Long Time Coming

Quit smoking. Had open heart surgery. Had gall bladder surgery. Had cancer surgery. Had chemo. All of this within five years. Now just quitting cigarettes is a sure way to gain some weight. Couple that with the weeks of recuperation following surgeries when there is nothing to do but watch TV and eat. A sure bet that the pounds are going to pile on. But sooner or later it becomes necessary to face the fact that there is nothing to wear and if you don't go buy some clothes, you can't leave the house. But if you go buy the clothes, you're admitting that you've made peace with your girth and that is the biggest defeat of all.

There is no lack of ways to lose weight if you can commit to one of them. You can pay for Weight Watchers. You can buy Nutrisystem meal delivery. Have you called Jenny? Atkins, South Beach, The Zone. The hot dog diet, the cabbage soup diet, the grapefruit diet. And here comes this French guy with his book that promises to help you drop the unwanted pounds if you'll stay with him. The Dukan Diet, unabashedly named for the doctor who devised the plan, and who promises that if you do as he says, you won't gain back what you lose. And he takes great pains to explain what you need to do to, and why you need to do it, based on the body's memory of how it feels to have full fat cells.

So after investigating what people were saying, I bought the book. I bought the Oat Bran and the Greek Yogurt. I devoured the book and believed most of what it contained. He's very convincing, this Dr. Dukan. I started the diet on the 15th of May, and I'm now 10 days in, six pounds down, and in the second phase. There isn't much more to say except I have no problem feeling full with the amount of food I'm allowed to have.

Yes, I miss chocolate. And cookies and milk. And grilled cheese sandwiches. And according to the book, (and my motivation) I'll once again be able to indulge, within reason, in all my former delights, while weighing considerably less than I do now. Oh, yes, I won't be able to indulge on Thursday(s) for the rest of my life. Because once I'm free of the fat and stable in my new found body, I will have to observe Protein Only Thursday forever. The doctor said.

Stay tuned for further developments.