When I was a child, I was average sized, but by puberty I was ‘chubby’, throughout my teen years I was ‘fat’, and by adulthood I was ‘obese’. My parents told me it was ‘hereditary’ and got doctors to put me on ‘diets’, but I always gained more than I’d lost. After the birth of my youngest, though, I was over 240 lbs. And still gaining, my blood pressure was rising, and I realized that if I didn’t do something I would pass my weight issues on to my kids.

So, I did something.

Four years later, I averaged 155 lbs., had ‘textbook’ blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and was fit enough to out-run my kids.

Naturally, losing more than 80 pounds was a life-altering experience that taught me a great deal, not the least of which was the vital importance of ‘food’ to ‘health’, and the empowerment we gain by understanding the inter-dependencies that exist between the two. Of course, it is possible to talk about one without talking about the other (and many people do!), but doing so only cheats us of opportunities to affect real and positive changes in our lives. Once I figured that out, I wasn’t just able to change my body weight and shape, but to deal with other issues like menopause, blood pressure, gluten intolerance, asthma, and more!

Unfortunately, many such hard-won lessons get forgotten when you’re caught in the day-to-day grind, making it easy to repeat mistakes or stray from the path to good health. I’ve been reminded of this lately by having to struggle to give advice when asked. So, I’ve decided to do something about that, too.

A week or so ago, I started sifting through my computers for all the old food and health related posts I’ve written and collecting them for this site. I’ve also found some recipe ideas I’d stashed, along with some websites I’d meant to explore. What I think I’ll do is post them to a new ‘food & health’ category for sharing with friends. I’ll also use this page to write down some of the tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way, and hope that if anyone else wants to share theirs, they’ll feel free to comment.

Enjoy!