Kelly's Food Revolution!

Welcome to Kelly's Food Revolution! Before I type ONE more word, I must explain how this blog came about. I've haphazardly blogged since college, and I've always loved it. But lately I've been looking to be more focused. Also, lately, I've been looking to make drastic changes in my eating habits. Then along came Oprah, Alicia Silverstone and Jamie Oliver.

I’ve struggled with weight my whole life. I accepted plus size and my weight awhile ago. But I can’t lie, over the years I’ve tried a handful of diets. I even had some semi-success with the South Beach Diet. It definitely helped me lose a significant amount of weight in a time frame that pleased me. However, once you add in a handful of stress, a dash of fast food, and a pinch of “I don’t care what others think!”…well, for me that spelled disaster. I gained back the weight. Surprise, surprise, right?  I’ve tried getting back on the horse, but it’s hard. That’s why diets fail! Something is removed…or altered. When in reality, the equation is simple. Eat a balanced diet, burn more calories than you consume, stay active. SO WHY IS IT SO HARD!?!?!?!?

That’s also easy. Our nation has evolved to an on-the-go-everything-is-processed-and-packaged wonderland. For so long we embraced this convenience, but now, thanks to some eye-opening books and documentaries (at least finally catching the mainstream eye), we are getting re-educated. Also, thanks to Oprah, I’ve been able to dip my toe into the shallow end of healthier living. On a recent episode, she put a spotlight on the 2008 documentary Food, Inc. I’ve yet to watch the whole thing, but man, what the clips she showed…wow. I haven’t been able to buy chicken again yet. I’ll definitely blog more on Food, Inc. once I watch it.

Attention was also drawn to the vegan diet, a la Alicia Silverstone. While she initially became a vegan for animal awareness, she also mentioned that her body (and bodily functions!) haven’t been the same since. She definitely intrigued me toward the diet. So, God willing (I really love meat), I am going to try a vegan cleanse for 21 days (Oprah approved). That will be starting the day after Easter…stay tuned.
Another vital part of this life-changing Oprah show was the author Michael Pollan of Food Rules. He’s authored other books about food as he’s embarked on a journey to provide a healthy lifestyle for his family. However, Food Rules is a pared-down guidebook to better eating. It’s comprised of 64 rules, some short and sweet (“If it comes from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don’t.”), others requiring more explanation. I encourage you to hop onto http://www.michaelpollan.com/ to learn more about him and buy his books! I would hate to give up all the secrets here! You should OWN this book!

Finally, the last motivator behind this was Jamie Oliver’s appearance on Oprah last Friday, as an advert for his show Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution on ABC. I’m so inspired to join this movement that he, Michael Pollan, the First Lady and others are helping to start. If not for a slimmer waistline, for a life that is healthy. Definitely catch up on abc.com if you missed it. You may never want to eat a chicken nugget ever again…

I might have poo-pooed fad diets earlier, and you may think that this blog is borderline fad-y. It is not, I promise you. I want to try and do my part to education and implement a change in this country, while chronicling my experience and providing myself with some sort of self-accountability. I encourage you to join me by reading, forwarding the blog on and or joining this journey. If my verbose posts are too much, don’t worry! I’ve created a Twitter account for those of you who appreciate 140 characters or less. You can find me at @KellysFoodRev.

The real first step in this journey begins next Monday, April 4th. I’m kicking off this movement with a vegan cleanse, and until then I will be educating myself on how the heck this meat-eater is going to be a herbivore for 21 days. See you then!