What and Why

What

 100 days (April 1-July 9) of eating real food and exercising.

what, you might ask, counts as "real" food? well, my basic plan is to consume as much whole food as possible. i will try to consume mainly foods that are in their natural state. this means that i will be avoiding any processed food. instead of buying mixes or frozen meals, i will be cooking from scratch, using whole ingredients. for the things that i do buy from the store, i will avoid any ingredients that i do not readily recognize as food. for example, if the ingredients include eggs, cream, and salt, it's more than likely ok. if they include a 24 letter word, i'm not touching it. also, as a general rule of thumb, i'll be avoiding foods with more than 5 ingredients.

in addition to eating real food, i will be exerising at least 5 days a week.

Why

1. i want to be more healthy. yes, i want to lose weight, but more importantly, i want to do it the right way. whole foods have myriad health benefits.
2. it will help me develope good organizational habits, as i will have to plan ahead and often times cook ahead of time as well.
3. it'll reduce my restaurant visits. going out to eat will be much more difficult on this plan, ergo, i save money and my health.
4. it will give me lots of cooking practice. i love to cook, and very much want to get better at it.
5. exercise is good for you. physically, mentally, and emotionally.
6. i hope to develope life-long good eating habits. i am doing this for 100 days, but i hope to cultivate healthful habits that will stick around.

i got the idea from this website http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/ you should check it out. she has some great ideas and lots of interesting information. Thanks for the inspiration!
i won't necessarily be following her meal plans, but i am going to use them for ideas. the shopping lists are also very helpful.

i'm hoping that my bf is doing this with me (thanks, joe!), as well as the fact that i'm doing this blog, will help hold me accountable and keep me on track. i know this won't be easy, and there will be days when i just want to lay around and/or have junk food. but i also know that with encouragement (hint, hint) i can do it.

so, here goes nothing.