Ode to the long weekend

One of the highlights of visiting the mother-in-law (MIL) who lives with her sister is that they are both big magazine readers. I dig periodicals. Big A would say that I was 'magazine smart' but I know I'm also 'book smart' and ever so slightly 'street smart' as well.

One of the magazines the the ladies get is Woman's World. The biggest piece of health-related trash I've ever seen but the aunt-in-law (AIL) gets it for the crossword puzzle. Once she's done and I'm over, it gets handed down to me. Usually I flip through it and then toss it into recycling. The 7/6/09 edition though stuck with me because of the section proclaiming the British Turbo Cereal Diet. I love cereal about as much as Jerry Seinfeld does so when I saw this, I was sold. The rules: Select 3 different varieties of cereal. The only rule is that they should have 5 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein per serving and had a few listed: Kashi Go Lean, Kellogg's All Bran, and Kellogg's Special K Protein Plus. An honorable mention was already one of my favorite: Total Raisin Bran and Lucky Charms got a shout out for lowest calorie "comfort food" cereal.

During that weekend's trip to the grocery store, I got the Special K Protein Plus (the All Bran scared me just from name alone) and the Total Raisin Bran. For breakfast and lunch you have 2/3 cup cereal and 2/3 cup 1% or fat-free milk. I hate dealing with fractions so I boosted it up to 1 cup even for both things. They have 14 snacks to choose from and you get to choose 3 to have for a morning and afternoon snack (I dislike odd numbers so I usually only choose 2). They also have a dinner selection but I choose to go out on my own for that but trying to keep it "sensible".

It's been a couple of weeks now and since I love cereal and hate figuring out what to bring to lunch during the work week, it's still going strong. While I don't own a scale, I can't tell if numerically it's making a difference but I have noticed something: my 3 day turnaround in processing and removing solid waste (which was uniquely normal for me I've learned over the years) has turned into a more traditional 1 day turnaround. It's a bit sad because back in the day, I could go on a long weekend trip and know that I would be able to use the bathroom in the comfort of my home before departure and when I got back. I use to tell Ed that I could go on a hike with him and Sage if it was a 3 day one and I wouldn't have to worry about what to do with "that". Now it's like throwing caution to the wind.

Perhaps it is as Big A pointed out: my metabolism has sped up and is processing things quicker which can only be good. People who say they have a fast metabolism tend to resemble twigs. At least in one way I am finally becoming more like the general population. Now if only I can fix this problem where I start talking about my love of periodicals and somehow end up talking about my bathroom habits.