I will have very elaborate dreams about food when I get hungry when I'm asleep. Sadly, I cannot eat when I first wake up. I'll also have mega-frustrating dreams in which my attempts to get up, showered and dressed are all kinds of thwarted right before I wake up.

No wonder I hate waking up. Everything in my head is gearing me up for frustration.

Oh god. I thought this was just me. Shortly after the pizza thing, I started having dreams where I would eat something, by mistake, and then remember I was on a diet and freak out. It was like, "I can't even cheat in my DREAMS."

Sister!

I don't even like kool-ade IRL.

There is a pizza place in my neighborhood with whole wheat crusts and small slices. When I'm in bad shape I'll have a piece along with some other protien things so I don't get that icky blood sugar spike. It usually does the trick. I think the whole pizzaria aspect helps with the knock out of the craving.

If people are killing me at work with pizza I'll tell myself I can have the whole wheat if I'm still suffering when I get home, but I usually forget by then. Between that and the Guylian sugar free 70% cocoa chocolate I whip out when other people are having really nice deserts its pretty managable to stay on track.

(Can you tell I'm giving myself a pep talk? Good Girl starts again January 2nd and is hardcore until Valentine's Day.)

Oh, my god. I can't breathe, my body hates me, and I'm edging back to Wanting To Die land. Instead of going to the DMV, I think I'll go directly home and crawl back into bed.

Instead of going to the DMV, I think I'll go directly home and crawl back into bed.

Oh, dear. You were doing so well.

Both coworkers in my immediate area have some kind of death-virus thing. One went home sick, the other is fairly sure she's not contagious. But between this and the husband having a cold, it's going to be a miracle if I don't get sick too.

If people are killing me at work with pizza I'll tell myself I can have the whole wheat if I'm still suffering when I get home, but I usually forget by then. Between that and the Guylian sugar free 70% cocoa chocolate I whip out when other people are having really nice deserts its pretty managable to stay on track.

When I'm home, it's much easier to manage. If I have a craving for something, I think, "Okay, I'll make a snack. If I still want that thing after the snack, I can go out and get it." I never end up going out for it. My laziness may be an asset in this way.

It's when I'm around stuff I can't have that I break so I try to avoid potentially bad situations. The first week of the strike, people kept showing up on the picket lines with food. As we were finishing our shift, one of my fellow writers asked me if I wanted to come out to lunch with them. I said, "People have been shoving bagels and donuts and cookies in face ALL DAY. If I even step foot in a restaurant, I'm gonna break." So I went home.

I did much better managing the cravings when I was on the super-restrictive (shakes only) phase of my diet. Fear of ending up on the operating table will do that, I guess.

Oh, dear. You were doing so well.

Maybe the DayQuil wore off. I don't know. But yeah, my body thinks it might be too early to start ingesting real food, and I feel like I'm trying to breathe through clammy mud. The internets are not dancing for my entertainment. I declare this stupid year to be over! And stupid!

My laziness may be an asset in this way.

yeah, that was good for me when I was on the atkins diet. I had just moved, and I'd eaten all of the carbs, so there was nothing in the house that I couldn't eat. In order to cheat, I had to leave the house.

I have actually experienced the mythic endorphin rush. But it's a rare thing.

This has only happened to me after childbirth and after marathons. In each case I assumed the rush was relief for the torture ending.

My SIL does well with the grazing type diet. She eats itty bitty meals every couple hours. Starting at 6am. They are like tiny balanced meals too. A piece of cheese with a bit of fruit and some celery. That sort of thing. It takes a huge amount of preparation. And she logs it all. Ugh. I want a pizza and red wine diet.

Also, I'm not working and watched Days of Our Lives. Now I want Natter 56 to be These are the Days of Our Lives. Except I still like the blank title idea more.

In more news, I have Italian Wedding Soup on the stove and it is making me very hungry, but I don't want to add the spinach and pasta until later. Maybe I need to take a big taste test of the broth.

Poor DH is Sickly McIllington. I had this cold/flu thing before him and it only knocked me out for a couple of days before turning into the more manageable Sniffly Aftereffects That Will Not Die. It is hitting him much harder and the poor guy has been feeling terrible for almost a week.

My goal is to try to eat what I want, but it has to be actual food and not chocolate, cookies, chips, etc. I tend to snack on totally empty calories, so we are going to stock up on heathy stuff, like baby carrots and good cheese and fruit and stuff like that.