After 182 weeks of sharing the highs and lows of trying to get a handle on my weight as a serious eater, I need a break from this column. This column has changed my life and my weight. So I'm taking the rest of August off with the idea that I will use this month-long hiatus to recharge, rethink, and retool the column. More

Although I wouldn't wish what I have gone through this week on anyone, I have to say that five visits to a dentist in four days is certainly an effective caloric journey enhancer. My teeth and gums had been hurting all last week, but I certainly wasn't going to go to the dentist before the Sandwich Fest. I didn't eat much there anyway, but not because of my sandwich fest planning. I was just too busy. But by last Sunday my mouth was killing me, so I went to the dentist on Monday. More

With the sweltering summer heat upon the city where I live, every time I emerge from New York's 72nd Street subway station covered in sweat, I'm thinking about what treat I can give myself to both cool off and help me recover from that awful experience. So this summer I have started to compile a list of calorically affordable treats. What are yours? More

We've been up on Martha's Vineyard for eight days now, and I thought I would give you a caloric journey progress report. On the Fourth, our friends the Grands invited us over for raw clams and oysters, homemade gravlax, and Ann Grand's justifiably famous pulled pork. Ann's pork is amazing, but I managed to avoid both heaping seconds on my plate and piling the pork on the soft hamburger buns she provided. Again, though I could have done better, I also could have done a lot worse. As for the rest of the week... More

Like a lot of other folks I am facing a weekend full of picnics, barbecues, and parties of every stripe imaginable that invariably involve copious amounts of food. If I'm not careful, these kinds of weekends can kill me, caloric journey-wise. More

Now that it's summer I have a favorite pair of shorts and linen and cotton pants—they're reliable barometers for my weight. Each time I put one of them on, I can tell how I've been doing. If they are tighter, if I have to reach just a little bit further to close the clasp, I know it's time to increase my fruits and vegetable quotient. More

Vicky had bought a head of romaine lettuce, walnuts, and gorgonzola cheese to make one of her favorite salads the day before, so she was determined to serve it for dinner last night. While I watched a replay of the Yankees game (I had forgotten that it was an afternoon game, so I never checked the score during the day) Vicky made the salad. It was seriously delicious, a perfect June meal, and one that I never would have thought to make myself. More

Lately, as this column continues to evolve, as I am not so slavishly devoted to getting on the scale every day, I have begun to see that there are other ways to measure my caloric journey progress. I've been noticing that I'm feeling full more quickly. What that means for me is that I can eat more of the food I love, as long as I stop when my body says enough. More

I looked longingly at the huge pot of stew. I looked away. I looked again. That stew was calling my name. "So tasty," it was whispering to me. "Stop," I said in response. "I'm on a caloric journey, and seconds, my tasty friend, don't help. Ever, unless you're talking about salad without dressing, or vegetables without sauce, or fruit salad. So who won this battle of wills, the beef stew vs. me? More

Yup, it's true. I was in Rome for ten days and lost two pounds. How did I do this? Believe it or not there was method to the madness. Here were my five Roman Rules. More