Normal.  
What is it exactly?

Normal can mean "average",
and it also has the connotation of "sane".

"Normal" weight is defined as a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9
which for my own body is between 95 and 127 lbs.

Regarding food and eating,
what is normal for one person
isn't necessarily normal for another.

Information and misinformation,
the media, books, online sources are full of it.

 I recently re-read a 12 page New York Times article 
" Unhappy Meals" written by Michael Pollin in 2007.
that clearly demonstrates the current food and eating dilemna.

He has some good advice, but unfortunately,
I haven't found his proposed solution to be the resolution 
to my own food-intake and weight maintenance problem.

So what is the answer?
I don't know, but I keep looking.

                     
I work to stay open to new information.
By NEW information, I mean information that is new to me.
Right now I am investigating the Gnoll.org website of J. Stanton
and finding it quite interesting.

I also recently ordered from Amazon
a couple of books that I previously overlooked,

"The Gnoll Credo" by J. Stanton, and
"The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living": by Stephen Phinney.

I look forward to reading those books for my entertainment and education.

I am always experimenting with new diets and new food plans for myself,
however, I do not recommend specific diets and/or food plans for others.
We are all different, and my strong opinion is
that each of us needs to find what works for him or her individually.

DietHobby is here to share the Journey,
not to clearly set forth the path.

For those who are following my “Ask Grandma” videos
click to see my latest one: “How to Get Subscribers on YouTube”
which is located in DietHobby under RESOURCES, Videos, Ask Grandma.

Busy day, not much to say,
except sometimes Life is not a Bed of Roses.
But ... I'll bet you already knew that.

Building a positive Habit takes energy.

In the beginning, habit takes mental energy,
to remember to be "good",
and follow a new type of eating behavior.

A person has a finite amount of mental energy
to spend on being virtuous.

Once we cross over the line from consciously "being good"
to just having the Habit,
we aren't using as much energy on it day to day,
and it becomes easier.

  It helps to try and move towards thinking about one's new eating behavior 
as mostly "allowing" oneself to eat the right amount of food,
instead of as denying oneself excess.
It helps when we think of ourselves as well-Treated
because we are in the process of eating correctly.

Going through most of our week
thinking of what we're doing as some sort of self-imposed suffering
for the benefit of our future self....becomes wearing.
This is especially true if our calorie deficit
is high enough to frequently cause gnawing hunger.

Thinking of what one is doing as a positive, can be in and of itself rewarding.
It is better not to classify our eating behavior as delayed gratification.
Many months can go by without one arriving at one's weight goal,
and maintenance of that weight goal seldom allows a drastic eating change.

It is best to reject surmising about WHAT extra foods you can eat at goal,
or mental bargaining about WHEN you will be able to eat differently.

Every day we are faced with hundreds of decisions,
but just because we’ve made some wrong choices in the past
doesn’t mean we are destined to make them for the rest of our lives.

When making choices:

Think about what’s most important to you.

When faced with any decision, the crucial thing
is to consider what matters most to you,
regardless of how insignificant that decision might seem.

It is unlikely than any one choice in a given day will alter your life,
but all those small choices add up
and will eventually impact you for better or worse.

Keep your emotions in check.

In an emotional situation, delay decision making
by waiting for a specific time to pass, before making a final decision.

In this way you can calm your emotions to a reasonable level
and start thinking clearly about the consequences of your options,
as well as which decision will support your life goals.