I'll Walk in the Rain by Your Side...

In late June of this year, I put my dad on what some may call a very "strict diet."  I don't see it that way, and I refuse to refer to it as such. I call it my dad's "new life."  In this "new life" I tried to show my dad how he could change, even heal his relationship with food.   He had been hurting and abusing his body with foods that were just plain bad for him, and I could see that it was doing real damage. He needs both knees replaced, and his recovery is going to be extremely difficult if he does not lose at least forty pounds.  So I made it my mission this summer,  while home for the summer (I'm a teacher in Atlanta), to help get him started.

Let me be clear that I am fully aware I can not make this journey in place of my dad. He has to kick this thing in the butt on his own. And he will.  But I tried over the course of the summer, while making his snacks and his lunch each day, to give him tools that he can continue to use while I am gone.

Hence, this blog.  This blog is just another tool to help my dad continue along the right path in his new life.      I know he can do it, and he will.  And though I've laid the guilt on him a whole bunch of times, he knows that if he's going to succeed, he can't do this for my sake, or my mom's, or for his four other children.   He has to do it for him.   

So, welcome to the next step in your new life, dad!  This is where you and I will communicate over the next year, and where you will post your daily menu every day.  You'll list what you had, and I will post your menus for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.  If you fall off the path a little bit, if you have a stellar day, if you change up the menu I posted, if you're having doubts, reservations, a really crappy day, or if you just need to vent....do it here.  You can comment on my posts and tell me how closely you stuck to the menu.   You can read the articles and posts I put up here to help keep you on the right track.  You can post your own articles about health and nutrition to keep you motivated. And best of all we can stay in touch every day as I am in the midst of wedding planning throughout the year, and you are busy at work.  :-) 

I love you, dad.  I hope this blog helps us to keep up what we started this summer, so that when you walk me down the aisle one year from now, you will be enjoying a healthier and fuller life.  

And don't forgot to post a comment everytime you lose a pound!