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Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 84: Do You Ever Scare Yourself Into Eating Less?

Posted by Ed Levine, September 11, 2009 at 8:45 AM

"Many thanks, serious eaters, for all the shout-outs of support and encouragement."

I scared myself into not eating last week, and not just because of what I ate on the road in Chicago. Erin pointed out that my real downfall was the double meal I ate last Tuesday night.

It started with oxtail, shepherd's pie, jerk chicken, leg of lamb, and goat at The Islands with Erin and Carey. Then it was (and this was the killer) two pork roasts and two fried chicken recipes from Donald Link's and David Chang's books that Cook the Book's Caroline Russock made at her house for a cookbook competition we are participating in.

So when you think about it, my two-pound weight gain let me off easy. But it was the uncontrolled, unconscious eating more than the weight gain that scared me and scared me straight.

Straight? Straight where? Straight back to portion control, moderation, and not putting myself in a position to fail. Chicago was defensible but the Jamaican food and pork and fried chicken tripleheader wasn't.

I had many opportunities to pack it in (pun intended) this week, but I didn't. And for that I have to in part thank the SE community. You all have been so supportive and so helpful and encouraging with your comments—I can't begin to thank you enough. Sometimes I wish the Serious Eaters following along my diet path could all have sponsors (buddies) like the AAers do (at least they do in the movies). I know I would have called my sponsor many times this week.

When?

When I was up on Martha's Vineyard this past weekend and kept driving past Mrs. Blake's Pies. Somehow, some way, I managed not to eat one slice of Mrs. Blake's divine pie.

When I was driving to and from the Vineyard. Some people avoid speed traps. I avoided the huge fried clam trap ready to ensnare me the moment I hit the road to the Vineyard:

• Lenny's in Branford, Connecticut
• Clam Castle in Madison, Connecticut
• Sea Swirl in Mystic, Connecticut
• Lindsey's in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
• Clam Shack in Falmouth Harbor, Massachusetts

And once I am on the island:

• The Bite in Menemsha
• John's Fish Market in Vineyard Haven

I somehow avoided all the worthy fried clam destinations this time around. [Here is a more complete list of fine fried clammeries.]

When we were eating that delicious breakfast at Prime Meats. I stuck pretty religiously to my take-two-bites-and-pass-it-on regimen. This was particularly hard to do with the French toast, the steak, eggs, and rosti, and poached eggs and wild mushrooms.

When we hit the comfort food mecca Trailer Park near SE HQ for a feast of cheesesteaks, tater tots, cheeseburgers, and chili. I thought I was being really careful (we did leave a lot of food), but I must admit, I felt uncomfortably full afterward.

When Lynbrook Bagels brought in dozens of their most excellent bagels this week, along with many kinds of cream cheese, scones, cookies, and brownies. Try having a big bag of that on your conference table all week and not partaking—at all. I did pretty well, but that conference table is located too damn close to my desk.

So many thanks, serious eaters, for all the shout-outs of support and encouragement. They really helped me get back to the things that have gotten me this far, and I am truly appreciative. It was not an easy week to be sure, but it could have been so much worse.

The Weigh-In

The weigh-ins during the week were not especially promising, so I would be happy with staying the same today, 216 pounds. I guess you could call it Net Weight Neutral. Here we go: 216. Next week I'm going to try to get back into negative territory.

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Tags: Brooklyn, Ed Levine's Serious Diet, health, Lynbrook Bagels, Martha's Vineyard, Prime Meats, The Islands, Trailer Park, weight