10 Steps to Guiltless Bacon

1. Shovel 16" of snow from the front walk and steps - about 45 minutes without a pause. (It was only 16" because I shoveled 6" last night before bed.) Smell neighbor cooking bacon.
2. Come in, stretch shoulders and get the bacon from the fridge. I buy very expensive bacon from previously happy organically raised pigs, hence no guilt on the eating meat thing. Read the label. "70 calories per serving".  "Serving size: 1 piece".  Put bacon back in fridge.
3. Drink hot coffee while mulling things over. Plan the rest of the day. Plan will involve:
   -More shoveling, perhaps some cross country skiing, and more shoveling. So calorie budget can be slightly higher than normal.
   -Eating prepared salad from Trader Joe's for second meal. 550 calories!  Detailed reading of the label indicates 200 calories from packaged honey mustard dressing - can save 100 calories, and 15 carb grams, by using my vinagrette.
4. Realize that there is no need to follow previous patterns for eating bacon.
   I usually cook the entire package in order to make my own precooked microwavable bacon, but then don't hold back eating it thus don't have that much in the way of convenience food.  When I am eating low carb, there is no need to hold back, because calories don't matter, only carb grams.  Now, Nan's Miracle Diet requires detailed logging of every calorie. But I have a revelation:  I can plan to eat a certain amount of bacon, then stop. I can build it into the budget!
5. Cook bacon and egg. Not a nibble while cooking. Sit and eat the budgeted portion on a small plate at the table.
6. Bask in the self-conscious and well-fed glow of a lovely meal.  Walk back into the kitchen, see the rest of the bacon sitting there, and still wearing a smile but not thinking reach for a piece.  Stop just in time with a sudden rush of awareness.  Oooops!
7. Package up the rest of the cooked bacon into measured portions and put it in the freezer for convenience breakfasts.
8. Go out and shovel 8" of new snow from same place shoveled before. Contemplate buried car and walk away.
9. Drink hot lemon tea when back in the house.
10. Take a nap instead of going skiing.

Feel free to revise some steps, but this worked for me.