The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Unless at the bottom some sweetness lie
who cares for all the crinkling of the pie?

A line from my most recent book club selection ( a delightful murder-mystery which incidentally shares a name with this post) that is somehow fitting for my next 30 days.

That's right, back in action for November.  October was a bit of a bust.  Turns out, dieting is as boring and unfulfilling to blog about as it is to carry out.  The timing of that challenge was a bit off, too, so close to the beginning of the school year, with all the trials, tribulations, stresses and general malaise thereof.  I wasn't able to add anything to my life (as in, the time and energy it takes to plan and prepare properly for a controlled diet plan), and the vagueness of the goal allowed me free reign to cheat.

So I threw in the towel and went back to life as usual.


And October blurred by, almost unnoticed, in a rush of mundanity.

Enough of that.  Time to make life memorable again.

My November challenge is inspired in part by the quote above, and in part by an article in some random women's magazine I picked up at the gym.  In this article, the author attempts to counter her sugar addition by quitting all refined sugar, cold turkey.  Sound a bit familiar?

I was excited to successfully curb my own candy addiction in the spring with our original diet, but I have had a tendency to turn to baked goods in times of weakness, since then.

So this month, I'm going to try to cut something OUT of my life rather than adding anything in: No extra refined sugar, if I can help it.

I figure this shouldn't take any extra planning.  Just a LOT of willpower.

But what's a little willpower among friends?

To help out a bit, I am also, simultaneously, going to use my blogging time to look for the sweetness in the bottom of the pie-- the sweetness of life itself, far deeper and richer than any glazed donut can offer.

Ok, maybe not ANY glazed donut. I mean, there's Krispy Kreme right off the conveyor...

At any rate, tomorrow.  We'll give it a shot.  Join me, and I'll try to throw in a bit of gratitude in addition to boring sugar-free updates.  A bit of sweetness to make it all worthwhile.

October 5 and 6

I think I would be doing better with this whole 30 day diet if I wasn't so exhausted and disgruntled by the whole work/life/work  routine these days.  This leads to coffee runs and sneaking in extra chocolate and having a snack just for the comfort of it.

Also-- dieting, it turns out, if unfulfilling as a 30days blog challenge.   Nothing good to write about.  Promotes whining, or confessions, or boring litanies of food. Or all three.

I am beginning to regret this choice and yet.  I've committed to it so I'd best make the best of it.  I keep thinking to myself "Tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a better day, a more conscious day.  I'll actually skip the snacks, actually cut out refined sugar long enough to feel the positive effects...."  Sigh.

On a positive note I DO think I drank a bit more water today than I had been.

Baby steps.

On to a new day tomorrow.

October 5

I am too busy to drink water.  That's the verdict today.

I will try again tomorrow.

Also it is 10:30pm and I am hungry.  Sigh.  At least breakfast comes quickly.

Tomorrow morning:  Spinning class.  Going for a stellar eating day to follow it up.  Wish me luck.

October 3

Verdict today:  not too bad.

I did a weigh in this morning at the gym and in the spirit of full disclosure I'm putting it out there:  152 1/2

This is about 2 pounds up from the low point last spring so I'm feeling that this new 30 days of mine is well-timed.  My goal is to be under 150, with 145 being something to shoot for.

Something I did well today:  I stuck to my premeasured snacks until I got home at 5:00.  And even then I didn't go overboard.

Something I can improve on:  A dinner out, even if it was Panera, is bound to wreak havoc on things.  Also, I had some teddy grahams just now.  It turns out I am going to need to go to bed earlier if I am going to cut out the evening snacks entirely.

A goal for tomorrow:  64 ounces of water.

October 2

I am finding I am missing my gratitude journal.

I thought it might be difficult, doing a 30 days that required adding something in to my already jam packed life.  But 30 days makes a habit, it seems, and I miss the space that is left without it.

This new 30 days, it is going to take some adjustment.  It is a 30 days of subtraction rather than addition and I think it is going to be harder.  In a lot of ways.  Harder to track, harder to celebrate, harder to check off as "done".  Harder because watching my diet all day long takes a lot longer than a 5 minute journal entry, it turns out.  And harder because what is being subtracted, is something I love.  Namely, food.

So my goal each day of the 30 days is simple. Nat and I want to go back to the diet we used with such success in the spring, and whittle off the next 5 pounds or so.  I'm allowing myself a bit of leeway from the 1600 calorie plan.  The idea is, follow it to a T for Breakfast, Lunch and Snack requirements, then allow myself a dinner of my choosing.   So far, mixed success.  Today, in fact, was declared a Non-Diet day as we were heading to a birthday party and nothing says "good times" quite like having to refuse pizza and cupcakes.  It was a good day, and it was good pizza, and tomorrow is a new day and a new week and I am going to stick to this.


But in the meantime, I'm going to give myself a sentence.

Today I am grateful for houses full of children and babies and presents and laughter, for rainy-day fall drives down country roads and memory lane, for coffee shared in the car and candle-light whispering on the walls of our home.   Welcome, Fall.