Days 49--57: Diet Logic

Sometimes I wonder if diet logic really exists or if it’s a figment of our imagination, a projection of our emotional needs to be interpreted however it suits us.  For example, on the low-carb diet, two tablespoons of sugar-free low-fat Cool Whip are in the “free food” category.  Well, if two tablespoons are free, then, the same goes for four, eight, and even ten tablespoons, right? 

Whipped cream alone soon became a wearisome snack.  A sprinkling of semi-sweet chocolate chips resulted in a more refined refreshment.  Somehow I assumed that the semi-sweet chips were also free too by virtue of not being fully sweet. 

I found myself avoiding the scale for over a week. It blended in with the white tiles of the bathroom floor and became invisible.  When I finally surmounted the courage to get on it, I was devastated to learn that not only did I fail to loose weight, but I actually gained a pound or two.  I guess the only “free food,” the consumption of which cannot make you heavier, is air.  Cool Whip might taste as light and fluffy as a cloud but has calories nevertheless. 

Since then, I’ve downloaded Lose It on my iPhone to keep track of my daily calorie intake. The free application has a data base of just about every food there is and a scanner system with the ability to automatically figure out calories, fat, and protein.  I just point my iPhone at the label and boom, calories, fat, and protein appear on my phone.  It turns out that my Cool Whip with chocolate chips creation added up to 170 calories!

My suggestion to Lose It: a weakness alarm.  Something that I can press when I am about to intake large amounts of unplanned calories.  If I could hear the red-alert, followed by a  motivational message, hopefully in my own voice, I may think twice about taking another bite.