Photo by Andreanna

I think I’ve kicked my coffee habit.  It’s been a whole month since I enjoyed my last cup o’ Joe.  Based on the conventional wisdom that it takes three weeks to break a habit, I think I’m good to go.  Yippee!

What now?

OK, so I can cross “Stop drinking coffee” off of my list of bad habits to break.  I guess it’s time for a new challenge.  What should it be this time?  I can’t stop watching baseball on TV;  after all, the Yankees are in first place.  Stop drinking beer?  You can have my Sam Adams when you pry it from my cold dead fingers!  Actually, I only drink about 4 beers a week, usually on the weekends with friends.  How’s that for rationalizing?  I’ll have to pick something that’s really doing me harm, a habit that has crept back into my everyday life.  That habit is: junk food.

No, not the Entenmann’s cookies!

Yup, time to dump the empty calories.  I know this because my clothes are getting tighter, and the number on the scale has gone up.  Rather than bite off more than I can chew, I’m going to focus on cookies and chocolate for the initial 3 week period.  I’m looking for incremental progress, like the way I approached my coffee addiction.  I’m a big believer in the “small bites” philosophy.  How come all of my analogies are related to eating?

The Witching Hour

I don’t touch junk food until after dinner.  I’m good all day at work, because I only eat the food that I bring from home.  No candy machine trips for me.  The cravings start after my healthy meal, usually after I settle in for the night.  This is my Witching Hour.  This is the trigger that starts the junk food grazing.  The benefits of this lifehack will be not only a healthier diet, but some serendipitous weight loss.

A matter of substitution

When a ballplayer performs poorly, to the detriment of the team, the team gets rid of him, and puts someone else in his place.  This is how I’ll approach this challenge.  I’ll be the General Manager of my nutrition.  I’ll replace chocolate with salad.  Cookies with apples.    I’m putting Snickers on waivers, and trading Baskin-Robbins for sugar-free Jello.  I hope to be back in the pennant race come September.

Photo by maccanti

Stats don’t lie

Being that I’m starting today, I was brave enough to jump on the scale.  Here’s the scary number: 214.  I’ve gained back nine pounds from my winter weight loss session.  Like Patton said, I hate paying for the same real estate twice.  Shame on me.

A new feature

Because of the success of Sun-Tzu Sunday, I’ll post my progress every week.  Call it Metabolic Monday.  Or not.  That sounds stupid.  Regardless, I’ll fess up every Monday about my habit.  I’ll let you know if I cheated, and what foods that I ate that kept me from going off the rails.  I’ll share with you what worked, and what didn’t work.  It will be easy to stay on track with everyone watching me.

Photo by L. Marie

Do you have a problem with junk food?  Anyone care to join me in this experiment?  I don’t want to know what you weigh, just that you’re keeping on track.

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