Healthier Choices -- step by step

When it comes to making dieting, some people like to go whole hog. Throw out the "bad food", get on the treadmill, buy a bunch of vegetables and a new cookbook, draw up a menu plan. Never look back. This worked so well for us, I highly recommend it. The parents lost a combined 75 pounds in a year (15 of those "accidentally"), while the kids are learning how to make up a balanced eating plan. Deciding "what to eat" got easier, and we learned a bunch of great new recipes. We cut back on salt and got more active (well, one of us did, anyway). It has been great. I cannot recommend the DASH Diet enough!

Dear B read the DASH book on our recommendation (and even read The DASH Diet Action Plan) but really didn't relish the idea of making such an abrupt change, eating so much more fiber, using new cooking techniques, and eating "weird food" while, at the same time, upping the exercise suddenly. It sounded like a recipe for pain and indigestion. Since the Dash Diet is just what B wants, I countered that it would be illogical NOT to make the change. B was merely amused by my Mr. Spock approach.

Then, B quite sensibly took a very different approach. B is aiming for more energy and improved health. And B will get there -- one step at a time.