2012: the year of the small plate.

It is that time of year where every other commercial is about a diet plan. Weight Watchers. NutriSystem. South Beach. Even Adkins is making a play for the new years resolution crowd. The magazine rack at Duane Reade also reminded me that diets are the typical next step from holiday over indulgence. All of the covers have "real diet plan" and "celebrity diet secrets" on them, like I'm supposed to believe that these celebs don't have trainers who kick their asses into shape.

(Funniest thing about that rack: Kim K. is on the cover of one mag for dieting and another for being addicted to plastic surgery. Wonder which is right...)

Ok but back to diets. I thought it was common knowledge that dieting is perhaps the worst way to lose weight while being healthy. Cut the weight? Sure. Keep it off? Nah. The best way to do that is a complete lifestyle change... Or just don't eat a lot and work out sometimes. Unless I'm stressed out, I err towards the latter. When I am stressed out, all bets are off. The picture above is from a real time when I got so stressed from school that I fried a bunch of chicken, baked a bunch of cookies, and gorged on self-pity. It was tasty and terrible at the same time.

This year, I'm taking a different route. I don't think I can (or should) completely cut out the foods that make me happy, but I don't have the time to workout enough to counter act my binges. Cooking is one of the few enjoyable things that I can still do in my busy student schedule, and eating is the natural reward for slaving over stove (or, more likely, the crock pot). Enter: small plates. I must admit that I am a member of the Clean Plate Club (credit to the amazingly amazing Bethenny Frankel for coining that phrase), but I'm thinking that maybe if I get smaller plates it won't be so bad...? Like, I can still clean the plate but since it's a smaller plate it's ok...? Clearly I haven't tried yet and clearly it will be an experiment, but I think it will work.

Well, that and working out more than once per month. I'm sure that will help, too.

xo,
Linds