That's the number of days I've been on this low-carb journey.
I have not cheated on the diet once.
Nothing sweet has touched my lips (at least not on purpose).
I have not gotten on a scale (except at the doctor's office).
I can remember Julie saying, "For the next week, or until I tell you different..." then laying down the law.
Truth be told, I'm amazed I made it 300 minutes.
I was dangerously close to having a "fuckitall" moment the very first night.
I wasn't convinced that I was going to go for my second session.
See, that's why Julie makes you pay in advance. It eliminates a LOT of excuses. I got over the "I'm not going back" stage of things quickly, though.
So here's the reality...
I'm four days shy of 10 months on this program. My anniversary date is 64 days away. At the rate I was losing at the beginning, I was certain I'd be done within a year.
Well, I'm not going to be done within a year. It's going to take longer.
But here's the thing: I'm still dropping weight. My clothes are still getting looser all the time. I'm going to the gym 4 times a week minimum.
But it took decades to do the damage. The fact that I've gotten this far in this expanse of time is remarkable.
OK, so I probably still won't have funnel cake at Knoebels this year. It's a bad idea anyway.
Maybe when August rolls around and we go back to Maine I'll have more wiggle room with the carbs (I feel like I deserve a few fried clams), but I'm not holding my breath waiting for that either. Fried clams are a bad idea too.
As I've said before, Julie would likely disagree with my refusal to make the carb and sugar thing a zero-sum game, but I feel like I deserve a hall pass on the once-a-year-can't-make-this-stuff-at-home treats and eventually I might take one every now and then.
But it isn't looking good for this summer. I will probably still be in the river until fall.
My conservative estimate now has me on maintenance around October. And if I go on maintenance in October it'll be another holiday season of meat and veggies because I'm not going straight from meat and veggies to pumpkin pie. It just flat out doesn't work that way.
And you know, if that happens - and it probably will - I'll survive.
I made it 300 days.
Just saying it leaves me completely in awe of what I've accomplished.
And it makes the notion of staying with this for as long as it takes bearable.
I've been too vocal and too visible to fail at this. I have to make it work.
And I have to finish what I started.
In the plus column, I'm pretty sure I'll fit on most of the rides at Six Flags now. We'll find out on April 12.
