no country for fat men

call it, friendo

"Let me ask you something. If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?"

Of what use was the rule. What an excellent question.

I am the one who once thought I was entitled to eat anything I wanted, just because I was hungry, or tired. Or I didn't want to GET hungry or tired. Anything, in any amount. If I wanted it, I gave it to myself.

It's like that "fat girl" who lives inside my head. She sometimes runs around in between these blogs. I heard Lyn mention her at Escape From Obesity. This imaginary fat girl, the one who lives in my head, would look like Violet from Willy Wonka. She always wants more. She first coaxes, then insists, then has a meltdown if she can't get a treat. She's the one who says "let's watch tv instead of working out." The one who sleeps, and dreams of lasagna, while the "fit girl" is busy living her life.

It never tastes as good as you think it will...Every now and then, you win the "taste lottery" and for a while, it does taste good. Just like you thought it would. But those times are rare for me, and most of the time I ask myself "why did I eat that - again?'

It's just a thought, just the ego. The trick is to learn to not listen to it.

So the rules I followed brought me to this.

One Coke a day, just one extra couple of hundred calories -- can add up over a year to more than a couple of pounds. It changes so slowly, you don't notice. Till one day, you do.

Then you decide "once and for all" that you have had enough. I've had enough. I guess more than a few of us have said that and meant it, and get lulled back into the old way of thinking. I know I have. And I see the result every day.

So now I am learning to think differently. Like fasting. And learning I didn't die just because I skipped lunch. Or learning how to cook, again. This time, healthy foods.

The rules I follow brought me to this. Time to change the rules.