I’ve undergone several food revolutions in my life — periods that completely changed the way I look at, think about, and consume food. Food Revolution Number One: Slim Fast.  When I moved into my first apartment in college, I realized that I finally had complete control over the food I ate.  I knew I needed to lose weight, and so I went with Slim Fast as my diet plan.  It worked — boy, did it work!  I lost 35 pounds in about six months between the Slim Fast and taking up swimming several times a week.  For the first time in my life, I was happy with the way I looked.

But I wasn’t happy with the way I was eating.  Those Slim Fast shakes were driving me up the wall.  I convinced myself that I was ready for real food.  I went off the shakes and, lo and behold, the weight started to come back.  Thankfully, I didn’t let it get too far before I underwent Food Revolution Number Two: Weight Watchers.

Weight Watchers appealed to me because they claim to be all about real food, and after six months of chocolate milk, real food was all I craved.  Nothing is off limits, they proclaim!  And to a certain extent, that’s true.  The ideas behind WW are sound: good nutrition, moderate exercise, and keeping track of what you eat.

But counting points got to be a major drag for me after a while.  I lost ten of the pounds I had gained back after the Slim Fast and hit a wall.  No matter how hard I tried, my weight never seemed to dip much lower, and when it did manage to go down, it came right back up again.  I was beating myself (emotionally) black and blue over each little point, each bite of food, analyzing and re-analyzing and then binging when I got too depressed to care any more.  I had hit a plateau.

And I’m still there — more or less.  The more is that I’ve finally realized that I won’t lose any more weight without a) seriously starving myself or b) seriously increasing my workouts.  The less is that I find myself feeling less and less negative about the woman I see in the mirror; sure, she has a few extra pounds, but she is so much fitter and healthier than she has ever been.  I’m ready to celebrate that victory instead of bemoaning those last 5-10 pounds.

So, I think it was kismet that Michael Pollan’s article came out when it did, because I think I am finally ready for Food Revolution Number Three: Ethical Eating.

I mean two things by Ethical Eating.  First, in the more traditional sense; just in reading the first chapter of Pollan’s book, I am appalled by the condition of the American industrial food chain, and I find I’m not willing to support it any more than I have to.  I’m ready to change the kinds of foods — and thereby the policies — I support by changing what I purchase.  I may not be ready to become a complete vegetarian, but I am ready to start insisting that the chickens and eggs I consume be vegetarian fed and free range, and that the beef I consume live out its life in an open pasture, rather than a crowded feed lot.

In the second sense, I am ready to treat my body more ethically.  It is shameful how little I know and understand about the food I’m putting into my body, the food I’m asking my Husband to consume.  Is it any wonder that our bodies are rebelling with weight gain and disease when we nourish ourselves with nothing but synthetic chemicals and artificial flavors?  I thought we were eating fairly healthfully — until I started looking at the labels on the foods in our cupboards.

For me, being healthy is an important part of living a whole life.  Treating my body with respect and care is a whole new challenge for me.  I only get one body, and if I intend for my best life to be a long one, I need to start taking better care post haste.

Next: The Grocery Game