While home again this weekend becoming enchanted by florists and caterers (seriously - enchanted. I want these people to move into my house and greet me every morning with a fresh bouquet and espresso station) I became very intrigued by my mother's shiny blue-covered South Beach diet book, which she now swears by. I've always had it out for that kind of diet, proclaiming that the only way you'll ever get anywhere with weight loss is moderation and exercise. I still believe that but alas, lately, can't practice it, so I decided that the South Beach diet was going to work like magic for me. You know, get rid of the slight poundage I believe I've gained since J and I started nesting and kick-start me into high gear. I used to know how to be healthy! South Beach will help me learn again. Now before you even get started on the "you don't need to go on a diet crusade" let me say this: I know what it means when it takes me more than five minutes to get my pants (that just fit me the other week, I swear!) on. Enough said.

Anyway, it's going pretty well so far with one exception and that's the thing about these diets - you can't do certain things. Like, um, drink beer. Ok, ok. I'll get by without that one at least for a while. I need to cut down on that anyway. Who needs a wretched headache and a gut? Not me. But in the first two weeks of this diet you don't touch alcohol or sugar or bread or anything, and the annoying part is - sure, I can do this. But only if I live in a sheltered world with only myself. At the first invitation to have dinner or a drink, I'm finding it really difficult to say "No. I'm on South Beach." Because that seems like a thing a loser said. I'm no loser. I just want to be slim for bathing suit season.

My solution is to put myself on the best version of that diet that I can manage. And really, I think I'm doing an excellent job. Will it work? I'll tell you this - it will work more than the cheese and crackers at midnight diet or the search the pantry in a frenzy looking for chocolate diet. It will work better than those.