Did anyone take bets about whether or not I could go two entire weeks without alcohol? If you bet, “No,” you won.

On Monday, I came home after a stressful day, and my husband was drinking a beer. And I wanted one. He tried to stop me, but I didn’t care. One beer. I deserved it. It had been that kind of a day.

And I’m not exaggerating. It wasn’t just me breaking out the alcohol that day. Earlier in the day I had sat in a meeting, and a pastor started wondering out loud if he had gin at home or if he’d have to buy some because he needed a martini at the end of the day. It was just THAT stressful.

Thankfully, it was a temporary job, and it became incredibly stressful, and it is over. I finished, but it drove me to alcohol.
And I did stop at only one beer, and it was also still within my calorie count for the day. Still, I drank alcohol. Had I now started a horrible spiral where I stray off my diet?

OK, I cheated a couple more times. My mother-in-law has been baking zucchini bread, and I LOVE zucchini bread, but I’m not supposed to eat bread. She also sent my children home with huge bags of blueberries, and I can’t eat fruit. And then she combined zucchini bread and blueberries, and I just had to try it. I had a bite. It was good, but it was very heavy. I didn’t even eat an entire slice.

And then yesterday, the two oldest children wanted McDonald’s, and they were buying, and I made them buy me a large ice tea. I didn’t get anything else, but I was sitting in the driver’s seat, and the aroma of fries went under my nose as I passed the bags on. And then the oldest child set her french fries right in between our seats, and I grabbed one and took a bite.

It was horrible. I didn’t like it at all. This was a McDonald’s fry, which is my favorite, and I thought it tasted horrible. I didn’t finish the fry. But they still smelled wonderful. I thought maybe I got a dud, so I stole another fry from her sister. I took a bite, and it was the same deal. Horrible fry. The kids didn’t complain, so it must have just been me. The South Beach Diet really is changing my palette. Now I just need to remember that just because something smells good doesn’t mean I am missing out on anything.

Yesterday must have been a challenge for me. My dinner was also partially off my diet. I was going to eat yogurt, and I didn’t know what to have with it. I opened up my cupboard, and I remembered my three bean salad idea, but it needed to be in the fridge for 6 hours, which was too long for dinner options. And my eyes fell on a box of lowfat cereal that is pretty much granola and raisins. I caved. I put the cereal in a bowl. Instead of milk, I added my plain yogurt, and it was so good. Yummy. Still, I didn’t eat it all. I ended up sharing with my son who at first refused to try it, and once he did, he wanted it all. It was good.

That’s it. Those are the only times I’ve slipped from my very strict diet, which I think is awesome. I even made three bean salad; I haven’t ate it yet, but I made it, and it is ready for my lunch today.

I even went out to eat several times, and I managed to find things that met the requirements of my diet. In one restaurant it was difficult, but I found something. Breakfast is easier to match to my diet restrictions, but you won’t get your bill reduced because you don’t want the potatoes and toast.

And I’m still losing weight, which is the point of all this.