I started working in our living room this morning. Caroline, my wife, left the apartment to take out some garbage. She was wearing my hearing-assistance microphone, and when she left, I heard her whimper. When she came back, she said that someone in the next apartment was making bacon or sausage. Then, about thirty seconds later, the smell from these culinary delights hit me, and I started to whimper.
Those are the two problems I find with this new dietary regimen … okay, two out of three, I’ll get to the third one in a bit. The problem I’m talking about here is temptation. If you’re trying to restrict your diet, the reality is that you’re in a world surrounded by people who aren’t trying to restrict theirs. So you get invited to wonderful restaurants, you smell incredible cooking from next door, you hear people talking about the incredible meal they had yesterday, and if you naturally have the willpower of a dog at a butcher shop, well, you can see where it all leads.
The second problem, as I’ve already mentioned, is portion sizes. The only portions that are reasonably sized these days are the salad portions. Oh sure, I can get a second helping of lettuce or broccoli, but where’s that second steak, that second helping of mashed potatoes? Where,s the bag of chips I used to have beside me if I needed a snack? This stuff’s hard, friends, make no mistake about it. I’m still every bit as determined, but it’s really hard!
The third problem I run into is people who don’t think I’m taking things quickly or drastically enough. Our dietician, Lisa, is making this a relatively slow and steady progression. But some people look at it and are almost disgusted with me because I’m not going as quickly with the dietary regimen as they think I should. Leave it to the experts, I say; encourage me, don’t chastise me for not doing it your way. I am handling this transition. Had I gone all out right from the start, I’m not sure I still would be.
On yet another note, I surprised myself last week. A friend of mine was over, and we were talking about the passage of time. I said to my friend, “You know what, though? I think the best years of my life are still ahead of me.” The amazing thing is, I meant it. I see an incredible future ahead of me if I stick with the program: a future where I weigh less and can do more. Yes, there are days when it feels like all the good things in life have been taken away from me. But underneath it all, I have a renewed desire to live, a conviction that I’m worth it, because God says so, and I want to live up to that.
One thing that has amazed me a lot, said Bruce, completely switching gears yet again, is the air fryer. We bought one of these babies a while back, and man, it’s amazing. Deep-fried taste, texture and appeal, all with just a spoon of olive oil (Popeye was nowhere to be seen). If you’re a deep-fry-aholic such as I, I can’t recommend air fryers enough.
Man, am I hungry! Can someone please pass me a bean?
You are doing brilliantly, brother!