The First Day - Nougatine

Clearly, I've been procrastinating... I was supposed to start my Weight Loss Diaries yesterday, but instead of finalizing my preparation for the "before" picture with a Nougatine lunch with Paul (where we had an entirely sublime fois gras brule, plus the lunch menu with a more weight-loss sensitive choice of steamed skate on a bed of spaghetti squash), I opted for skipping my Nu-kitchen meal for Bill's meatballs in gravy, served over creamy polenta. It is very hard to write about one's weight loss goals once one is stuffed, I find. Thus delay.

I was born June 19, 1969. I will be, with some luck, turning 40 in 1/2 year exactly. With some more luck, hard work, and by avoiding Bill's cooking, I hope to throw my 40th birthday bash 30 pounds lighter than I currently am. (FN1)

Although I was not always fat, I've been preparing for the "before" picture for some time now... (Above is a flattering shot of my belly exposed to the gentle January sun of the Caribbean.) Looking back, my preparation seem to have commenced weeks after a burst appendix brought me to my dream weight of 195 pounds. (FN2) Which was five years ago. Since then, I've been gaining weight steadily. There are several reasons for this:

1. Bill's cooking;
2. My social life is no longer centered around Results the Gym;
3. I moved to NYC where
   a) Social life evolved around fork and a martini glass, and not Results the Gym;
   b) One needs to work hard and long;
   c) There is no Results the Gym (FN3); and
   
4. I don't mean to use this as an excuse, but I have a bad back.

You may wonder what would I look like after I shed all those pounds. Here we go:
Paul will confirm the authenticity of this shot - plus see the appendectomy scar, and the leather pants I mention in the footnote 2 below. Not bad, eh?

Although I've been contemplating going on a diet for some time, my recent trip back to Belgrade really convinced me that the time was right. For the first time since I was a small child, I was greeted by various people squeezing my cheeks and admiring how round they were (we are talking above waist line here). And, my mother did not comment on my weight this time around, a sure sign she considered it a lost cause. (FN4)

I start this diary a day late, but determined to drop to 199 pounds for the night of my birthday party. I hope you will follow my progress and support me all the way through.



FN1: I love footnotes. They do allow one to go on and on about something not entirely important. Like the fact that I just saw The Biggest Loser, which should, I know, be an inspiration, but for me it just does not work because most of these people end up being more fat that I currently am even when they are done with the grueling program. If I was to work out 4-8 hours a day and ear lettuce, it seems that losing 30 pounds would be a two weeks job!

FN2: Naively, I celebrated the occasion by purchasing a custom made Carneliani suit and a pair of custom made leather pants, neither of which I can get into at the moment.

FN 3: Although it may appear that all my weight problems would disappear if I would only move back to DC, that is not the case. Results the Gym, I hear, at least the one on the corner of 17th and U, is now gone.

FN4: It would have been silly going on a diet there and then - I would have missed an amazing pickled cabbage cooked with smoked meet at Vucko and Stasa's place, the meal I intend to make here in NYC as soon as I find time and patience to go to Queens and by the whole pickled cabbage.