Life Tools: Hackers Diet

I am the anti-diet girl. Seriously, I'm militant on the subject. I think diets are evil, and the diet industry is second only to the oil & gas industry for pure self-serving hypocrisy.

There. It's on the record.

I don't diet.

I eat what I want.

So, how have I lost a buttload (literally) of weight since October?

A friend recommended John Walker's The Hacker's Diet to another friend on LiveJournal and I happened to notice. Now, aside from being a foodie and a history junkie, I am a true geek wannabe. Granted, I'm not hampered by any actual programming ability, but that does nothing to dim my admiration for programmers and computer geeks.

Intrigued, I read the book. It was funny. It was simple. It was logical. And most of all, it didn't tell me what the hell to eat.

Seriously. I hate diets specifically for the reason that nobody puts Baby in a corn...erm, nobody tells me what to eat. I don't eat cheese. I don't eat meat. I don't like certain types of food. And if I follow your evil, controlling, money-grubbing meal plans, I will certainly gain weight because--ew. No. Not gonna do it.

Sorry. I digress.

Anyway, here comes Hacker John with the attitude, "Hey, I'm rich. I don't need your money. Here's this book for free. I'm a programmer, and I don't want to be unhealthy, so I did all the math and made the tools (oh, they're free too) and all you have to do is weigh yourself every day and exercise and maybe watch the amount of calories you consume."

This is my kind of weight plan. I eat what I want, just control the portions. Although I have to admit, the more I control my portions, the more I enjoy healthy foods. Not just because I can eat more. To be honest, my appetite for the most part has decreased. I am preferring the healthy foods because they make me feel better.

The other part of the plan, the exercising, is what usually trips me up. I do not have a lot of money. And what little fun money I have is gonna be spent at a restaurant, not a fitness center. Also, I don't like to sweat. And I don't like walking for miles and miles in circles. The bottom line is, I don't much like exercising.

John doesn't like exercise either, but he makes a very good argument for it in his book. Not only that, but he gives a very easy plan that takes me no more than ten minutes a day and doesn't leave me all sweaty and gross. If you think you can do the following, you can do this exercise plan: toe touch, crunches, leg lifts, baby push-ups (not the real ones...yet), running in place, and jumping jacks.

No stupid outfits to buy or memberships to try to get out of when you have lost interest. No complicated dance routines to learn. Just the same six exercises, in the same order, all the time. You add reps as your fitness level improves. And the best thing is, it can be done almost anywhere and you don't have to spend a dime.

Don't shoot me, but I have to say it--I almost look forward to my exercise now. (Are you still reading? Whew. Good.) It's fast, focused, and helps me work out my stress on break.

So. Eat what you want, but watch your calories. Do a modicum of exercise every day. Get over it. This sounds like my kind of diet plan.

That being said, I wonder what we're doing for lunch--Fey mentioned something about going to Louisville for Mediterranean food...mmmmm......