I Ate The Chocodile

I, the Chocodile, am embarking on a new journey to find fun, exciting, and delicious ways to enjoy a healthier lifestyle and greater sense of well-being. Food is an essential part of culture, and for me a source of entertainment and expression as well as nutrition. It nourishes creativity and relationships, and plays a huge role in my life. I am a foodie through-and-through; I love food, with its many preparations and back-stories and traditions…

My goal is to decrease my intake of calories, fat and carbohydrates, without compromising the quality of my cuisine, and the exuberance with which I regard the creating, cooking, and consuming thereof. I hope to create a regimen that I can be genuinely excited about, and that will ultimately result in an increased feeling of fitness and energization.

I am keeping my plan realistic, and avoiding overtly restrictive guidelines, so as not to set myself up for failure, and more importantly to me, not dread or resent my “diet.” My current plan consists of a little less than 1500 calories, which I plan to wean down over time, and very few carbohydrates. (I have eliminated all starches: breads, pastas, potatoes and sweets, and hope to add back smaller portions of whole-grain breads and pastas further down the road.) My meals will be largely based on salads of raw vegetables, as well as some cooked vegetables and lean proteins. I do not plan to eliminate red meat, but will be eating it more sparingly than chicken or fish. I will be supplementing my diet with a maximum of one low-carb soy protein shake and one dietary meal bar or snack bar per day, but intend not to rely heavily upon these.

In addition to these culinary changes, I am also making changes to my daily routine, such as making an effort to wake up and to go to bed at roughly the same time each day. As a Barista, I often work at 6:45 AM one day and 2:00 PM the next. By disallowing myself to sleep in on the latter days, I am hoping to even out my metabolism, and increase the quality of my sleep.

This blog will chronicle the new recipes that I create and the thought processes behind them, as well as my daily experiences with food and culture, and there will be plenty of food porn!

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