The South Beach Diet

Super Size Me.

For the six of you, now five of you, who have not seen the movie, it is about this guy (Morgan Spurlock) who decides to eat at McDonald’s three time a day and nothing else. He did it for thirty days, became famous, and made a fortune with his documentary.

Me, I’ve been doing that for thirty years, have a blog, and I’m up to my eyeballs in debt.

Typical.

So today is officially “Day 1.” Launch day. And I’ve decided to South Beach it.

On Saturday I jumped in with both feet first. I bought the South Beach Supercharged book on Audible.com then (after two solid hours of the author reading recipes) I drove to the store and bought the physical book plus the original book plus the two supplemental books. The clerk at Borders did the “What a Sucker!” dance.

Plus, I just came back from Von’s (Safeway) with $80 worth of stuff I never used to buy: brussels sprouts, lean beef, baby spinach, cans of red, black and kidney beans, green olives… ugh!

Sigh.

Not only am I giving up beer, cigars and junk food but I am also giving up a lifestyle I’ve enjoyed since college. (Wait a second, now that I’m sober this sounds like a pretty stupid idea!)

This transformation, going from a “twelve pack to a six pack on one year”, is more than just losing weight. It is about regaining health.

Of course, you can make a case that an extra seven or eight years without beer, cigars, and junk food isn’t worth living! Heck, I’ve been arguing that my entire life… and now I am 85 pounds too heavy and run a blog named “Mr. Beer Belly.”

It is going to be hard to make these changes but I would rather do it now than before I have to shoot insulin, go on dialysis, or get put on a waiting list for a new liver.

Wish me luck and pass the beans, please.