For patandmeg.com the summer began with traveling and merrymaking with our friends and family, including two family reunions in the Poconos and New Hampshire, and a wedding in Puerto Rico. Besides the Gray family of Fort Mill, SC, there were three other guests that traveled with us to each of these occasions: Billy Beer, Wanda Wine and Larry Liquor. While we definitely enjoyed all of the events and these three guests were tremendous additions, the ultimate result was an addition to our waistlines and butts! Several pounds heavier on our return from San Juan—yes we did manage to pry our hands from the half empty bottles of rum—we made a decision: not to diet, but to make a “lifestyle change”.

In the past, we have both tried to “diet” with great short term results but no long term reductions and life satisfaction. We do well for a bit—bending the rules here and there to meet our needs—but in the end there is no net loss. While I was still in Philly and Pat was in Stamford we tried (for solidarity)the long distance Atkins Diet: lots of meat and cheese and no carbs. My affair with Dr Atkins ended upbruptly with a bowl of pasta and an intervention from my roommates stating that without carbs in my life I became really mean and short volatile. For Pat the diet went on longer and after a few months was down about 20 pounds, but when a few nights of drinking and real nachos (with tortilla chips and not flaxseed ones) came about, in the end there was little loss.

Our next foray in dieting was with the South Beach Diet. The key to this one is navigating your large bum through three phases and altering your body’s response to food and insulin production. The first phase, the most restrictive, lasts two weeks and does not allow any fruit, flour, baked goods, starches, and alcohol. After those two weeks it is said that your body has adjusted and you can start bringing back healthy amounts of some of these items and staying away from others. Our biggest challenge with this diet was always the two weeks on the wagon and not spending any time with our friends Billy Beer, Wanda Wine and Larry Liquor at all during those first two weeks. There was always an event, or night out that kept us from maintaining our booze-free promise to the beach and led to a downward spiral from the actual diet.

This time is different though… we decided that we weren’t going to call it a diet, but a lifestyle change instead. Since work-wise I am on the beach right now, we thought it a good time to try and transition to the South Beach way of thinking again. I have plenty of time to read up on recipes and plan menus so we have been pretty happy with the food side of things; and we have plenty of time to work out so exercise and fitness is also taken care of. We also made a commitment to ourselves and each other to uphold the no alcohol side of the bargain as well. A tremendous feat knowing us! So far we have lost a collective 20 pounds and are really starting to love Sugar Free Cool Whip….

The past two weeks on the wagon (16 booze free days to be exact—we worked hard for every one of those days) has been pretty interesting. We talked about it a lot, and we wanted to make sure that we weren’t locking ourselves in the house and not having any fun, because that would ultimately make us sour on the whole experience. Among the highlights were that we went to trivia and karaoke at Beef’s with our crew and managed to stick to Iced Tea and Diet Coke. In order to help us keep track of our time, I installed a countdown on my homepage listing the days, hours and minutes remaining until we can dabble with life off the wagon a bit. Today at 5:00 pm we will celebrate our will power and stamina with a Manhattan for Pat and some wine for Meg. Join us ?!?

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