I think I can do this.

I kept hearing at the end of last week about the government's new food pyramids, but no-one was showing any pictures of them. Naturally I turned to the internet to remedy this, and found ... nothing. No pictures of the new pyramids at least. I did, however, find the government's website about the new pyramids and I have to say, I like it.

The site was pretty easy to use. You can track what you're eating every day and it will tell you how much of each nutrient you're getting, as well as how many calories you're taking in (and how many calories you should be taking in.) You can also track your physical activity and the site will tie the two together to tell you how the exercise has increased your caloric needs.

I've been doing this for a few days now and I've been surprised at how much I've gained from it. Oh, sure, I could do this without a website, or using one of the many diet websites there are out there, but this layout just works for me. I've actually been able to stick to it, instead of forgetting about it after the first day!

This morning I noticed that I was starting to think of my food choices in light of what they'd do to my calorie count for the day. I wound up having an apple for breakfast, and then some oatmeal, because of their fiber count and overall "healthiness quotient" (as I think of it.) I've always made food choices for the girls based on that kind of thinking, but for me I've tended too often to just grab whatever was available and would temporarily stave off hunger pangs.

I also learned some stuff about food choices that I never knew before. Did you know popcorn counts as a whole grain? Yes, it does! I can eat it and feel virtuous. (Just don't tell anyone about the butter and salt, OK?)

The only serious problem I find with it is that the food choices they give you are pretty general and not wildly suited to the way I cook. If you eat a lot of packaged food you're covered. If you cook from scratch a lot, the way I do, you'll get more general approximations of what you're eating. That's OK, though. I don't mind if it's general. It's still helpful. I think if it was more detailed it would probably overwhelm me anyway and then I'd wind up quitting it.