That's It? The Big Secret?

I hope that didn't disappoint you. If you didn't read it all, it essentially says:

Eat more vegetables. Eat less junk. And though it doesn't say it implicitly, it implies: Exercise a little.

Shocker, right? Quelle suprise! Or however that's spelled a la Francais.

Here are a few other rules we've adopted:

• Throw away all white food. And don't buy more.
• No more fake food (cheesy potatoes from boxes, soup in cans, prepackaged anything).
• Read the labels. See how much salt and sugar there is in a can of baked beans or spaghetti sauce or enchilada sauce. It's so easy to buy a can of crushed tomatoes and make your own.
• Even the "convenient" frozen meals are LOADED with salt.
• If faced with a choice between "real food" like full fat cheese or a 100-calorie packet of oreos, I pick the cheese every time. If I'm going to get the calories either way, my body may as well have some nutrition to go with it.

Grocery shopping took a LONG time those first few weeks. But it gets easier.

Rule #1: If you don't want to eat it, get it out of the house. Throw it away (you don't have to tell your mom you're wasting food) or donate it to the local food pantry. If it's there, you will find a way to get it to your mouth.