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Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 18: What Happens When You Lose Control?

Posted by Ed Levine, May 16, 2008 at 8:30 AM

I don't know why exactly, but this week I felt like I lost control this week. It happens to me at some point or other whenever I go on a diet. Do other serious eaters find this to be the case when they embark on a weight loss regimen? In my case, losing my resolve could have disastrous consequences. Because once my resolve is gone, I can succumb to temptation big time. And believe me when I tell you that temptation is all around me virtually nonstop.

Friday afternoon I sent Sarah, one of the serious eaters here in the office, to a local bakery that had recently opened. I decided she should get one of every item the pastry chef-owner was proud of so that we could write the place up. Sarah came back with a dazzling array of exotic cupcakes, puddings, cookies, and cake slices (above). It was a brutal introduction to my diet weekend.

It turned out to open the floodgates, foodwise, for the rest of the week.

Saturday

The next day, Saturday, we visited my 88-year-old cousin Terry. Terry loves to show me around her her extremely varied, multi-ethnic food neighborhood. We ended up at Hildebrandt's, a soda fountain and luncheonette where the hamburgers are sublime and the homemade cottage fries even better.

And of course the proper accompaniment to a soda fountain burger and cottage fries is a coffee malt. That night we went to a play and then to a party where they were serving cupcakes. Cupcakes are not one of my weaknesses, but I still had one mini cupcake, or most of one, anyway. Why? It was there in proximity to my hands and mouth.

Sunday

Sunday was a Mother's Day doubleheader. First we had a brunch at our house. I bought some of my favorite bagels, some smoked fish, cream cheese, ham, and some Grom ice creamfor dessert. I kept tearing off small pieces of bagel and putting just a little cream cheese on them. I must have done this five time after I had eaten a whole mini bagel topped with smoked salmon and cream cheese. This is classic "Ed Levine is out of control when it comes to eating" behavior. I wasn't even tasting the food. I was just consuming it.

Sunday dinner was poached salmon, green beans, and barley and corn salad. Dessert Sunday night was lemon bundt. I was still full from brunch, so I just had little barley salad and sliver of cake.

The Following Week

But I think the bad weekend set up the bad week, because I was eating without thinking, to quell anxiety, I think. On Monday night I went to a restaurant's pre-opening and book party. Because it was a restaurant that I am probably going to review reasonably soon I had to have a bite of everything the kitchen sent out. I managed to stay in pretty good control. Later that evening we went out with friends to another restaurant I was thinking about reviewing. I ordered for the table and managed to get back on track. That is, I was aware of the potential damage I could do to my diet with the food arrayed in front of me. I tried just to sample even items that I really liked.

Wednesday I night I went to Taste of the Nation New York, one of these food events where more than 50 serious restaurants set up tables and serve tasting portions of one of their specialties. It is an invitation to excess, but I managed to rein in my worst instincts. For the most part succeeded in taking a bite of something and throwing the rest out. Once or twice I succumbed to the pleasures of one particular dish and finished the plate, but considering the damage I could have done I felt I was in control.

So as you can well imagine I am not looking forward to getting on the scale today.

Yup, unsurprisingly I gained a pound this week. I do feel like I weathered the caloric storm and got back on track toward the end of the week. But I was in some extremely problematic situations the past seven days and got through them without suffering too much damage. Wouldn't you agree?

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