Food, Food, Food and Pizza

There are those that live to eat and those who eat to live (that may be grammatically incorrect). I am definitely in the former category. Eating a stalk of celery does not a dinner make.

As I mentioned in my first post, I have been on every diet and eating plan since I was five years old. Seriously. I’ve probably gained and lost 300 pounds in my lifetime so far. Putting it on, taking it off, putting it on, taking it off. I think they call that yo-yo dieting. I call it totally-enjoying-food-that-I don’t-know-when-to-stop. Let’s face it. I am a total foodie.

Now to set matters straight: I don’t do a lot of junk food and I rarely eat fast foods unless it’s the only option when I’m on a road trip. In that case I go for the least offensive menu item-a salad. I do like the occasional potato chip and I love movie popcorn.

For the most part I eat healthy. I like whole grains and I love greens. Salad is a favorite. My friend Cathy is smacking her head at that one. I’m not a vegetarian by any means and one of my fav meals is steak tips and a honkin’ huge baked potato. With a side salad of course.

My all time favorite food is PIZZA. I could eat it everyday. I just love it. Actually, there was a time last summer when I DID eat it every day. Yes, you guessed. I was in Italy.

The pizza in Northern Italy is very different than the pizza in, say, New York or Boston. (New York pizza is my favorite.) I do, however, love the pizza in Trieste.

Actually, I’m not all that picky. I’ll even eat a frozen or chain pizza. I just love that combination of cheese and sauce and crust. To me, it’s like manna. If I had been wandering the desert for 40 years and there was pizza? Oh, baby. I would have put down stakes and opened a pizzeria. Mama Ellen’s Desert Pizzeria. Sit down or take out.

I’m not terribly fussy when it comes to food. I have my dislikes: brownies, marshmallows, chocolate chip cookies. I know, I know. But hey, I’d rather have a plate of mashed potatoes than a cookie. I love ethnic foods: Greek, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Italian (other than pizza), Indian, Thai…you get the idea. I also love good old American burgers and fries. Are you getting hungry yet? And fish. I love fish. One my bandmates can’t tolerate fish. He won’t even sit next to someone eating fish or seafood. But that’s another story.

And so, it’s January. I started a new eating plan as of January 2. Technically it’s not called a “diet”. OK. To me, it’s still a diet. It’s the strictest plan I’ve ever done. It’s scary strict. Yes, in less than a week I’ve lost a few pounds. What am I eating? Not much. Packaged foods except for one meal a day where I can have veggies and some protein (no cheese). Are the packaged meals tasty? No, not really. Are the packaged meals convenient? Extremely. Can I do this for a year? Yes, I can. Don’t ask me to go out for lunch. Or dinner. At least not yet.

I have a personal coach working with me. It’s like being a celebrity. We talk almost every day and I can call him anytime to vent. He also happens to be one of my closest friends. This part is nice.

The week before I started this, I went all out. I didn’t think points, calories, servings. Nada. I just ate whatever I wanted. Interestingly enough, I ate less than I would normally eat. Go figure.

I know that eventually I will be able to have pizza again. One slice, occasionally. Difficult concept right now. And milk in my coffee. Foamed milk. I miss that.

In the meantime, I’ll keep looking at the skinny jeans hanging in my closet. When I can finally squeeze into them there will be a celebration like you don’t know. It will definitely involve a trip to Sephora. And you thought I was going to say champagne. Hah!

Salad anyone?