November 13, 2006
Monday 

It looks like the turtle icon for my weight loss graph was a wise choice. I “lost” about a quarter pound this past week, which really means that I stayed the same, since the variables that might affect my inexpensive step-on scale (temperature, humidity, tare weight of the t-shirt I happen to be wearing) can’t be controlled.

I’m in my annual period of furious house cleaning, redding out, redding up, preparing for Thanksgiving and the month-long focus on food that has become the American holiday period. I’m trying to lose weight, but I am already tired of magazine spreads that tout low-fat versions of traditional winter comfort foods. Last night at the church potluck I saw a pie tin that held a caramel-colored pudding-like substance. The little sign near it said “fat-free, sugar-free, crustless pumpkin pie.” Oh for heaven’s sake, why bother!

I’ve been going through the cupboards, rearranging, taking inventory, clearing space to store the nonperishable party supplies I’ve started buying little by little. It’s hard for me to throw anything away, especially food, but really, that low-fat microwave popcorn in the “snack size” bags burns fast, smells up the house, and tastes awful.

I did, however, finish the last bit (a little more than a cup) left in the box of Kashi Vive Probiotic Wellness Cereal that I bought because it promised me “crunchy graham twigs touched with a hint of sweetness, lightly toasted flakes of seven whole grains and sesame, vanilla-dipped rice crisps, active probiotic cultures and ginger, and natural broccoli extract.” I was a little dubious about the natural broccoli extract, but I liked the picture of the vanilla bean in flower juxtaposed against a chip of graham cracker.

It turns out the most significant word in the box copy is “twigs.” The stuff tastes like twigs (albeit twigs with a hint of sweetness). The rice crisps are little balls that look like Kix cereal. They explode in the mouth into a vanilla-scented dust that is not unpleasant, but nothing really to look forward to.

I had my cereal — 9 points with the milk, the banana, and the coffee I started my day with. From 8:30 until noon I cleaned in half-hour periods of intense moving, stacking, rearranging, and vacuuming interspersed with brief periods of helping Ron deal with the latest piece of the garage ceiling that has crumbled onto the raised garage door (which door is itself being balky — we’re on Dave the Handyman’s list), and as is typical of heavy cleaning projects, the place actually looks worse now than when I began.

At noon I had the World’s Most Perfect Lunch: Campbell’s condensed cream of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. The same 9 points as breakfast, but infinitely more satisfying.

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