Cannoli Cake Calling

Department of Not Thinking Things Through:

Each of the kids got cooking-related gifts. My college boy got a terrific book on bread baking, and some accoutrements useful for a dorm kitchen; the middle boy got a fancy pie plate, server, and food-porn pie cookbook; and my little girl got The Cake-Mix Doctor cookbook. And now, here I am on the no-carb diet, while all the kids are trying out their new toys.

There is a terrific-looking cannoli cake in the kitchen. Here's an oddity about my family: they all eat sweets in moderation (most of the time) and often cakes will go stale before they are all gone. It would be a shame to waste such a special cake, so I wrapped up a piece carefully and put it in the freezer. I may never eat it, but it comforts me to know it is there, for me when I'm ready.  Right now, I'm newly motivated, totally strong, and can resist the pull of its call. I'll probably forget about it and discover it months from now at a weaker moment.

But I definitely had an evening sweets habit. I've gone cold turkey - trying to get all the carbs out. As I said, I'm strong right now, but I should probably hide the Dove Darks where I'll forget them before I hit a weak spell.

Today I had 24 net carbohydrate grams. Versus the target of 20. Second day in a row over slightly, out of three total. Not such a good average. My afternoon snack was an avocado.  I intended to eat half, but suddenly the whole thing was gone. I'll need to think about tomorrow's snack.

On the new Atkins, there is no time where the sweets are welcome, or even introduced as a scheduled, planned treat. I haven't read the whole book, but there is no "chocolate is encouraged in tiny amounts every day" or "save up your points for a weekly treat".  This is so different from many other diets, high and low carb.  My last month shows I can't be trusted with freedom, so I'm comfortable going cold turkey for a short period of time. But I'm going to have to think about how to handle this over the long haul. If I follow their protocols strictly, at least by the time local fruit starts coming in, it would be allowed into the totals.  Also, I will not be craving sweets physically (versus wanting them emotionally) if the no carb detox does its thing in the next week. In my experience, it has happened in the past.

Activity report: Brilliant sunshine during the day and a clear crisp evening at least got my number of steps up above the minimum.  I'll be back at the gym tomorrow morning at 6 am.