Hey all. The inspiration for this one is the fact that today ( if today is Thursday, 4/25) I am finishing up a 25 day diet. BTW, what’s the best kind of diet?

A 25 day diet that started 25 days ago! BA-BING!

Ah, the classics…

It’s been an interesting ride. No “white foods” ( white bread, white rice, basically simple carbs) no fried foods, no alcohol and approx.. 1300 calories a day. I started in the low 180s and my goal is to end at about 170lbs, with a bit less body fat.

Doesn’t sound like a lot for 6 ‘ 1” , but for my body type, it’s on the low end of good. I won’t stay at 170, I’m usually happy between 175-185. But honestly, the numbers are not the goal. The numbers (weight, body fat %, etc) are how I keep score. They give me a goal, something to work towards, something to keep me focused during the diet. They aren’t the goal. The goal is to reset my tastes. To “unset” some habits that I occasionally get a little too comfortable with. Because I don’t know if you know this about me, but….

I like food.

I really, really like food.

Food is fun. Food makes me happy, makes me feel good. I enjoy the entire process of eating. Oral gratification is alive and well in this 58 year old, my friends. And let’s not leave drink out either. I love trying new wines. My local is a great wine bar with wicked cool people, which is 3 blocks from my place, so it’s my social hub as well. It’s true that I have, through diet & exercise, gone from 265 to 180 lbs, and kept the weight off for over 20 years. But it’s not necessarily because I gave up certain foods, or gave in to moderation. I don’t even particularly like that word. My 50+  year love affair with food / drink will continue until I’m just a humorous memory.

Which brings me back to the diet. And yes, I said “diet”. I didn’t say cleanse, juicing, meal-planning or any other politically correct euphemism that folks are using now because diet sounds like something that Jack Lalanne did, and we don’t want to sound outdated, now do we?  All of those things are diets, but go ahead and use whatever term makes you feel good around the water cooler or in the health club (gym). What this diet does is get me back on the right course from a mental perspective, while getting my body back to recognizing and enjoying healthier foods and healthier portions. And now I will go back to eating normally. And yes, I can’t wait to have a glass of Syrah, or a Miller Lite (I know, I drink crap beer, but that’s what I like, so there.) I can’t wait to have some ribs or carnitas, or any of the other 10,000 foods that I love. But another thing that going without for a while does is establish just who, exactly, is in charge around here. Is it the beer, the pulled pork, or is it me? And evidently, again, it seems to be me.

And in case you think that I have super willpower, or something like that. Not so, my friends. I probably try to do this 3-4 times and fail for every time I get through it. I’ll go a week, or a day, and just say “Nope. Not now”. You gotta forgive yourself. What you’re trying to do isn’t easy. So I’m just stubborn enough to keep trying until it hits. That’s the truth of it.

Another point I want to make is that these are choices that I make. I like being on the slim side. I’m a runner, and the less I weigh, the less I have to schlep around for 5k, or 13.1 or 26.2, etc. I like being able to do certain things and look a certain way. I believe there are long term health benefits, and I want to take advantage of them. That’s my choice, and to accomplish that I need to do things like this. It’s a matter of:

What do you want?

What are you willing to do to get it?

Simple as that.  What if you don’t want the same things? What if you want to enjoy food, drinks, smoking, whatevs? Then DO IT!

You do you.

This is my story. It’s not the only story. It’s not the right story. There is no “right story”. Write your own.

Make your choices. Make yourself happy. To hell with the I.G., Facebook, the Twitterverse, etc.

As it says in “Desiderata”

Be Cheerful

Strive to be Happy.

Who needs more than that.

Talk later,

Bob