As Plain As Green and White

I’m doing a modified version of Atkins until Thanksgiving Day. I have to drop 20 pounds before the Turkey Trot and if possible I am going to try to drop 30. This is the first time I’ve ever tried this route. White chicken and fish and lots of green veggies.

Why so strict? Well, in the past when I’ve done Atkins I always cheat a little bit. I eat guacamole here and peanuts and almonds and the occassional cruton. Allowing yourself to cheat here and there totally undermines the entire thing, it wittles away at the diet until it is no longer a diet and I’m back to eating the way I did before.

I also decided to stop kicking myself in the butt for yo-yo dieting. It is just part of life I think and eventually you have to work out a system that works for you. Every time I diet I lose 20-30 pounds then something big comes up and I get off track and I put the weight back on. It’s frustrating, but worrying about it makes me depressed and dang near suicidal and so I stop worrying about it.

So why not just maintain? Well, I recently told my best friend Joe that there is no “maintenance” for me, I’m either gaining weight or losing it – my body doesn’t understand the concept of maintenance.

What is more important this time is that I’m actually doing it because my knees are hurting me more and more. I also have had heartburn for the last week no matter what I eat and in my entire life I’ve never had heartburn or indigestion this much. I mean I’ve literally had it more in the last week than I’ve had in my entire life combined and that signals that something is out of wack in my system and I don’t think it is age. I think I’ve just been eating way too much crap.

So I’m going green until Thanksgiving – I’m even going to just ignore Halloween this year and act like it doesn’t exist, no candy for me please. No trips out of town and very little eating out. Who knows what will happen after Turkey Day, but until then I’m going to have to learn to say “No, No, No”.