I was going to blog about how I finished my novel and am now starting the daunting job of figuring out how to get it to an agent who will help me get it published. I was going to. I was going to also blog about the delicious roast pork with organic sauerkraut (I have pictures) I made for dinner last evening. I was going to. But instead I am going to talk about this diet thing. As you know I had a minor medical incident on the last day of February that resulted in me having to test my blood for my glucose level and in me having to change the way I eat. Rice, white potatoes, pizza, my beloved white crusty bread are all off limits. Cookies and candy and cake are too...but for me that was not a problem. A hard roll or a bagel are what I always ate and what I crave. When I was a little girl. And I mean little. Five, six, seven. My breakfast was a cup of tea with a lot of milk and a fresh hard roll covered in poppy seeds and smeared with butter, real butter. It is still my favorite breakfast (less milk in the tea). I can't have that roll anymore.

Between the last day of February and now I have given up many of my favorite foods because I do not want to be sick; I do not want to be a diabetic; I do not want to suffer the side effects of diabetes or the medication; because I want to live a good long while yet and I want to live it in as good health as is possible.

I have had several (yes, several) people ask me what my diet secret is. I have lost nearly 40 pounds. My glucose number is normal. I no longer have aching knees or indigestion.

I can tell you what I eat. I eat homemade wheat/oat bran/flax bread with low sodium/low sugar peanut butter, a small dish of vanilla soy yogurt with cinnamon sprinkled on top, and either hot or iced tea for breakfast. Every day. I eat a salad for lunch. Every day. And for dinner I made a protein like grass fed beef, chicken, pork, eggs, turkey, fish and a plate full of vegetables. Once in a while a sweet potato. Once in a while 2 ounces of whole wheat pasta. Once in a while some fried polenta cakes. I read and consider and calculate. I avoid pizza and pasta and rice and white potatoes. I still want them. But I can't have them. Not now.

There is no secret quick fix diet. There is only a life change. It's not easy. I don't always like what I'm eating. I own hundreds of cook books. I love to cook and I love to eat. But I'd also love to go down the shore and sit on the beach for a few more years. I'd love to catch up on my reading. I'd love to sit on my porch. I'd love to crochet enough to use up all my yarn.

To live so as not to miss too much, if anything at all, I can make a life style change (not just go on a diet). I can give up a bagel to meet my grandchildren.