The Hollando Diet

My contributions to this chronicle have declined over the past month. To my loyal readers (both of you), I apologize. The reason is actually quite boring: I’ve settled into a routine, and with routine have come fewer notable discoveries, dramatic achievements, or tragic failures worth telling you about. I suppose I could recount my menu each day, but I can’t imagine that would generate much interest beyond perhaps a scolding from my mother for any number of nutritional sins.

As at the end of summer sunbathers leave the beach and return with happy memories to normal life, so too have I left South Beach, at least in any strict sense. That diet continues to “inspire” my meal and snack choices in the way movies are often “inspired” by true stories. I remain conscious of carbs but embrace them as treats. My old friends — bread, pasta, and pizza — have returned and don’t seem to have held a grudge. Perhaps this is Phase 3 of the South Beach Diet; I never got that far in the book. I have also discontinued daily weigh-ins. These, of course, were never recommended, though irresistible to an obsessive like me.

I expected the result of all this relaxation to be stalled progress, if not outright regression. How surprising it was, then, when my clothes continued to loosen. This morning, for the first time in weeks, I stepped on the scale: 165 pounds. The first of my three goals. That makes a net 20-pound loss since I decided to trim down. Certainly progress has slowed. The first 10 pounds came off in two weeks; the second 10 took six weeks. This was to be expected, and far from being disappointed, I feel as well physically as I have in years. And Will is right: positive reinforcement helps. When others notice one’s efforts, it gives one the fillip needed to persevere.

The greatest challenge now arising is the delightfully well-stocked kitchen at my new office, said kitchen being approximately 15 feet from my desk. Food-based procrastination has just become much easier. My strategy is to snack healthily, and as frequently as needed. We’ll see how that goes. I’ll keep you posted as events warrant.