Brad Pilon is brilliant

Alright, I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love food. I don't particularly like being hungry, and I'd much rather eat food (yum!) than fast. Sometimes my fasts are easy, and I hardly think about food or feel a pang. I think this would be the norm if I were outside the house or could avoid the kitchen during the day. But some fasting days I struggle more than others, because I am here all the time, home raising and schooling my children, and whether I'm fasting or not I'm preparing three meals every day.

• Thanksgiving dinner, made of yum and awesome.
  
• Five lovely meals of Thanksgiving leftovers, including desserts.
  
• My favorite dinner at P.F. Chang's Saturday after Christmas shopping.
  
• Party at church with a fantastic meal, Christmasy desserts (cookies, oh noes!), and hand-dipped chocolates.
  
• My 5YO daughter's birthday cake.

All of that in six days, people.

So I'm (1) feeling a little like food is controlling me instead of me controlling food, and (2) feeling a little like I'd rather eat than not. I needed inspiration. I spent a long while yesterday evening reading Brad Pilon's nutrition help blog, and it was just the thing. Seriously, don't we all need someone who has faith in us, and in our bodies? Who believes that losing fat is a simple process? Not easy, maybe, but simple—there's a difference between the two. After years of armchair research into nutrition and health and—yes—weight loss, I'll say that for me it's refreshing to read someone who says it is doable, it is adaptable, it isn't restrictive or compulsive—and who has the good research to back it up. It isn't a secret club to join, it isn't a formula so arcane and complex we'll never understand it. It's life. It's eating what we want (focusing on the healthy and whole more than the other), it's fasting twice a week, and it's strength training. Simple.

Fasting today. Feels a bit like a pivot point—like this is the moment where I decide, "I can do this, even if I don't always want to." Because I do want the results. And I feel like I've finally found The Truth, the owner's manual to my body, the way to unlock what I want.

It just all comes down to me, and doing it. Not always easy.

But simple.

A last note on Brad Pilon: I got an email from him on 11 November, filled with personal advice and encouragement. He said, "I have been following Eat Blog Eat," and "I’ve read every post." And then he quoted passages from my posts. He became my personal cheerleader for the day, at a moment when I badly needed one. I know he's got lots of people to cheerlead, but he got me through that day, which was another pivot point. A huge thanks to Brad for the research, for making the facts available to all of us, and for the personal note.

Rah rah!

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