Friday, July 14, 2006

This Idea Is Gonna Work, By Gum

Everybody seems to have some sort of crazy weight-loss idea, ranging from the practical to the absurd. I certainly realize the best way to accomplish this task: Expend more calories than you take in. You won't see me taking diet pills or using "lose weight while you sleep" cream or any of that stuff, but I do have one little thing that, while it may not actually help me lose weight, will at least help keep there from being any more of me. The unlikely source? Altoids gum.

Here's the thing: I'm sometimes a really bad snacker. Late at night, when I'm sitting here at the computer, I find myself going into the kitchen way too often. Usually it's just a handful of peanuts or maybe a single cookie, but I've come to realize that I can end up doing that on multiple occasions some nights, and I know that's not good for me.

So a few months ago, I spied this little box of gum at the checkout counter at Super Target. I've always liked the Altoids mints, so I figured that I might as well give the gum version a try. But what I also noticed was that if I had the gum in my mouth, it made it virtually impossible to go in there and grab any of that other stuff. And a little while back, when I ran out of the gum and couldn't find it at the checkout counter, the over-snacking resumed. Thankfully, I have the gum again, and sure enough, less snackage occurs now.

I realize I need to get to the gym more (if their hours were more in sync with mine, that'd be great), and I really miss playing racquetball on a weekly basis...and ultimately, more of those two things will mean less of Kev over time. But until then, anything I can do to keep the after-hours intake down will be a good thing.

Anyone else have a weird food-suppressant device you'd like to tell us about?

Another weighty subject: Do you remember the story a while back about the opera singer in England who was fired by the Royal Opera House for being too fat? She got stomach surgery, lost 135 pounds, and now she's gotten her job back. (But I guess those Wagnerian roles with the Viking horns are out of the question now...)

1 comment:

Eric Grubbs said...

Not to turn this into an infomercial, but I've lost quite a bit of weight because of eating less and walking almost everyday. I have three meals a day, with only one of them large in size. For lunch or dinner, I'll have a bowl of Corn Flakes with a banana or some unsalted nuts with some fruit.

With walking, I take my dog out for 20-25 minutes a day and take two 50-55-minute walks/runs on the weekends.

As you know, significant weightloss takes a while to happen, but it's nice when you wake up and your clothes fit again.