Dear Reader Column 07-31-06

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Dear Reader,

My husband and I have cleared our house of any snack type foods. Our new rule is: if you can eat it without any preparation it's banned from our cupboards---with the exception of fruits and vegetables. My dear husband wants to lose 15 pounds and I want to lose three. I know, go ahead and slap me now. But the three pounds I've gained, there's no room for them in some of my pants and that's never happened to me before. Besides I've been eating too much sugar lately.

We discussed this new lifestyle when my husband and I were driving home from our Smoky Mountain vacation. Perhaps that's the reason I had to make several extra stops on the way, to eat the good stuff while it was still legal. After one caramel apple and some black and red licorice, I thought things were under control, but temptation got the best of me when I drove by a billboard on a winding mountain road advertising homemade chocolate candies. Ah, such effective marketing. Immediately there were visions of hand dipped dark chocolate covered peanuts and caramels dancing in my head and I just had to stop. It was one of my better decisions and after four pieces of hand dipped delights, that was it. I committed myself to our new lifestyle.

But it's been a little over a week and today I'm beginning to rethink things. One of them is that you shouldn't make any new life decisions immediately after returning from a vacation, because your mind isn't living in the real world yet. Especially if you've just spent 10 days in the mountains, where everyone knows the air is thinner. It's obvious I wasn't getting enough oxygen. You can't be held accountable for contracts or agreements you entered into when your mind was oxygen impaired.

It's all a sugary blur today and I'm not sure how or why I agreed to this new lifestyle thing, but I am sure that I want a cookie or a dark chocolate Dove Bar and I want it now.

Those pants that don't fit anymore? I never really liked them anyway.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

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Comments

[carolyn teasley]

dear suzanne,
really enjoyed your letter to readers today. i'm always trying to reform my eating habits. but it is definitely easier said than done. too bad we can't remember how much better we feel physically when we eat the right foods. if you ever find that magical way of cutting back the sweet, sweet taste of things that taste good and are not that good for us just let me know! i guess that keeps me out of entering for the chocolate chip cookies for august.

[Heidi Sinker]

Hi! I'm new to the book club and I just wanted to reply to your desire to lose weight and eat more healthfully. I joined Weight Watchers 2 years ago and lost 30 lbs. Since then I have put back on 15! I am really trying to do better and something that helps my sweet tooth is Weight Watchers cakes. They are made with splenda. You can find them at Vons or Walmart. Hope this helps!

Take Care!