I promised that my Hot by Blogher (button coming soon!) post would only be the first of many, and I’m making good on that.

Today, I’m thinking about food. Fooooooood…yummm. *drool*

Food and I have been BFFs for a long, long time. Possibly codependent lovers, even. When I find good food, it’s hard to stop eating. Food and I sometimes party long past the point when others would call it a night, and then the next morning I do my walk of shame past the fridge, regretting all that I ate as I avoid making eye contact with the pantry.

Have you ever heard someone casually say, “Oh, I forgot to eat today…” Yeah, well, those words have never escaped my lips. I’ve had moments where I’ve been extremely busy – forgetting meetings, dinners with friends, or forgetting my ID when going out – but never ever have I forgotten to eat.

That’s part of the reason I’m at this point today. My love affair with food has reached a toxic level, and in order to be healthier, I need to redefine that relationship.

Here’s my master plan to deal with food: less and more.

What do I mean by less and more? Well, I’ll start by less of this:

Emphasis on less chocolate…

and more of this:

Heaven in a box: chocolate yet only 100 calories.

Less of this:

Neon orange isn’t a food color found in nature.

and more of this:

Still processed, but at least it contains real veggies.

Less of this:

What do you mean ice cream isn’t a side dish?

and more of this:

I’m surprised by how much I love these.

Also more fruits and fresh foods, but I need to go to the grocery, so I don’t have any of those to show you at the moment.

Simple, no? OK, well, it’s a little more complicated than that. I will be making a conscious effort to include lower fat, less processed food in my diet. More veggies and fruit, less junk. And when I do eat junk, I’ll try for junk with less calories or a smaller portion size.

I’m trying to keep my calories down as well, but there is no exact number and no food is off-limits. I’m keeping a rough estimate of how many calories I’m eating each day, with a goal somewhere around 1600-1800. The other rule is that one day a week, I’m free to eat however I want, with no calorie counting at all. I did that on Saturday, and found that after eating well for several days, I couldn’t eat enough to do much damage.

This might sound really lax to many, but from past experience I know that setting strict rules for myself doesn’t work. If it works for you, great – post a list of rules on your fridge and use them to keep yourself accountable. But I’ve tried most of the diets out there – strict calorie counting, Weight Watchers points, no-carb, the soup diet, the food-of-the-week diet, etc. – and always ended up “cheating” at some point and giving up. It never works.

I’m not on a diet. I’m choosing to change my eating habits permanently, with weight loss being a desired side effect. If I want chocolate, I’m going to eat chocolate. I just won’t eat an entire box worth, and I’ll do a mental check to make sure I really want the chocolate (instead of really being bored, or unhappy, or some other non-craving feeling). Cravings are OK, but eating out of boredom is a bad habit I plan to break.

My greatest problem will be portion control, and I’ll be repeating my mantra often: You don’t have to eat it all today…it will still be there tomorrow. There’s no chance of bakeries everywhere running out of cake permanently in the next 24 hours. It’s unlikely that Little Debbie will go under by the end of the week. I will have the chance to eat it again.

So that’s the big plan. Less of the bad stuff, more of the good stuff, and permission to screw up now and then. As I get used to eating more of the good stuff, it should get easier to stick to the plan. I’ve already started the plan, and in one week I’ve lost two pounds. I have no specific weight I want to get to, but two pounds is a great start.

Lots more to come, of course. For those who are playing along, how are you going to change your eating habits?

(PS – Thank you to those who are cheering me on, and those who want to join in. The extra motivation from your support is awesome!)