Comment: Food Update

So here’s the latest on the food thing. What with it being Halloween and all, it seems like a daft time to be dieting. But if not now, when? I ain’t getting any younger, and my middle is only going to spread if I don’t take action.

I never wrote down everything I ate before. What an instant effect that has! Suddenly I don’t want to write down how much chocolate I eat, so I don’t eat it. Or when I have that craving for ice cream, I ask myself, do I really want to write that down? And the answer is usually, no, not really. I’m not usually hungry when it comes to dessert, (never, probably) but I still WANT dessert.

Just four days without chocolate and last night (Halloween) I had one (1) mini dark chocolate mint Milky Way and you know what? It wasn’t that good. Was it worth the 60+ calories? Not really. The five chocolate chips I then scarfed were much tastier. But I did stop there. I’m learning anew what a person of extremes I am. And what an addictive personality I have. Or maybe those are almost the same things. I’m like Ado Annie in “Oklahoma”—“I caint say no” (and if you have no idea of that reference you’re probably way too young to be reading this unless you like laughing at the chronologically-challenged) or at least it’s damn hard for me to do so.

So perhaps dieting also involves refining your tastes. If you’re going to splurge, make it something you really want. Makes sense.

I’m also doing a lot of reflecting these days because I always get that way before my birthday. Sort of happy and melancholy at the same time. Of course it doesn’t help that it’s November and suddenly it’s dark at 5 and it rains a lot more where we live now than in Southern California. We spent 9 years there and I feel like even with every light on in the house it’s still too dark here sometimes.

So there’s the whole seasonal adjustment thing. It’s the time when I would probably normally just chow down on carbs and sweets, comfort foods. So although this is a challenge, it will get easier in the Spring, and by then hopefully I’ll be where I want to be and won’t need to be quite so vigilant.

But I would like to banish a little of the belly fat. It’s healthier. And it looks better.

And on a totally unrelated note, if you haven’t checked out Pandora, the online Music Genome Project radio station, you should. You tell it a song or a band you love and it instantly generates a playlist for you. I love it.