In October, Michelle convinced me to go on a pretty radical diet in which we ate next to nothing – most notably omitting sugar, bread, and anything tasty. Now, we still had meat, eggs, and fruit, but nothing that was really fun to eat was included.

There was quite a bit of “mind over matter” at first.  I had to make my mind up. On Monday morning, I just drank my black coffee and decided my life was over for a while. I missed the milk and sugar. I missed having a piece of toast with jelly. I diced up a bunch of fruit and pretended it was OK.

Over time, it got better.  My mind was finally made up and I started realizing how good I was feeling. I didn’t have heartburn. I had more energy, and it took me a lot longer to feel hungry.  

I never, ever thought I’d be saying that.

You see, any time I’ve ever gone on such an extreme diet, I have had a fear I would wither away and die. I have fears of being so hungry and getting irritated and angry. I may have gotten a little ticked off, but it didn’t last long.

I realized my sleep was better, and I was waking up with a lot more vim and vigor. Michelle said I no longer snored, and I’d just spent money a few weeks ago on a mouthpiece that helped. I didn’t need it anymore, and you can’t return something you’ve had in your mouth for several days. Nobody wants it.

I used to make fun of people who said they didn’t care about looking better; they were just interested in how good they felt. I used to think “Yeah right.”  

Because, you see, my goal was always to fit better in my clothes and look better in swim trunks. I wasn’t concerned with how I felt.

I was all about the surface level and the vanity.

The weight loss was not dramatic or huge. I think in all, I maybe lost about 15 pounds, which is nothing to balk at.  However, the way I felt was way, way better than my concerns about how I looked. 

So now, I get those people.

Michelle’s original goal with this diet was to see what was causing problems, like certain aches and pains. As we ended the diet, we gradually worked things back in, eating a little something like peanut butter and then waiting a few days to see if it made a difference. 

As we expected, sugar was our main problem.

Too much sugar, especially in the evening, seemed to cause sleep issues. Too much of it brought back the heartburn and cravings for more.  Even putting a little in coffee and having more than one cup seemed to make a difference. 

There was definitely some bloating, and I couldn’t blame it on my gall bladder surgery from 1999.

So yes, sugar seemed to be an issue.

I, however, if I’m honest, really found that just one or two things wasn’t my main problem. My main problem was what a lot of folks suffer from: overdoing it. 

Eating too much: I was really overdoing it with all foods.  

After proving to myself I had some willpower, I decided it might not be as hard as I thought.  Looking at how great I felt, it really wasn’t that difficult to control myself. 

Some people said we were nuts for trying a diet before the holidays, but I disagree. It has been easier to avoid overeating. It’s been surprising to see what is not at all appealing anymore. It’s interesting to see how I will choose how I feel over how it feels to indulge in some foods.

Now, like I said, I may cut loose a little over the holidays. But, I’ve found it’s not as hard to get back on track. Cutting loose over the holidays isn’t the same as it used to look. 

Heck, maybe I’ll even make one of those resolutions this year and stick to it.

OK, I hear you laughing out there!