An Experiment

So, my 84 days ended on Sunday and this week I have decided to take some "time off" the lifestyle.  I know what you are thinking:  "What!! Taking time off.  You will slip back int old habits!"  Generally, I think I would agree with you on this.  In theory, going back to the old ways is the single worst thing I could do.  However, I have felt strongly that I needed to "experiment" with going back, even if for just a few days.

Why?  Well, there are several reasons.  First and foremost, I think my poor wife needs a break.  The woman has had to deal with a lifestyle (remember, I am not on a diet) fanatic for the last 12 weeks.  Refusal to eat half of the stuff she makes because she used butter or sugar has not done much for our marriage.  So, for her birthday (which was yesterday), I gave her a week off the lifestyle.  (Though, to be honest, she hasn't done too bad on the diet.  She has lost about ten pounds and looks great!)

Second, I need a break.  Not because I haven't enjoyed some of the changes in my life, but because I have to know whether I can commit to this lifestyle long-term.  So many people lose a ton of weight, and then gain it all back.  I just can't be one of those people that have tasted skinnyness and then lost it. (Actually, based on my experience, skinnyness is relatively bland and has no sugar, so it doesn't "taste" all that great.  A better way to say it is that I have seen skinnyness, which, of course, ALWAYS looks better than fatness.)  In this regard, I actually am quite pleased with myself.  I have found that many of my tastes have changed and that I am far more careful about what I eat and what I order when I go out. 

Based on my experience so far this week, I think the skills and habits I have learned over the last 3 months could be broken, if I worked hard enough.  But the fact is, I really don't want to break them.  I have almost been lost without my eating routine this week, and it is quite frustrating to eat something that is not good for me and, as a result of eating it, feel both sick to my stomach and still hungry.  Worst of all, I have found that the first thing to go was drinking water.  For some reason, despite my best efforts, I haven't gotten the requisite three liters of water in, and I can tell it has affected how I feel (though I am saving time in my day by not having to go to the bathroom!). 

In the end, I think this experiment has been a really good thing.  I have gotten to eat a few things I have been without for several months (none of which, I have found, I miss all that much).  I have also learned that it is not all that difficult to Live the Life--in fact, it is actually well worth living.  Strangely, for the first time in my life, I am counting down the days to get back on the lifestyle, instead of counting down the days to get off the diet.