Just finished watching THE most awesome episode of Top Chef… in New Orleans! I looooove New Orleans and love eating in New Orleans. Is it sicko that I love The Biggest Loser and ALSO Top Chef?  My husband is from New Orleans and has lots of family there, so we have had our share of visits over the years.  I’ve never been “on a diet” on any visit there and so my head was spinning watching the beignets (fried dough! yum!), the seafood, the grits, the gumbo, all of it.

I guess it’s good to watch it and have some sort of vicarious thrill, without ingesting a single calorie… in that way I guess TC is a good thing. But it also really revs up those cravey vibes. Hmm. (I’m not giving up my Top Chef! Not yet!!!)

But speaking of food, I am trying to figure out what diet to actually be on. Maybe the endocrinologist will tell me next week. But I still think I need to settle on something. I’ve been doing a rather loosey-goosey version of South Beach that I think has taken me about as far as it can.

I actually went back to the Weight Watchers site this week and downloaded the local meeting schedule into my calendar/phone. I have very mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I’ve had great success with WW in the past. On the other hand, I’ve also had abysmal failures, mostly due to having a bad attitude. I think I’ve got my Attitude in hand now, so maybe I ought to give it another try. (sigh) I don’t know.

A friend of mine has been telling me of her success with Overeaters Anonymous (OA) and particularly the very hard-core “Grey Sheet” which limits one’s food choices to a certain list. All I know is that it does not include white (?) flour and sugar. I’m fine with that. But also avocados! Can I live with that? I don’t know. I also am extremely ambivalent about the weighing/measuring/planning/sponsor thing. If I compare my level of food addiction to an alcohol addiction, I’d say that I wouldn’t be the kind of drunk who blacks out and is violent and can seriously harm self or others. I’m the kind who occasionally gets drunk at parties and sometimes questions or regrets having had a drink or two too many.  So I do not know if I need THAT LEVEL of intervention.

When I read the Beck Diet Solution book, it really spoke to me. It made sense to me. It resonated and I felt seen, understood, busted, and supported all at once. Which was great. But it basically leaves the readers on their own to find a diet that works for them. I feel like I’m still working on that.

Tonight I bought an e-book by this guy, whom I’ve been following on Twitter for a while. I know it’s got that hokey, infomercial, over exclamation-pointed feel, but I’ve read a bunch of his blog posts and they seem to make a lot of sense.  It’s pretty much a low-carbish, spread-your-meals-out sort of thing, which I think makes sense for someone who tends toward the diabetic side.  I’m going to read his book over the next few days and probably make that my diet.

I want to be really conscious about this decision and make sure it’s something I can live with. I’m not sure I can live with anything that would not allow me at least one delicious meal in New Orleans… okay, I’ll forget the beignets, but not the oyster stew.