Dieting reflections at the half-way point…

Valentine’s Day?  Yes, I suppose.  I’m more worried about Easter.

We are half-way between Christmas and Easter, the boundaries for my fund-raiser diet.  As you can see under the “Fundraiser” tab of my blog, I have lost some weight, but I tell you what, this thing is difficult.

I have to thank my Aunt Virginia for scolding me Wednesday night.

“Don’t ask how my diet’s been in the last four hours since I got off work,” I sighed as I dropped onto my favorite loveseat at her house.

“You can’t give up,” she said with the tone of a wall of concrete.

My uncle, who stands to lose a lot of money if I succeed, wondered if I wanted to go talk about it at Pizza Hut.

My friends Sarah, Velinda and Kendra help me out by dragging me off my favorite couch at their house to do exercise videos.  (No wonder I have a weight problem; I have a favorite couch everywhere!)

My co-workers (most of whom also stand to lose a lot of money if I succeed) also have been helpful, assuring me that the desserts from Lucchesi’s look like crap and the peanut M&M’s on the sharing counter are probably out-dated.  My partner Sue saved me from temptation by not offering me cake; Christine helpfully assured me that it wouldn’t be worth my time to eat the cake anyway. Even Dr. Halloran has switched from offering candy bars to offering Lifesavers, although he tries to save the green ones for himself.  Dr. Dickson reminds me that the operative equation, as difficult as it might be, is actually quite simple: “calories in” need to be less than “calories out”.  Chris and Christine (both physician’s assistants) jointly counseled me to have a cheat day.

“That’s like telling a smoker who’s trying to quit that he should have a few cigarettes every weekend,” I protested.

“No it’s not,” Chris said.  “You’re talking to someone who’s studied dieting.  It’s different.  I’ve studied fat people.”

I looked at Christine.

“That’s what gives him the right to talk to me,” I explained, as Chris rolled his eyes.

I even talked dieting with a former co-worker this morning, at of all places, the Baker’s Nook.

“It’s not that I have a lack of knowledge,” she said.

I laughed in agreement, still giddy with relief from my 2.6 pound loss, and warmed and filled by Breakfast #2.

And by the way, I did have a piece of that hospital cake, despite the best efforts of Sue and Christine.  As cheerleaders for a dieter, I fear that they’re dealing with the toughest person in the county.

No, it’s not for lack of knowledge.  I just love frosting!

Next week: Stay tuned for a fun contest…with a prize!  I’m planning to start a new periodic vocabulary quiz (2-3 times a year?), completely confidential (!) where you could win a Target gift card.  I’m thinking of titling it “Talk Like a Surgeon” because of the many great vocabulary words I learn from Dr. Halloran and Dr. Dickson.  (And no, they won’t be four letter words.)