needed around the house which means I’m now even more active. I still partake in a small amount of the bad/fun stuff when I meet friends and family for a special event or when we get together once a week at the local pub.

[JTK]

Hi Mike,
This is your blog and you can post whatever you wish.
Your OT diet posts are certainly a nudge in the right direction for some of us, and I have never noticed you set yourself up as an expert. You usually say something qualifying like "I have read" or "seems to work for me"
A while ago, when you posted a link to 'Forks Over Knives' it made me get back on the food wagon. In 1983 I was a participant in an equivalent program to 'Forks Over Knives' at Hammersmith Hospital in London. (I have 'Hyperlipidemia Type 3')

[adamct]

Just wanted to say: I love this post. And it's probably the same reason I like READING your posts on diet!

[Roger Overall]

Mike, please never stop writing these kinds of posts.

Without our health, we cannot take our best photographs. A friend of mine is a black and white landscape photographer. He was struck down by illness earlier this year, which robbed him from the thing he loves doing most: going out into the wild and making pictures. Mind you, he produced a little monograph of his favourite photographs taken while sitting on the bench in his garden.

Also, **engage selfish mode** the healthier you are, the longer you will be able to continue this blog.

[Rob Campbell]

When I left hospital after the first heart attack, I asked the two docs signing me out of my room and their establishment whether or not sex was still going to be okay for me in my mid-sixties, and with the heart problems that were never going to go away (I didn’t have the slightest idea that two years later I’d be right back in the same joint). Both women docs, they laughed out loud at my wife’s slight embarrassment and said of course, it’s wonderful exercise! They must have been laughing at the naivety, the optimism. Nobody mentioned the unshared knowledge: they neglected to mention the sometimes effects of the beta blockers they decided I should consume every day…

Optimistic idiot. But hey, I could still work a camera, fwiw, but hardly compensation.

Ironically, several years after my wife’s death, another doc took me off them, and it solved problems such as frequently fainting when I eat, because the blood leaves the brain as it flies away to do its thing with digestion. I’m amazed that my regular restaurant of the day ever welcomed me back!

[Kenneth Voigt]

I like your OT