The Power of "Catalysts"

Since my weight is stalled once again (this time at 212.0, for over a week now) I thought I'd use this opportunity to blog about the main reason I've had success on my diet so far, which is...

GIVING UP DRINKING WINE!

This might not sound like much, but trust me... it is. Because drinking wine, while one of the great pleasures in my life, is also one of the most most destructive "negative" catalysts when it comes to overeating.

For example: Most days Andrea an I work what we call the "early shift"... we start somewhere between 5:00-6:00 am, and by 4:00 in the afternoon we're ready to call it quits. Which just so happens to coincide with... HAPPY HOUR!

And, man, can we get happy!

I start getting "happy" with a single glass of Cabernet or Syrah... followed by a second glass of happiness... which is sometimes followed by a third. And that's where the problem comes in:

Somewhere between my 2nd and 3rd glass of happiness, I don't just get 'happy'... I also start getting HUNGRY! And pretty soon the good intentions I had about eating right turn into a wild, crazed desire to eat the bread... the butter... the potatoes... everything on my plate... and sometimes the plate itself! This is usually followed by ordering and devouring dessert and (sometimes) a quick stop at the local Safeway for a "candy-aisle run" (some of you are laughing because we've bumped into eachother somewhere between the Circus Peanuts and Peanut Butter Cups!)

This is why I say that wine is a destructive catalyst. And the only option (for me) was to stop drinking wine altogether. I'm not a "moderation" kind of guy.

Does this mean I'll NEVER have another glass of wine in my life? NO! Andrea an I have dreamed about a two week trip to the Chilean wine country for as long as we've known eachother, and that trip is going to happen!

But I also know that "happy hour" doesn't really lead to happiness... discipline does.