In case you haven’t noticed with my references to software analogies, occasional odd conversational mannerisms, and interspersed star trek/star wars/80’s TV quips, I am a bit of a geek. While my wife has worked hard to reform my lifelong social and fashion ineptitudes, at heart, I still want a lightsaber.

I may also fly stunt kites. And know a thing or two about 3D animation.

As part of this curse, I also tend to like to read the stats of my blog, even down to the nitty bits of mindnumbing server data, looking for clues about well, you all. Don’t worry, I don’t know anything about what you did last summer.

That is my other hat - the security software engineering hat. But I digress.

No, for Almost Fit, what I find most interesting is [geek alert!] a) errors in the logs [and thus why I am leaving my current hosting company soon], and  b) [geek alert at DefCon 5!] patterns in the configurations of the computers that visit the site. Again, nothing personal is to be found there - it’s all fascinating minutia like the number of Windows computers vs. Macs that visit, and so forth.

So here’s the apology: Somehow, for months now, it has escaped my attention that 76% of the visitors to Almost Fit have a screen resolution of 1024×768. Being geekish and all, all of my computers at home (yes, multiple - I had as many as 6 not long ago, that I actually USED…I may need an intervention) had the biggest screens I could afford, with resolutions set to extremely high numbers. Prior to today, this site’s layout was not ideal for 76% of the people stopping by. OK, let’s be honest - it looked like crap, and was difficult to read. For this, I sincerely apologize.

But I am changing my ways. If you noticed that Almost Fit looks slightly different, it’s because I’ve essentially reduced the size of the header image and moved things around a tiny bit (whoops - there goes that geek gene again). I hope it helps. And I’ll try to do better in the future. In the coming weeks I’m hoping to complete an overhaul of the site, and hopefully it will be received as an improvement. And if not, I may have to sponsor a “big monitor” contest.

Photography on Almost Fit

I wanted to mention a word about the photographs on this site, as I’ve had several folks comment on them (favorably). All photos on the site were taken either by me or by April, unless otherwise cited/noted. We are both artists, so photography is one of many manifestations of that.

At any rate, if you are interested in reusing the photos on your personal blog or purchasing high resolution versions, please see this page on our photographs. I’ll be setting up a portfolio site soon as well, which will show a much broader spectrum of photos that are available.

Back to the salt mines. Thanks for reading.

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“Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.�
-Alan Keightley, as quoted from A Brief Guide to World Domination by Chris Guillebeau

Regular readers of Almost Fit know that I have been mentioning the words World Domination for a few weeks now. Have I gone mad? Do I think that eating real food in moderation will create a position as Potentate of some small nation state? Maybe. But if such a seat were ever offered, I would have to pass - The aspirations that are already on my list are more than enough, and do not include the title of Magistrate. But anything is possible.

For me, Almost Fit is much more than just a hobby - it’s part of a much larger life picture. With Almost Fit, I have two distinct purposes:

1. To improve my health before it’s too late. From my perspective today, losing weight and getting fit is a critical first step in accomplishing my greater goals. Writing Almost Fit inspires me to continue down that path. Writers like Walt Whitman and Thoreau have explained with much greater skill and dimension than I the connections of body, mind, spirit, and the world around us. These are ideas to which I subscribe. For me, my physical state has a very direct impact on how I see myself, how that perception is communicated to others, and my sense of place in the world around me. It affects both my physical ability and my emotional momentum to do the bigger things that I want to do, whether it is to run a marathon, invent something revolutionary, or climb El Cap.
2. To improve the lives of others on a grand scale. I’m one of the many who have spent the majority of my life trying to get or keep my weight under control. This has all sorts of implications, as I mentioned. I have tried everything short of drugs and surgery, with varying degrees of success. Now however, I think I am on to the best solution of all - eating real food in moderation. My hope is that I will be able to help get the word out and impact the lives of others who have struggled with this as I have. And I am doing so, thanks to the Internet, on a global scale.

And this is just phase one.

Inspiring minds want to know

We all have our own aspirations of course - and some of us are still trying to figure out what those are. Whether your goal is to set a lifelong, positive example for your children or to lead a mora of Spartans into battle armed to the teeth - The biggest prerequisites for success in any endeavor are that you must be moved, committed, and determined to accomplish the task. And as important, you have to do the work that is required to get there. For me, getting a handle on my physical state is part of that work.

I am a big believer in finding inspiration in others, which always helps me to get started on the task at hand. For bigger life questions, I look to people who expect more out of life than to pass the time, standing still in a job for 8 hours a day for the best years of their life, until the time is up.

Chris Guillebeau is one such inspiration. Chris’s site is called The Art of Non-Conformity: Unconventional strategies for life, work, and travel. He recently wrote a report for which the timing, for me, could not have been better. He is no guru or prophet; he is simply an excellent writer who is striving to change the world by whispering the unheralded death of mediocrity through a global bullhorn.

With this, I identify.

Chris has published his manifesto which is entitled, A Brief Guide to World Domination (and other important goals): How to Live a Remarkable Life in a Conventional World. The report is spreading like wildfire thanks to a virtual army, myself included, who are enthusiastically fanning the smoke signals of change in a digital age.

Think Global, Act…Global?

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.�
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The message of World Domination is simple: Each one of us can live a remarkable life - we just need to choose to do so. Changing the world for the better does not have to be a product of circumstance. If you want to change the world, the most important thing to do, is to start.

But there is a catch.

If you aspire to greatness, you have to think on a bigger scale than you might be accustomed to thinking. In fact, you have to think of your impact for good on a global scale. Thanks to nearly instant, worldwide communication technology, stimulating positive change in global terms has never been more possible. The good news is that accomplishing your goals does not have to be at the expense of a greater good. In other words, you can do great things for the world while you accomplish your own goals. They are not mutually exclusive.

The bad news is, there is a whole system of conventional thinking that will tell you otherwise.

What are your dreams?

To determine our own goals and to live a life that our children and our children’s children will call extraordinary, Chris has distilled the process down to asking two basic questions that those of us who want more out of life have to answer:

#1: What do you really want to get out of life?

#2: What can you offer the world that no one else can?

The questions are simple, but for many the answers may not be. If you are one of the fortunate few who already know your life’s answers, my sincere congratulations. If you are one of the rest of us who are striving to figure this out, don’t panic. You’re not alone. But don’t analyze it too closely. The single greatest mistake that most of us make is not failing in the process; the critical error is never starting in the first place.

For me, the journey is underway. At the time, I didn’t even realize it was starting, but looking back, I’m now approaching month 7 of doing the work (with Almost Fit being the cornerstone), even if I don’t know where precisely my path is leading. I don’t have my final answers yet to questions one and two. But what I do know is they both involve work, trade-offs, and a willingness to sacrifice a degree of comfort for a while in favor of accomplishing truly great things.

The choice is yours - no strings attached

If you are interested in living a life that is remarkable, making changes that will ultimately benefit both yourself and others on a grand scale, and living a life that is uniquely your own, consider reading Chris’s manifesto. It is only 29 pages, it is without charge, and is well worth an afternoon of exercising your rods and cones.

I read it camping on the North Umpqua River.

To be clear, Chris is not selling anything; the manifesto, as I said, is free. There are no MLM schemes behind door number three and there is no commitment required, though I do recommend subscribing to his blog (I do). Operators are not standing by, and there is an unlimited digital quantity to go around, so take your time. This is simply the opportunity to read a thoughtful piece of work that may open your eyes to your own potential, and may spur you on to achievements that you did not think were possible for an army of one.

One last thing…

Chris is a busy guy. In addition to reading the posts on his site, I follow his broadcasts on Twitter. I love the sense of global connectedness I get when I read one of his messages about being lost somewhere in a province that I have no idea how to even pronounce. In fact, in a recent message, he was relieved to be in the familiar comfort of a major airport in Asia.

How many people from this country do you know who would say the same?

Ed. Note: This post took me a while to compose because it is important to me. I hope it sparked your interest. The photos, by the way, are all shots we took in Paris. If you enjoy Almost Fit, please consider subscribing or sharing the posts with your friends. Thanks.

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Ed. Note: This is a reprint (with a few changes) of an article I wrote a while back as a guest post for the guys at GetFitSlowly - Mac and J.D. are some of my principle inspirations for writing about this process, and their site is highly recommended. I’ve had several requests to repost the article here, so I am doing so today. If you enjoy it, please give it a vote via your social networking tool of choice, such as Digg or StumbleUpon. Thanks. Oh, and if you’re new here, welcome to Almost Fit. Please leave a comment and introduce yourself.

When it comes to food, exercise, and our obsession with obesity, the French appear to break all of the rules of Western thought. By and large those who live a traditional French lifestyle eat for pleasure and satisfaction, they often smoke (arguably a stereotype), and they drink regularly. Despite a diet proportionally high in things like saturated fats, the French have remarkably low rates of heart disease and obesity. Welcome to the French Paradox.

On a visit to Paris with my wife and our 7-month old son, I experienced this firsthand. When you walk the streets of Paris, you are tempted with the most sensual culinary delights imaginable: Delicately handmade pastries, beautiful chocolates, freshly baked bread from ovens that have been used for sometimes hundreds of years, full fat, unpasteurized cheeses, and fresh crepes. And that’s just what you can see in the window displays. When you see overweight people in Paris, they are almost never Parisians; in fact, in my experience it was the easiest way to identify my fellow Americans!

Those who practice a traditional French lifestyle seem to break our most commonly accepted dietary notions. They typically:

• Consume 60% more saturated fats than we do in proportion to our overall intake, primarily through dairy. This includes rich cheeses, real butter, whole milk, and yogurt.
• Do not eat low fat products or use or chemically derived sugar substitutes.
• Eat fresh bread daily that is made from refined white flour.
• Regularly consume both lean and fatty meats including pork, duck, beef, chicken, and a few others (someone hide Mr. Ed), as well as fish.
• Drink alcohol with lunch and dinner, and the alcohol is often unregulated. Meaning, where we have a soda fountain, they may have a cask of wine available for refills.
• Smoke cigarettes. As I mentioned earlier, this is a bit of a stereotype since the French typically smoke less than several other European countries, and only a few percentage points more than Americans, on whole. That said, we found in Paris that the smell of cigarette smoke was abundant, yet for some reason we didn’t mind (neither of us are smokers).
• Eat late at night, much later than we do - Often eating heavier foods for supper at around 9 or 10, followed by a dessert course.
• Do not go to the gym or exercise much more than we do (the reasoning being why waste your life in such a way, when you could be enjoying it?).
• Do not obsess about the chemical composition of the foods they eat, and they do not rely on science and industry to tell them what is good or bad. That is what Mother is for.

With all of this dietary rule-breaking, the French simply should be dying off like flies from heart disease. I mean after all, high fat foods? Simple carbohydrates and sugar-filled deserts? Cigarettes and alcohol? No Stairmaster for 3 hours a day? According to our experience, our industrial and governmental science, and our gigantic devotion to every miracle-cure product and approach we can turn our eyes to, their collective hearts should all be congealed, seized up like French-made Peugeot diesel motors full of hardened, varnished sludge.

The truth is that the French typically live 3 years longer than we do, with only an 8.3% rate of heart disease, and a low occurrence of obesity (though sadly this is increasing as Western ways infiltrate French daily life).

So how do they do it?

According to folks like Dr. Will Clower, Michael Pollan, and Mirielle Guiliano (and place me squarely in this camp, by personal experience), it comes down to this: The French simply eat real food in moderation. They eat good food, just less of it (they eat until they’re full, and then they stop). They generally don’t eat the overly-processed, low fat, low carb, hydrogenated chemically substituted well-preserved food-based products that we do. Dr. Clower’s catchphrase: “If it’s not food, don’t eat it.” Michael Pollan? “Eat food. Not Too Much. Mostly plants.”

How to eat rich foods and not gain weight

How can you implement the French approach? What do the French do that allows them to eat what they want, when they want, and still not gain weight?

Here is a list based primarily on the writings of the three authors cited above. Of course, their books provide much more detail on the scientific (and anecdotal) evidence that supports the effectiveness of these ideas, and provide specific techniques on how to implement them. Here’s a sample of the guidance they provide:

• Identify honestly what you eat, think about it, and make changes very slightly and gradually. Remember that you are changing these dietary habits for the span of a lifetime, so they have to be simple, livable adjustments. From Mireille Guiliano, “The answer to weight gain is never dieting.”
• Eat only real food, not processed food alternatives, “faux foods”, or food-like products (particularly high fructose corn syrup).The good news is this means you get to eat butter, bread, and chocolate again.
• Eat for the pleasure of eating, rather than as a means of fuel. Treat your mouth more like a sensory tool and less like a Flux Capacitor.
• Eat at regular times. In France, they maintain a social stigma against between meal snacking. In fact, many of their cars do not have cupholders.
• Eat seasonally, locally, and shop several times a week. And as Michael Pollan says, don’t buy your fuel at the same place you buy it for your car.
• Don’t rely solely on “Nutritionism” to tell you what is good for you; use common sense, and eat real foods. If Great-Grandma wouldn’t recognize it, don’t eat it. This is a simplification here; read In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan for a much deeper explanation of the dangers of relying on science and industry alone to tell us what we should eat.
• Your dietary emphasis should be on green leafy vegetables, or animals who are fed those vegetables.
• Eat fat! Just the right kinds, particularly dairy and naturally occurring fats in plants (think avocados not corn oil). In fact, the lack of fat intake may actually be one of the root causes of many of our health problems like heart disease and diabetes.
• Quantity does not equal quality. Buy the best you can afford, and be willing to spend a little more (although I’ve found that the cost levels out when you’re eating less).
• Train yourself to eat less by enjoying your food more, eating slower, putting less in your mouth per bite, and eating for sensory pleasure. Realize that portion size has grown 3 times what it was 50 years ago!
• Don’t eat mindlessly or be distracted when you’re eating by things like television or the computer.
• Incorporate wine into your diet in moderation.
• Don’t stuff yourself. Learn the often forgotten feeling of fullness with practice and patience. For example, eat half of what you normally would, and wait for half an hour. If you’re starving, you know it wasn’t enough. If you feel physically good, that is the feeling of being full. Practice identifying that feeling, and it becomes second nature with time.
• Try to get all of your nutritional needs met through whole foods rather than supplements whenever possible (there is an ongoing, raging controversy as to whether supplements actually have much benefit out of the context of the whole food from which they were derived. [Update: After reading further, personally I believe that they DO have benefit, but only the right kinds. Industrially produced, synthetic supplements are not only worthless nutrition-wise, they can be dangerous. Whole food multivitamins, on the other hand, are a proven source of nutrition. For the “real” thing, and to gain a better understanding of the issues involved, see Robin’s blog, Whole Food and More.]).
• Learn to cook, and make time to do it. We often say that we don’t have time to cook, but in reality in the last 15 years most of us have somehow made 2-3 hours time for other things like surfing the Internet. It is ultimately a matter of choosing our health as a priority.
• Make ethical choices in what you eat. Develop a relationship with what you put in your body, understand how it affects you, and recognize that your choices impact the environment. This is an interpolation of the French diet in a sense since it is not a conscious concern of theirs, generally, but in a world of genetically modified foods and questionable shortsighted farming practices, it helps you to identify “real food.” The French concept of the Terroir reflects a profound respect for the land that provides the good things in life - it is a principle that helps when trying to make wise choices.
• Don’t view your weight or your choices as a pass/fail situation. View it as a commitment to improving your life over the long haul.

All of these steps, for me, boil down to this: Eating real food in moderation simply works. It may very well be the solution to the French Paradox.

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Ed. note: I have been off in the mountains in pursuit of fish - but I got a chance to check in. I’ll be sending pictures of the fishing adventures soon - now that the power is back on. If you enjoy this post, please consider receiving Almost Fit in your inbox. Thanks.

As I have mentioned in several places, (IowaAvenue,for one), on Thursday of last week I left my corporate day job in favor of pursuing personal projects, not the least of which is Almost Fit. As crazy as this may be, I have neither a specific plan nor another job lined up, but I do have a little bit of savings and a bunch of ideas.

Sounds like a recipe for World Domination if I ever heard one.

So rather than spending the days and evenings freaking out, I decided to execute the first step in my loosely gathered plan for world dominance: Go Fishing.

Fly fishing on the North Umpqua river in the mountains of Southern Oregon to be exact. My brother-in-law owns a beautiful campground and RV park on the North Umpqua called Umpqua’s Last Resort. The campground has hot showers and power to every camp spot, as well as two new furnished cabins. We have converged with my wife’s family for a week of camping, playing, and familial merriment, which is a fancy way of saying beer by the river with the cousins.

My first order of business (or so I thought) was to get a wireless Internet connection working. After an hour or so of plunking around with settings on their equipment, the wireless router was up and running, and the range was surprisingly far-reaching

This convenience was short-lived.

Later that evening we had a spectacular thunder and lightning storm which included most of us campers outside cheering on the light show as if it were being presented by the park owners. When the storm picked up (and the rain started), we moved under cover, but the display was exhilerating. Unfortunately, lightning strikes brought several trees down over power lines. No power means no Web connection, which meant Almost Fit would have to wait. The power remained out into the following evening, came back on for overnight for a while, but by the next morning the power was out again.

But all things considered, AC power is a minor inconvenience when your long term goals are to rule the world, or other similar grandiose aspirations.

S’more, anyone?

As you might imagine, on the eating track things have been a little looser since we’re camping. At home, I’ve primarily given up drinking beer in my daily routine, but that rule has been enthusiastically suspended here. I am also eating more meat than I typically do, and very few vegetables unfortunately, although the truth is I feel like I’m eating less over all because it is so hot here. Ah, the vagabond life.

On the plus side, exercise has been in full swing - there are numerous rivers and creeks that flow all over the mountains here, and we’ve been busy swimming, skipping rocks (I’m sure there must be a few calories burned there), and jumping from outcroppings into frigid waters below. I’ve also continued to pursue my 100 push-up challenge goals, as well as daily crunches.

In the next few days I’ll be publishing more on my fly fishing experience here, and many points between, so stay tuned.

Oh, and one more thing:

So what’s all this talk of World Domination? Now that the power has returned, I want to share with Almost Fit readers a little something that is impacting my thought processes over the last couple of weeks. But you’ll have to wait until the next post to see what I mean. Don’t worry - it’s not Amway or some cult - it is simply that I have bumped up against a kindred spirit online, and knowing that others exist with a similar goal in life has really thrown me into an entirely new and positive path.

It seems that quitting my job was very clearly a good idea. At least that is what I’m telling myself.

More to come……

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Ed. note: Here’s a little exercise story about a young man named Metroknow. Why his parents chose that name is beyond anyone’s recollection, but that’s not really integral to the story.

When I watch my soon-to-be four year old, like millions of parents before me I marvel at his sheer level of energy. He plays hard, laughs hard, cries hard, and sleeps hard. In my case I seem to have replaced all of those items with “work” hard. But, I’m getting back to playing a little too.

I grew up playing just about every sport I could get into, though rarely in an organized league. While I went through long periods of constant football, soccer, basketball, and some baseball, I really excelled at competitive volleyball into adulthood. As an adult, my somewhat regular exercise was either biking, running, or pickup games of basketball on weekends.

I was also an avid skateboarder from my early teens to my late twenties, and I have the knees to prove it. Throw in some skiing and snowboarding, and you have several years worth of the orthopaedic surgeon’s yacht payment.

At some point I got out of the habit of finding fun ways to exercise, and life times laziness plus a love of food equals about 5-10 lbs a year gained, multiplied by 7 years. Not pretty.

Why I hated running…for a while

In my thirties, realizing what was happening, I started getting back into running, or so I thought. When I was younger, distance running was much easier (to which I hear a collective, “DUH” arising…). But in my thirties, things like my knees started to make odd creaking and popping noises, my lungs seemed to have atrophied, and my ankles were prone to give out from time to time. What was happening to me? Was I being poisoned?

When it came to running, things were particularly frustrating. I was constantly trying to improve my time on my little course around the neighborhood, hoping for weight loss results. While I found it was beneficial mentally to get out, I saw absolutely ZERO results in weight loss. Why?

Looking back, there were obviously two parts of the problem:
1. I hadn’t changed my eating habits
2. I wasn’t doing it enough

I know it sounds simple, but the truth is when it came to exercise I was doing just enough….to hate it. I was running for only about 30 minutes or so, including warm-up and cool-down time. I was getting my heart rate up for what I considered long periods within that 30 minutes - but realistically? That was probably a sustained heart rate of 85% for about 7 minutes or so.

That is not going to yield a climber’s physique any time soon.

When I returned from my “run” (which I say with that ultra-annoying two-fingered “quotes” gesture), I was completely out of breath, convinced that I was exhausted, and ready to sit down and eat something good because I had earned it.

Let me just pause and say this: If you are not seeing a stadium full of little red flags waiving like a television pan shot at the coming Olympic games, then I think you may have a lot in common with me way back when.

So what changed? In short, I decided to participate in a charity training event to run a 1/2 marathon. To be frank, while I really was supportive of the cause (and I did raise my $2000 pledge), what I really wanted was some guidance on what I was doing wrong. And it worked. I was introduced to the walk/run technique, which ultimately allowed me to run 13.1 miles without dying. Though I felt like it was a close call by the end.

Do you have something you’d like to share with the class?

Basically I learned that a) If you don’t exercise enough, you won’t see results for many months, if at all and you will HATE it, and b) Injury is the enemy, so take it slow. That is what I did; even at 75 lbs overweight, I was able to complete the 1/2 marathon. Of course, my knees resented me and reminded me of my lack of consideration to them for many months after, but they seem to be a little more agreeable now.

All of that taught me half of the equation: If I want to see real fitness results, I need to exercise for longer than one half hour three times a week. While there may be some intensive programs out there that advocate abs and hind-quarters like titanium in 5 minutes or less, that is really not what I’m interested in. Wait. That came out wrong. What I mean is, my fitness goals are simply to improve my health, not to be the butt stand-in for Brad Pitt.

In the mean time, I am gaining mastery of the second half of the equation: My diet. Eating real food in moderation really does work. 26 lbs lost so far this year. The problem is, while I do feel better, and the weight is slowly coming off, I do not feel strong. I am not sleeping as well as I would like (a lifelong problem), and things jiggle when I walk that I would like to make stop.

That, and each day that goes by, my son is getting faster. I can’t let him beat me just yet - I have to have a LITTLE dignity, don’t I?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider having Almost Fit delivered to your email’s ever-crowded inbox. Thanks.

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“64 oz. soda? Does it come with a chance to win Boardwalk? Well then hit me Brutha!” - Metroknow, 26 lbs heavier

About 6 months ago, I completely quit eating fast food. For me, this was no minor feat. In the first part of this two-part series, I’ll tell you about my relationship (yes, relationship) with fast food. In part two, I’ll tell you exactly how I’m doing it, and how you can too.

I am definitely a card-carrying member of the fast food generation. I don’t know how many times I have made the decision on the size of a combo at McDonald’s based on which of the larger sizes included the most “extra” Monopoly game pieces, which generally led to winning - you guessed it - MORE fast food. I never won that extra-heavy Hummer with the dual 40 gallon fuel tanks.

Why do did I like Fast Food?

Like it or not, here’s the truth: fast food sells - in a BIG way. For me, here’s why:

1. Availability. In many parts of the country, we are simply overrun with fast food and junk food options. In L.A. suburbs, Portland suburbs, and most small towns, when you drive through the business district it looks like this: McDonalds, dry cleaners, cellular phone store, Jack-in-the-Box, stereo store, Starbucks, Taco Bell, KFC, cheap shoe store, Burger King, Wal-Mart, and then McDonalds again.

Repeat that cycle every 4-6 blocks, throw in an Olive Garden, a gas station, and a few 99-cent stores, and you have a drive across America that repeats itself like a Politician stumping from town to town, from sea to plastic-bag-filled shining sea.

Yes, fast food and dry cleaners are everywhere. And I’m not sure which one is more toxic. Someone oughta’ just get it over with and combine dry cleaners and fast food joints. After all, their prices are comparable, which leads me to… Read the rest of this entry »

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This week I’ve been working on tuning the look, feel, and direction of Almost Fit - The new design is not ready for prime time yet, but it’s getting there. As part of this process, I’ve been looking through my posts, analyzing the areas of focus that seem to really interest people, and trying to approximate the shape of Almost Fit in the coming months. I’ve had some reasonably successful articles, a couple of big hits, and in truth, some real dogs.

Hibernating, possibly catatonic dogs.

With that in mind, I’m going to share both the good and the bad - but there’s a catch - A little question or two for the readers of this site:

What would you like to see covered on Almost Fit? Which articles do you find most interesting? Which entries bore you to tears? Go ahead - be brutal.

Here are a few ideas to get you started. I’m going with a margarita theme today, as the sun is out after weeks of gloom, and I’m feeling like kicking back on the deck with a salt-rimmed glass and a pitcher of goodness.

The high fructose corn syrup “a little better than sleeping pills” margarita articles

11 ways to lose weight using good table manners: Personally I kind of liked this article. From the comments, I was fairly alone in that opinion.

30 days to form a new habit? On the moon, maybe: I didn’t think this was too bad, but it was definitely a sleeper if the comments are any indication…What do you think?

The House Margarita with the cheap tequila articles

23 benefits of eating real food in moderation: I enjoyed writing this one, and the facts still hold true.

33 tips on how to lose weight without dieting: This article stimulated a fair amount of discussion here and elsewhere, which was great.

The Cadillac Margarita with the Patron Reposado articles

Can you make artisan bread like this? In only 5 minutes? This article is by far my most read. It was picked up by Reuters among other sources, and is far and away my most widely distributed.

Did Cereal make me fat? You decide: I think this is one of my better pieces, though it is not read nearly as much as I would have thought. I think it’s a problem with the title. What do you think?

The French tradition - Give us our daily baguette: This may be my favorite article, as I got to indulge my love of Paris even if only for a few paragraphs.

—

I just wanted to take a moment to thank the readers of Almost Fit. So far this process has been thoroughly enjoyable. In particular, I’ve met “virtually” so many interesting, passionate, and intelligent people all working toward a similar goal. If you have suggestions on articles you’d like to see, or improvements, I’d love to hear your suggestions. Please feel free to leave them in the comments, or contact me via my contact page.

Thank you again.

Metroknow

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Welcome to Almost Fit. If you’ve just arrived from GetFitSlowly, an extra welcome to you as well. Almost Fit is about one thing: Improving health by eating real food in moderation. No low fat this or low carb that, just healthful eating with weight loss being a satisfying side effect. If you enjoy Almost Fit, please consider subscribing. Have a poke around and let me know what you think. Thanks.

Have you ever wondered why it seems that the French can get away with eating everything we’re told not to eat, and still live 3 years longer on average, without exercising more than we do, taking 6 week vacations, and 2 hour lunches?

I’ve written a guest post this morning for the good guys over at GetFitSlowly.com. I mentioned their site briefly yesterday as one of my inspirations for Almost Fit, so it was really exciting when J.D. agreed to post one of my pieces.

If you have a few minutes, check the article out: Food, Drink, and Decadence: How the French Stay Thin.

If you haven’t already, you should also become a regular there if you are at all interested in improving your health. J.D. also writes GetRichSlowly, which is tremendously successful not only because the advice there is so sound, but his well-rendered honesty always shines through. He talks about his successes, failures, interests, and frustrations with great candor. Well worth adding to your RSS feed. Both are in my top 10 daily reads.

Thanks guys!

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Life, these last couple of months, has been a gel-filled stress-ball’s squeeze-frenzied nightmare.

Here’s a little something about me: As I’ve said before, when the pressure is on, simple carbohydrates are my lifelong addiction buddies - the ones I hung out with when I was younger and more metabolically advantaged, and in whose company I dove head first into the shallow end of the dietary trouble pool. Simple carbs are the overly accepting old friends that I have to avoid if I want to “stay on the wagon” with real food.

Some people take a walk with Lassie to regain their center of gravity; I on the other hand, tend to take a drive to Taco Bell, hoping that they’ve finally figured out the Holy Grail of fast food: the lascivious matrimonial union of sugar, preservatives, hormones, antibiotics, and dirt-cheap meat.

Pulling around the finely crafted drive-thru arc of asphalt and concrete curb that says, enter dear friend, but know that there is but one way out, I think to myself: “What sweet and savory surprise awaits me on the shimmering ordering board this time, my old corn syrupy compadre? Is it a newly-conceived melding of steaming hot “cheese-ish” sauce, oddly and excessively chopped ground beef-like meat, and powdered jelly donuts? All wrapped in a freezer-burnt artificially-colored tortilla? Maybe I’ll be greeted by the hearty handshake of yet another Blast flavor of soda-lovin’-in-a-bucket, calling my name when I roll up to the crusty drive-thru microphone?”

I’ll go out on a limb here: If there is one place in the world that can stick just about anything into a tortilla and turn disgusting into sellable, it’s Taco Bell. Believe me.

So have I given up this whole real food thing? Am I now indulging in mystery beef bathed in succulent cheesy goo? Say it isn’t so! Read the rest of this entry »

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