Oh Beverly, how you know me.

"[M]y inability to understand how some people don’t obsess about food. I simply don’t get that. How can they just not give it much thought? How can they buy a candy bar and forget about it altogether? How can they leave a carton of ice cream in the freezer until it has to be thrown out due to freezer burn? How do they not size up the buffet table like vultures, making sure to take note of what they must get to first before it’s all gone?"

I'm getting better about that, but WOW, somedays... Like right now, those Cool Ranch Doritos? They're calling my name, and I will NOT forget they're there. And yesterday, the Lays? I ate them before lunch, then couldn't finish my chicken. And last week when I brought in cookies for an afternoon snack, but ate them in the morning with coffee because the so-close smell of chocolate was overwhelming?

What else doesn't work

Sugar early in the day. I think this made it into an earlier post, but after yesterday it's worth repeating.

I should hold off on cookies, candy, ice cream, and the like until dessert.

Each day starts off fresh, but if I have sugary stuff I will crave sugary stuff the rest of the day. It's not an "oh crap, I blew my diet" thing, because I think anything and everything can be fit into my eating plan, I just have to track it. But one cookie leads to 2 cookies leads to a candy bar, and some pie.

Yesterday I was at 780 calories by 2 in the afternoon. Low. I should have eaten more, I would have been less vulnerable to temptation. Sitting at Jill's des, with her awesome banana cake, I said "You know, I need a snack, and this fits the bill." And with that, the trouble started. Soon afterward, someone put brownies and lemon bars out in the common area. I had one of each. And then after dinner I wanted ice cream, so we split a Peanut Butter Cup Sundae at Friendly's.

Total damage: Over maintenance calories by 400, overall nutrition for the day: pretty crappy.

My weight loss secret

Red bell peppers.

Seriously, if my veg of the week is red bell peppers (eat one pepper a day) I lose a pound that week. Weirdest thing.