Lucky Thirteen: The Cruel, Ironic Arrival of Girl Scout Cookies

I didn't mention it, but a few days ago the Girl Scout Cookies I ordered during a previous life arrived. It's sort of a reminder that the past is always right there behind you, no matter how fast you are going. There were six boxes (you wonder why I had a weight problem?)—2 samoas (now called something else, but they are the circles with chocolate and carmel); 2 thin mints (for Emily) and 2 peanut butter sandies. I surveyed them with a sadness one might associate with a credit card charge from a lost weekend—a bill come due, late. Immediately I threw them in the chest freezer downstairs except for the PB sandies that I brought to work. They remain unopened, but in a low-blood sugar emergency, I'm sure someone will decimate the package and scarf them all down.

Again I am here on the weekend and realizing the importance of a routine. At work, it's arrive, get settled, work, break, snack, work, lunch, work, snack, walk around the charles river, snack, work, go home. But at home, temptation and non-routine are everywhere. I am nearly done with the package of Jennie-O Turkey Bacon, so you won't have to read about it much longer. There is a lot in that package, if you are only eating two strips a day (if not on a diet I would probably eat about six at a serving).


Breakfast
2 Strips T.B. (available on line at http://www.jennieoturkeystore.com/)
2 Eggs Over
Tea

Snack
About 10 Salted Cashews (they were all in like 1/8ths or crushed amounts, this is an estimate)
2 Cheese Sticks
15 Almonds
1 Celery Stick with Laughing Cow Cheese
5 Cherry Tomatoes


Lunch
Leftover Shrimp with Broccoli
Leftover Chicken with Brocolli

Mezzo Snack
1 Tsp Peanut Butter

Dinner
Cucumbers & Hummous
Grilled Chicken Kebab
Salad

Dessert
C. Fudgicle


Tomorrow is the last day of Phase One—like an inmate leaving prison, I'm not sure I can handle the responsibility of adding fruit and breads and carbs back into my diet. It's easy to handle no freedom, or all freedom, but a little bit requires thinking, discipline and hard work. Naturally, I am afraid as these are not my strong suits. I am impressed at how easy it is to refuse foods not on my diet. I thought it would be a lot harder. South Beach says it does not use portion control because it is a diet you can live on. This part is true—except for the need to "anxiety eat" and eat out of boredom, I have not really felt truly hungry for this past two weeks. I have the hardest time not eating after dinner and before bed, but that's it. It has been unlike Weight Watchers, where I was forever pining for things and living on rice cakes (which according to SoBe are not good). So I have great faith that I can live this way for a while. Going without fruit in the summer would have killed me, but Phase Two only leaves out pineapple, bananas and watermelon(!) so I think it can work.