This, I must say, is a first. I’m celebrating one year into this current diet. Technically, the anniversary is tomorrow. However, given that diets always start on Mondays, week-wise, it’s today.

And I had to ponder that for a while. Yes. This really is a first. Despite the fact that I’ve been doing this for 7027 days now, this is the first time a single, particular plan has lasted for an entire year. The old record topped out around nine months or so.

“Wow! How did you do it, Charlie?!” Yes, I can hear you asking the question already. Those who’ve been around the whole time might remember it all started with this little gal and my all-time high blood sugar reading of 161. At that point I decided to cut out high glycemic foods. And I did for a while. (Never mind the fact that just this afternoon I ate bunches of chips, cookies, and various other snacks of the sugar and/or flour variety. I’ve far from got this thing licked.)

But what’s different this time around is that an afternoon of chips, cookies, and sugar and flour doesn’t completely throw me off the wagon. The next day I’m typically fine again, and back on track. On my previous eighty-seven diets, one bad afternoon would mean months of undoing it all, followed by even more months of trying to get back where I started.

“Wow! How do you do it, Charlie?!” Not a clue. I have no idea why this time is different than any other time, with the sole exception that I’ve never been as old as I am now. Maybe something just finally ‘clicked’ for good. Of course, if I knew exactly what causes the switch to click like that, I’d bottle it and be a billionaire overnight. Unfortunately, it’s different for everyone. And, as I said, we’re never cured. Even Richard Simmons still struggles every single day. And he’s a professional.

Vacation Damage

Last week I promised I’d catch you all up on the vacay damage. Here’s a chart overlaying the week before vacation (red) followed by last week (blue):

I was a bit zoinked-out when I saw my weight begin with the dreaded Not One. But I can’t say I was surprised in the least bit. Thankfully it was just that one day. After that, though, the weight didn’t start coming off again like I thought it would.

The Big Picture

I was all prepared to whine and moan about it when two things hit me. First, it was a vacation. Big deal. Eat a little extra. Or, in my case, a lot extra. But the second thing that hit me was The Big Picture. What does the last year look like?

Is it a world record? No. But it’s a heckuva lot better than gaining twenty six pounds in a year, which isn’t impossible. And though I’m “only” down 26 pounds in 52 weeks (half a pound a week!) I’m actually down 38 pounds since my all time high in January of 2007. So that’s something.

I think from here on out, I’ll only post a weigh-in update once a month. There’s plenty of other things to talk about beside food.

Like beer, for example. Mmmm… I think I’ll go get one right now. What’s a few extra calories anyway?