Bentley has started looking mighty tasty....

So - Day 4 on the new diet and I have to say that 1,2000 calories don't go very far.

The trick to this bloody diet is that you have to make the most of your calories - stretch them on foods that make you full and don't make too much of a ding to your calorie budget. Things like brocolli are great to make you feel full with little calorie impact (But Like Neuman from Seinfeld I say "Vile vegetable!" and need to wash it down with some mustard!)

I remember the first day when I was done my limit after breakfast! That was the end of McDonald's anything for me....it got better over day 2, and 3 of the diet...and now I go over only by a couple hundred of calories per day, but it's not as bad and I am not starving myself.

Two things have occured since I've started my extreme workouts and I've been eating better...

#1 - I initially noticed a dip in my energy levels (especially after the work-outs) but I feel fitter and breathe easier (I'm not huffing and puffing like a big bad wolf anymore!) as the days go by...

#2 - I'm learning to survive on the "better" foods and I actually feel guilty when I don't eat right. I've finally understood the concept of "my body is a temple" and I don't want to feed it with junk. Talk about a shift in mind-set.

And to compliment this transition, I've also started working on my spiritual and psychological needs as well. I've been reading "The Relationship Cure" by D. John M. Gottman which is a step-by-step guide on building better emotional connections with loved ones. I am a firm believer that transformations need to be holistic - and a healthy mind (with healthy connections) is one that can go to the distance when it is under physical stress (new diet and exercise routine). I feel that I can be successful if I embrace all the elements that surround my existence and ensure that they balance each other to make me a happy, healthy individual - well, at least it is a hypothesis I'm testing as a guinea pig! *oink oink*

But alas, I am human, and a woman with intense chocolate cravings. So when they came (and oh, they certainly do!) I go a little cuckoo and compensate for my chocolate needs by eating my baby carrots with gusto that freaks out Bentley. Someone told me to pretend the vegetables and fruit I was eating was like candy ("it's all in your mind..")....and no matter how much of that I eat....I think to myself..."Who am I kidding...? Vile vegetable!"...

"Come over here Bentley....you're looking mighty tasty tonight...you little chocolate dog"

*muhahaha*