Love Don't Come Easy

"It's a game of give and take..." (Dixie Chicks Day 4)

Okay, today I had to work a little for the title.  There were several more depressing takes, notably Hole in My Head, but yesterday I think I might have turned the corner.  True, I was treated to a Starbucks mocha, but I had to share, and, well, when that happens, I usually end up on the losing end of the glass half full debate.

Anyway, lunch rolls around, as usual, I am starving.  This after writing yesterday about getting the munchies a mere two and a half hours after breakfast.  I had no hopes, whatsoever, but after eating my meal of a healthy pita pocket with lean turkey and swiss cheese with more Terra chips (I love Terra chips), I was prepared to crack and make another sandwich when it hit me: I was full.  The concept was so foreign I nearly made the sandwich anyway.

Surprised, but cautiously pessimistic, I waited this whole full thing out.  Oddly enough, dinner rolled around and I had only cracked for one of those individual pop corn bags.  (It wasn't really an individual bag, but I have yet to figure out this microwave.  Thursday, I burned the bag and could eat less than half.  Yesterday, I undercooked half the bag.  I guess it works the same)  Granted, the popcorn is not fat free, but, if you were to do a calorie/fat side by side comparison, I bet you the Big Mac wins every time.

Here's another funny thing.  I went about afternoon/early evening and DID NOT WANT a Big Mac.  (Sorry, that should have been italicized.  Oh my goodness, I spelled that right the first time!  It's the little things that no one else can see that make me smile on a daily basis:) See a smile.)  Anyway, I ate my fat free soup, my organic lettuce salad, and a bread stick (okay, two bread sticks, but with no butter).  And the result?  I was full, again, the second time in two meals on one day.  I was shocked.  I had pulled out fat free instant Jell-O pudding for dessert, still unable to grasp this new concept, when I realized I didn't want it.  I settled for two gingersnaps and a cup of tea.  Wow, the world must really be changing. I don't quite know what to make of it.

So after three days of feeling like I was starving, like my stomach was so desperate it had turned to eating the fat that surrounded it, I can finally say I feel normal again (or as normal as I will ever be).  Who knows if this a permanent or one time thing, though.  I mean, I've got ten days left of this diet.  Just imagine the weight loss...hmm, shame I have no wedding or high school reunion around the corner.  Besides, I swore I'd be out of the country when my high school reunion rolled around.  My exact words?  I would have to be extradited to get me home.  And so the love of my diet (i.e. Terra chips) has not come easy.  I have had to give up daily luxuries like chocolate, peanut butter, and cheddar cheese, but if I can keep on keeping on, I can only see this as a win-win, and, yes, I am aware that in another blog I said win-wins don't exist.  It is called denial, and I accept it.  Anyway, what do I take away from all this?  An appreciation for a healthier diet, I can hope.  However, if I step on a scale at the end of this two week long forced calorie reduction and have not lost more than two pounds, I'll go right out to McDonalds.  Like the song says, it's a game of give and take.

BlytheLea L.E.