BLUE FOOD FOREVER

If there was a way to live on Diet Coke and popcorn, and still be able to sleep at night, I think I would be okay.

Or perhaps if blue food only was allowed (prompted both by a book I am reading, "The Lightening Thief" and the particular scene I am watching from "Bridget Jones's Diary").

Today I did relatively well, all things considered - a huge Diet Coke to start the day off right (if I go into town, my truck drives unassisted in to the McDonald's drive-thru). I went through Wendy's, and didn't even THINK about getting myself a large Frosty.

Okay, let's be truthful here, I did think about it, but I didn't do it.

I was forced at gun-point to get a cone at Dairy Queen on the way home, but the corporation would absolutely go completely under if they were denied my patronage.

But then yogurt - three bites on my husband's potato-ham-processed-cheese (355 calories per bite, with 983 grams of pure fat) - possibly 622 mini-chips of semi-sweet chocolate and thirteen cans of Caffeine-Free Diet Dr. Peppers - and NOTHING ELSE.

At least as of 21:16 Arizona standard time.

So...

Largest Diet Coke possible -- minus 1,154
Yogurt -- maybe 300 calories
Medium vanilla Dairy Queen cone -- 329 (but again, at gunpoint)
Not getting a large Frosty at Wendy's -- MINUS 530

Which means a total of 0 calories today.

Exercise - well, the walk with the horses counts for twice as much because

1) Najala spooked at a stray butterfly, pulled the rope out of my hand, and only stopped when the rope became intertwined between his front legs (thank the powers that be that he
Three bites of potato-ham-cheese-grease -- 1,065then listened to me and stopped instead of breaking his leg) and

2) Sally, who is perpetually in heat at a time in her life when she should be past whatever the equine-equivalent of menopause, spotted THREE horses gazing alongside the cattle at the end of our road, and IMMEDIATELY assumed they simply HAD to be the three studs who have been frequenting her erotic dreams - serious muscles needed to be called into action to drag her away.

AWARENESS

Today I was painfully reminded how little we as Americans appreciate our abundance.

My husband and I traditionally go out to breakfast each Saturday morning. Although our favorite haunt has closed in response to the current recession (Palominas Trading Post, we miss you!), the alternate bistro (and calling the Lone Star Cafe 'bistro' just cracks me up) breakfast crowd has swelled to not-quite-but-almost seam-splitting size.

And we sit shoveling in eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns, washed down by coffee and more coffee (my caffeine source is Diet Coke), wiping our greasy mouths and hands with paper napkins.

I don't mean that we all need to go back to campfires and eating raw meat - just sometimes it simply hits me so forcibly that we have so much, and so much of the world has so little.


Okay, back to stats:
Exercise was slightly better - I cleaned out the hay shed, which necessitated moving the last bale out, the wooden pallets and the cover boards that are necessary to get the bales onto the pallets - then shoveling, pushing and sweeping out the reside of hay, dust, spider webs and mouse guano out, and then shoveling and pushing it either further out so I didn't have a huge pile in front of the hay shed.

Also walked horses another quarter-mile tonight under protest (the horses, not mine!)

Same breakfast as yesterday:
2 slice bacon -- 92
French Toast -- 298
Chicken Salad -- 500 (? - I mean, it tastes that good, so....)
Popcorn -- 100
1/4 of Ben & Jerry's ice cream -- 250 (and yes, I did eat just a quarter of a small container - it took a lot of will-power, but I did it!)

TOTAL ---- 1, 240

THE JOURNEY BEGINS - EMBARRASSMENT SHOULD FOLLOW

2 slice bacon -- 92
French Toast -- 298
Yogurt -- 150
Grape Nuts -- 200
Wilt's noodles -- 350
Yogurt -- 100
Popcorn -- 100
TOTAL ---- 1,290

Exercise -- minimal. Took horses for a short walk this evening, and was reminded forcibly of need for weight loss by 1) excessive perspiration and 2) getting literally sandwiched between both horses charging through the gate at the same instant - I need to leave a much better looking corpse if I am going to be killed by them.

ACCOUNTABILITY

I am conceding that fact that I am formally in the "obese" catagory of even the most generous height/weight charts. At 54 years old, I am shrinking, which only exaggerates the excess tonnage - excuse me, pounds - I am carrying.

I am finally tired of pushing too many tops to the back of my closet, of letting my belt out another notch, of wearing my 'fat-day' jeans everyday.

I hereby am putting my appetite, my caloric intake AND my weight out in the public on this previously obscure blog and pray that while I do hope it remains shrouded in disguise, the daily (yes, DAILY, my dear) recording will prompt me through shame, if nothing else, to lose some of this weight.

My success is my responsibility alone - but of course any kind, delicate or encouraging words would be sincerely appreciated.