Constantino Diaz-Duran is a fellow at the Center for Social Cohesion at Arizona State University. He is chronicling his walk from New York to Los Angeles to celebrate his eligibility for American citizenship. Follow Constantino’s progress.

I left two abs in the Carolinas. Lost a couple more in Georgia. Six months in the South means my six-pack is gone. And it hasn’t been lack of exercise. It’s the food-the delicious, but for the most part unhealthy, food I’ve been eating.

I place a lot of value on fitness and nutrition, so the relative lack of control I have over my diet now has been one of the few aspects of the walk that I have found frustrating. I don’t like fast food, and I try to avoid processed foods and “empty carbs.” On walking days, I subsist on protein bars, nuts, and beef or turkey jerky. The problem with that is that most protein bars are just glorified candy bars, and jerky, of course, is loaded with sodium. Flavored jerky (like teriyaki) is lathered with sugar as well.

My parents raised me as a carnivore, and to this day I need at least some kind of meat in order to consider something a meal. I have also taught myself to appreciate fresh fruit and vegetables. In general, I believe that whatever doesn’t go bad is probably bad for you, and there is a fair amount of science to back up that belief. Alas, meat that hasn’t been salted stiff would go bad pretty quickly in my backpack, and tasty as some fermented fruit beverages are, my goal is not to drunk-walk across America.

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Then there are the mouthwatering and irresistible dishes I’ve been served on non-walking days. It would be offensive and ungrateful to refuse to eat what my new friends cook for me. But even more than that, I would be cheating myself out of what have been some of the most satisfying culinary experiences of my life. A couple of weeks ago, for example, I visited a town in Louisiana called Opelousas. There, I had the best jambalaya I’ve ever had. I ate more rice that day than I had in the last year-I even had boudin and cracklins for … (blushing) … breakfast!

But what’s a man to do? I’ve accepted that all I can do right now is damage control. And if I find that no one wants to date me when I’m back in New York, I’ll just lock myself up in a gym for a couple of months. Or I’ll move down South.

Jokes aside, however, I have been thinking a lot about nutrition in America. The first conclusion I’ve reached is that traditional dishes are not to blame for the much-hyped expansion of the nation’s waistlines. The truth is that barbecue, fried pickles and okra, crawfish, and other regional foods are not as unhealthy as a bag of potato chips or the highly processed meat-like products you get at the drive-thru. So I should apologize, now, for the jab at the South I took in the first paragraph. Southern food is not what has made me less lean, and it is not what is making America fat.

My other conclusion is that the push we have seen in the last decade toward healthier lifestyles is paying off. Yes, there is an obesity problem. The numbers say it, and the doctors I have met throughout the country have confirmed it. But most people “get it” now. Most people know they need to eat healthier and exercise more if they wish to live longer lives. Of course this doesn’t mean they’re necessarily doing something about it, but they at least think they should, and the optimist in me sees that as a start.

There is also the fact that I have seen (and used) gyms pretty much everywhere I’ve been. Healthy eating alternatives are also ubiquitous, which means the market for them has grown. All of this makes me hopeful. Adding to that hope is the fact that, true to the entrepreneurial American spirit, there are people across the country who are trying to find healthier alternatives to even traditional dishes. Last weekend, I visited with a friendly young family in Lake Charles, Louisiana. They follow the so-called “paleo diet,” and do CrossFit. They fed me the most delicious meals, including pizza (pictured above) and pancakes, all prepared with whole, healthy foods. And like them, I have met numerous others. Eating in America, I must conclude, is good, and it is getting healthier.

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*Photo by Constantino Diaz-Duran.