Although I’ve read a lot of diet books in my day, I never dreamed it would be so difficult choosing twelve for my list.  I am persnickety when it comes to my health so I won’t do extremes, or diets that push their own shakes or pills, or are too labor intense and time consuming for my lifestyle.  (Granted, living in the Pacific Northwest is like a walk in the park compared to my days in L.A., so I am willing to do some meal prep and cooking but just like everyone else, but I do want convenience.)

I have decided to focus my list on the concerns of my loved ones and create a list accordingly.

Here’s my list.  It’s not necessarily perfect, but here it is.  The diets are listed in alphabetical order based on the key issues I am trying to address. I will work my way through the list one book at a time, one month at a time searching for similarities, difference and universal truths:

1.   Anti-Aging:  The Longevity Diet by Brian M. Delaney, Lisa Walfor

2.  Anti-Cancer:  Anticancer A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber

3.  Arthritis and Inflammation:  The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book by N.D. Jessica K. Black

4.  Bipolar Disorder:  The Bipolar Diet Managing Mood, Food & Weight by Sarah Freeman

5.  Budget Eating:  Your Diet on a Budget:  Better Food Choices that are Easy on Your Waistline and Wallet by D. Johnson

6.  Blood Pressure:  The DASH Eating Plan

7.  Diabetes:  Stop Pre-Diabetes Now by Jack Challem, Ron Hunninghake, M.D.

8.  Food Sensitivity:  The Gluten Free and Casein Free Diet from the GFCF Diet Support Group

9.  Hypothyroidism:  Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels

10.  Vegetarianism:  The Flexitarian Diet

11.  Weightloss:  The South Beach Diet

12.  Everything Else:  The Diet Cure 

Your comments please…do you have one that I should try instead of one that’s on my list?

That’s it!  I am going to try twelve different diets over the next twelve months.  I have been haunted by diet books for most of my adult life, all of them claiming that they hold the REAL secret to lasting weight loss. 

I have a bookshelf situated 50 feet from where I am sitting right now that is filled with diet books, old and new.   The problem is that I always have an excuse for not following them…I don’t want the sugar withdrawal headache; I don’t have time for such tedious menu planning; I’ll end up with a bunch of food in my fridge and pantry that I will never use again; the food itself will cost too much…wah…wah…wah…and yet here I sit, 20 pounds overweight and gaining!

Although I really don’t like my extra 20 pounds, the real reason I am doing this is to create a distraction from so many things happening in my life over which I have absolutely no control.  Things like my father’s losing battle with cancer, my oldest son’s move to New York after a beautiful wedding to a beautiful bride just a few short months ago - it feels like I was just getting to know them as a young married couple, my youngest son’s battle with bi-polar disorder, and the uncertainty about the future of my employer.  Enough already, I need a positive distraction that can help others while helping me.

I must admit, I have a good deal of trepidation…will I lose friends from becoming a food bore, how will I survive holidays and birthdays, how do I cope with my husband’s food loving family and their irresistible cooking?   Will the diet provide menus suitable for entertaining my guests? Will I have to give up red wine at night, or coffee in the morning?  CAN I EVEN DO THIS???

My only criteria is that any diet I choose must be based on foods I can prepare at home.  I tried the same diet that Marie Osmond used to lose 50 pounds, but I did not like the amount of preservatives that must be used in the packaged food.  The food comes vacuum packed (or something like that) and it sits in your cupboard until you eat it - nothing is even frozen! 

To the extent possible, I plan to use locally grown organic food.  And, since I know that I am sensitive to wheat and dairy, I will be choosing wheat- and dairy-free products as substitutes wherever necessary. 

I will be evaluating the diets with my VitalityCheck food diary to make sure I am getting enough variety and balance especially in terms of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats.  It will be interesting to see how extreme -  or not - some of these diets are and which ones are difficult or easy, convenient or a painstaking, energizing or draining. I am on a quest to feel good and I want to see which diet gets me there.

Tonight I am going to work on the list of diets and tomorrow I will post it.