Year 2, Day 249: Dreams Do Come True DETECTO says "176"

I got weighed in this morning and though the staff has changed at Dr. Parent's office, I still found someone to weigh me in, and the news is in. I weighed in at 176 pounds,which for those of you who have been keeping track means I have lost 50lbs since I began the South Beach diet 614 days ago. At that point, the time I was weighed prior to starting the South Beach diet and a subsequent exercise regime, I traced my weight and heigh in my doctor's office chart to "Obese." The right weight, it said, for a man standing 5'9" was 179 lbs. I thought, "I'll never get into the 170s again." But lo and behold, with time, persistence, and a lot of salad, I have achieved this goal. I truly never expected to reach this goal, so I am somewhat surprised. Now Emily is worried that I am sick, and everyone is afraid that I will disappear with an eating disorder. Fear not; my love of pizza, Chinese food and all things chocolate remain. Now maybe I'll go back to the one glass of red wine per night...


Breakfast
Kashi GO Lean
Heritage Flakes
Blueberries
Banana
Green Tea

Snack
Coffee
1 Beef Jerky
1 Extra Smokey
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Lunch: Peter's Kitchen
Chicken Kebab Salad
Feta, Balsamic Vinegar


Dinner
Talapia a la Emily
Grilled Asparagus

It was very hard to even understand the results of the scale today, and it was good to have a distraction from all the election coverage. I thought about whether or not I should celebrate, but celebrating a successful diet with food is like celebrating achieving a financial goal by spending that money, which most would agree is not wise. Just like in a race for the pennant, all I think about when having a lead is how to stay in the lead. I realize the time is now to consider 'maintenance' or what South Beach calls "Phase Three" or what everyone else might call 'the rest of your life.' How to stay on the program but without gaining weight? I suppose I could go back to peanut butter, or add one more carb or sugar back into my week? It will take some thinking no doubt. In the meanwhile, the pants I bought at size 36 already don't fit and I still don't have six-pack abs. So that's the next thing— how to develop a swimmer's body. I suppose it involves swimming.

Today I celebrated by eating a salad and going for a walk around the Charles River. Yah.