"We are what we repeatedly do."

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

-Aristotle

(taken from a great article on building good habits, if you're looking for something to get you started on whatever your version of resolutions are this year, or if you need a little boost now halfway through February)

And as someone striving towards a lot of things that can only be considered brave (perhaps foolhardy?) I have found that sometimes willpower involves some lists. And smiley faces. And realizing that no matter what works out and what doesn't work out, I will have tried my darndest.

Which brings me to Alton Brown. I love this man. He's just so science-y and awesome. Anyway, he hosts a cooking show on the Food Network called "Good Eats" as well as the running commentary on "The Iron Chef." His show is equal parts Monty Python, Julia Child, and Mr. Wizard (his words, not mine). One of his recent shows was him talking about losing weight as someone who cooks and how he did it with some simple food rules involving what he ate every day, three times a week, once a week, or never. ...and he did the whole show with a 50 pound block of lard in front of him. Man's got guts. (or doesn't really anymore?)

But yes---it rang a little true, especially because I'm supposed to be making healthier choices for myself, for some personal health reasons (if you ask me I will most likely tell you, but I'm not really okay with the interwebs knowing all of my biznass). My diet isn't that unhealthy to begin with; it's mostly a portion sizes + desserts thing. So - I've turned his rules for eating into a checklist. And I'm getting somewhere. Very slowly, but that's the way to go when building habits. No cold turkey for me (the thought of giving up chocolate forever nearly sends me into a coma). So yes...going slowly in the direction of some sort of excellence, where my body will be in the tippest toppest shape I can possibly muster (also, this corresponds to numbers 31 and 42 of my fifty things in five years list, which include being in a two-piece bathing suit. shoot me now? ...I asked for this)