Get Fit, Stark! Week 2

Another week of the liquid diet is officially in the books. At the first weigh-in on Tuesday, I was down 18 pounds. It was extremely encouraging. People are starting to notice the difference, and that helps make this all feel worthwhile.

After having a successful first week on my diet, I got to thinking about why some people “cheat” on their diets. I think it may be easier for me because I am not allowed to eat any food. I don’t get to eat a little bit and then have to stop. That’s got to be hard. And why do they call it “cheating” anyway? It sounds so negative. Just call it a slip-up. Cheating has such bad connotations. Diets are hard and sometimes you need a little pick-me-up to get you through. Think about it – you are already making a huge change trading all the things you enjoyed eating for things that are healthy and not always (or ever) quite as good. Everyone is going to have a little slip-up here and there. I should share my little trick of putting the food into my mouth to get the taste, then spitting it out before I actually eat it. Maybe that would help them. Actually it would help me to remember it, considering I had a few slip-ups this week.

A few days ago, I accidentally ate a meatball while cleaning up the kitchen. I didn’t even realize I did it until it was too late. It’s that eating out of habit thing I’ve been telling you about. My second slip-up came on Saturday while I was watching football (of course). I’m telling you it’s just not the same without being able to eat or drink anything! Anyway, I was in a hospitality suite for the Michigan/Michigan State game and there was all this food just sitting there. No one was eating it. It was just being wasted. You can’t just waste food like that, so I took a bite of a cheeseburger (no bun!). I think I kept it in my mouth and savored it for 15 minutes before I finally ate it. It was absolutely delicious and well worth the guilt I felt about it later.

I think the first week of a diet might be easier than then next one. The novelty of being on the diet and the novelty of the challenge is starting to wear off, making it harder to stick to. But on the other hand, I am sleeping better now and people are starting to notice I’ve lost weight. I don’t really have the desire to eat fast food, but I drive by too many Dairy Queens on the way home and it is getting harder to not swing in and grab a blizzard. Although I will admit, saving money by not eating all that fast food is definitely nice!

I have my next weigh-in on Tuesday. I am not really feeling a big loss coming on. The Recreation Center is holding a weekly 50/50 drawing for whoever guesses how much weight I lose each week. Talk about pressure! If I gain weight or don’t lose enough I could keep someone from winning the pot! But I am going to rise to the occasion, slip-ups and all.