The List

I started this weigh loss effort on May 28, 2015. I have lost 40 pounds and I am generally pleased with my results.

As mentioned previously I believe in sporadic dieting. I believe in taking breaks from diets. It is not just essential to one's enjoyment of life, it also facilitates weight loss.

If you tell yourself you can never again have cheesecake and you like cheesecake, you will probably fail. On the other hand, if you tell yourself you cannot have cheesecake until May 28, 2016, your subconscious will accept your viewpoint and it will cooperate.

If you go off-diet, consider sampling the very worst of foods just to remind yourself that you are alive and you do not live in a bubble and that you like to live dangerously. If you have not eaten Spam in a long time, consider doing so. Sugary cola is possibly the worst foodstuff you can put in your body. Buy the 3 liter bottle. A Twinkie is beneath your sophisticated taste? Then slum it and eat a package or two. I rarely eat at McDonald's but when I do, I make a point of enjoying myself capitally. Let that silly cliche, "it's all good" become your temporary mantra.

I used to be a big fan of Howard Stern but we seem to have drifted apart. Oh well. We do have memories. Howard used to keep a list of women he would call should he receive the call that his loving wife had been killed in an accident. It might not sound like a great premise but the ever-brilliant Howard could work his magic and he has left me with a pleasant composite memory.

Inspired by my guru, I am compiling a list of forbidden foods I will consume after May 28. Being that I already have a corned beef brisket in the fridge, I will slow cook it with cabbage and potatoes and eat most, if not all of it, myself.

Then I will attack the freezer. I have some frozen lasagna and a frozen noodle casserole that were both really good. After I deplete the freezer I am gong to buy a dozen doughnuts and a cheesceake and a few cannolis. I will drink either one beer or one glass of cheap, sweet wine every night to see how my system handles the ETOH.

A local grocer always has great prices on steaks. Pork roast brined and marinated in brown sugar. Swordfish. Ranch dressing with a bit of salad. The list goes on and on.