Fun at South Beach

Oh me! I tipped the scales at 233 last week and had to report to the cardiologist, Dr. Barry Ramo for my annual dressing down. He was happy with my cholesterol which dropped from 235 to 183 after taking Red Yeast Rice for a few months. BUT not so happy with my weight. He handed me an article that he had written about "metabolic syndrome" of which he says I am a card carrying member. The article had the title at the top, then Dr. Ramo's name and right under that was a black and white picture of a naked fat man, sitting on his haunches on the floor. I said, "Great! Where the heck did you get that picture of me?" Later, I said, "If I were you, I'm not sure I would put my name right above that picture!" He laughed and said, "Yeah, its not on the newer copies." Anyway, he went on to tell me that the next stop is Diabetesville and "you don't want to go there". Apparently, the only way back to Healthy City is through South Beach. So, I went immediately to the book store to purchase the latest version of the book, South Beach on Steroids or something like that and started reading. I discovered that the first two weeks takes away all grains (bread), starches, fruit and sugar. Crap! That's about all I eat! So, with my birthday coming up on the next Sunday, and thinking about how great that German Chocolate Pound Cake with cool whip and strawberries was going to taste, I made the decision to start South Beach on Monday. I was right. It did taste good. It's day 2 and so far I've managed to stay with it, spending a small fortune at the grocery store to stock up on things I can eat, then having to cook the receipes recommended in the book, all while staring at the leftover cake on the cabinet in a glass cake holder! Oh, the inhumanity. I think you lose some weight from chopping vegetables and slaving over a hot stove. I'll have to admit the food is not all that bad, pretty good actually and when I stepped on the scales this morning, I had lost 4 lbs! In one day!? At this rate, I should weigh about 110 by the end of the summer. Amy, my beautiful, skinny daughter said, "That'll be great. We can wear each others clothes." Oh me!