"I was being really careful, taking only one bite of everything, but you don't have to know differential calculus to realize that comes out to 20 bites of insanely rich and serious delicious food."

All week I've exhibited what I consider to be great self-control, and I fear it's going to come to naught. My interim daily weigh-ins have not been encouraging, and I don't know why. Perhaps I need to reflect more carefully on what I really did eat this week?

Last Saturday we headed to Baltimore for the weekend for a friend's surprise birthday party. We spent that afternoon wandering around the city. It was really fun and mostly not food-related, though I did have a few bites of apple pie from Dangerously Delicious, a few spoonfuls of very good Pitango Gelato, and a bite of my wife's good fried flounder sandwich.

Hmm. Maybe I haven't exhibited as much self-control as I thought. I don't know about the rest of the Serious Eaters, but when I'm trying to lose weight I often convince myself that I've been super careful and virtuous and good when I haven't. I guess I have a desperate need to believe I've got everything under control.

So maybe my daily weigh-ins this week do accurately reflect my indulgences. Let's examine the week's eating close-up.

Saturday night was our friend's party. It was an all-pass-around affair (always a dangerous situation for me) featuring mini short rib sandwiches, fried mac and cheese fritters, and sushi, among other nibbles. I tried to focus on the sushi, but admittedly I had three of those tasty short rib suckers.

Sunday we met old friends for lunch. My burger was almost inedible, which was a good thing (I ate only half), but then we ended up having coffee and dessert at the aforementioned Pitango, conveniently just around the corner. I shared some sorbets and asked for a taste of what turned out to be insanely good, rich hot chocolate. It was just one sip, but damn it was good.

Monday was uneventful, and by Tuesday morning I was down to my cherished 229. But Tuesday turned into a serious dieting disaster.

For lunch, Robyn and I did our Union Square falafel tour for my weekly review. I kept returning to the four falafels, trying to discern the different spices present in each. Tuesday dinner was even worse. Someone took me out to dinner to Michael White's Convivio, an Italian restaurant I'd been dying to try. White is among a handful of truly great Italian chefs in America. He is a master pasta maker. My friend told our server that we wanted Michael to cook for us, so he must have sent out ten little starter plates followed by ten little bowls of pasta. I was being really careful, taking only one bite of everything, but you don't have to know differential calculus to realize that comes out to twenty bites of insanely rich and serious delicious food.

Wednesday morning was a scale disaster: 232 no matter where I put the scale. Wednesday and Thursday I ate like a bird, as my late grandmother used to say, but I have a feeling that disastrous Tuesday will haunt me on the scale. We'll see.

The Weigh-In

230. I was even for the week. Considering the pasta tasting and the falafel foray, I guess I shouldn't feel too bad. Now that I've told this tale, I realize Thinner doesn't lie. He tells the truth through fat and thin. I guess I need to do the same.