I overheard the partners in a firm in which I worked in Miami making fun of one of our clients, saying that he believed that he was going to enjoy good health and longevity through proper nutrition. He belonged, they said, to some society that believed this. The partners would joke at each other saying, "you enjoy pork shops, and you're the epitomy of good health." I didn't see anything weird in the eating customs of our client. He was just more careful than the rest of the group - eating fish and vegetables and avoiding desserts when we would eat together.
I had lost 30lbs on a diet that an accupuncturist had given me. It was a cleansing diet that didn't allow too many choices of foods. I called it the "no" diet, because she basically gave me a list of "no" foods. The "yes" portion did not seem to me at the time to have too much in it. It worked, but there were still 10 lbs I wanted to lose. I had taken up yoga seriously and was still having trouble twisting into a pretzel in some of the positions.
So I asked myself if there was some group on the web that could help me reduce my calorie consumption, and a google search yielded the Calorie Restriction Society. I lost the 10 lbs over a year an a half - very gradually. In that time I learned of the health benefits of calorie restriction, and realized I had found the group my former client belonged to.
Family and Friends
Currently I live by myself in California and my family is in Puerto Rico, Florida, Vermont and Texas. It is easier to pursue this way of eating when your family is not around all the time to comment on your habits. When I visit them, I don't focus on mentioning calorie restriction. I say that I need to be thin to practice my yoga. I was always heavy, and my siblings are obese to morbidly obese, except a sister who had the gastric bypass. They tend to suffer from the medical conditions made worse by obesity - diabetes type II, high blood pressure, heart disease, glaucoma, etc. My vital statistics are very good.
My vegetarian diet has been an area of discussion with family members. But by now, they leave me alone. Maybe being left alone comes with age - they figure I should be able to make my own decisions. Besides, when I visit family, I prepare my own food and decorate the plate with things they prepare. I go do my own groceries the moment I arrive at their place. It works fine, except for fighting for real estate in the refrigerator during my visits.
I do occasionally get a stern warning about my weight from well meaning relatives like my aunt. She herserlf was CRed most of her life up to her late 70s, without knowing the meaning of the word. Although at the moment her health is declining, she has enjoyed vitality and a clear mind throughout most of her life. When I get upset at what someone in the family has said to me, I mention my frustration to the list here, and there are people who have experienced the same. That helps to get over the frustration. That is the aspect of community support in the list.
A Couple of Good CR Books
I have read The Longevity Diet in its entirety. I read most of Beyond the 120 Year Diet but confess that because I have followed vegetarianism for a long time, it is difficult to read a book that is not strictly vegetarian, so I have not completed reading it. However, I have learned most of the principles described there, and applied them in my own way. CR helps to make a vegetarian or vegan diet healthier.
Food Log Is Valuable
Keeping a food log helps keep me on track, or returning to being on track if I fall off the program. I must have tried about 4 tracking software and currently am using Cron-o-meter. Guar gum puddings is a staple that helps me feel full. Chewing gum helps. Healthy snacks like mega muffins and mega leather help. Reading blogs by CRONies help. There are many additional tips you pick up from reading the list over time and you find out over time what works for you.