false start

I was supposed to start the two-week induction phase of the Atkins Diet this past Monday.

And I did.

But I lasted only one day.

Strangely, this wasn't about lack of resolve. My first day on the diet actually came as something of a relief from the previous carb-bingeing, and I would have been glad to continue dieting.

Here's the problem: I realized, upon waking on Tuesday morning, that I still had a fridge full of perishable items that wouldn't survive either two weeks in the fridge or an indefinite period in the freezer. Rather than throw everything out, I thought it best to deal with les restes in the best way I knew how.

I'm not talking about leftovers like half-empty jars of peanut butter or zip-topped bags of raisins. Those items can be closed and stored, and they'll still be fine after two weeks. No: I'm talking about food like the leftover jjajang-myeon I had, or the leftover Thai(-ish) chicken and shrimp I'd made, or the gallon of milk sitting innocently on the fridge's bottom shelf. Freezing jjajang-myeon sauce or fresh-made Thai(-style) pasta toppers would have led to the ruin of both, and leaving both in the fridge for two weeks would have led to an even darker scenario.

So I've spent the week since Tuesday eating these things up, and while that slaughter has been going on, I've remembered that May 4th and May 8th are important dates for our family: Mom's birthday and Mother's Day, respectively. Right now, it seems better to wait until after May 8 to start the two-week induction: I've got no special occasions to honor between May 8 and May 22. If induction proves effective, I'll continue with the next phase of the diet. That, or I'll reintroduce a moderate amount of carbs and start exercising in earnest (you're not supposed to exercise during induction).

The false start is still my fault, of course: I shouldn't have begun the diet without having been fully prepared. On May 9, I will be.


In other news: I'm beginning to think that a September start date for the cross-country walk is too soon. It's also bad timing, because unless I decide on a southern route across the country, I'll be walking right into the teeth of winter in the Plains states.

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