Cheating on my diet, or Cosmic TMJ Revenge

It was only 8 weeks into my exercise plan. I had decided, with the urging of my wife, that as my 50th birthday approached, this would be a good time to make that final assault on eliminating my intra-abdominal adipose, also called in technical terms, gut fat. It has been 8 weeks of sweating, jumping, running, controlling my portions (a nice way of saying eating less) and working on my "core." Last week, I had just performed one of those surgeries that makes you want to quit and open a hat store. The kind where you think, "hey, this will be a slam-dunk. I have done this thousands of times." As it turned out, it took more than 5 hours of struggling to perform a very difficult redo microsurgical vasectomy reversal. The patient did great, the surgery should work just fine. It was just that kind of day. I was exhausted, and was feeling very much in need of something special -- a treat to say "it's okay Sheldon, you did well, and now you are going to be rewarded..."

I looked around my office, and there sat the object of my desire - the one thing that I had been desperately craving during this "time to get healthy" program -- a green Dot. You know, those delicious, chewy candies that you used to get at the movie theaters until they started charging $25 a box. Not just any Dot. No, not a red, yellow or even orange. My favorite - a green Dot. So, deserving as I was for doing such a good job, I reached over and popped it into my mouth. So sweet, so "green" I thought. Yes, this is what I needed. I no longer felt deprived. Next, after the initial "just let it sit on your tongue phase," I proceeded to the next step in the formal Dot enjoyment process, thinking "so what if I have been working on my diet and fitness plan, and am trying so hard to avoid junk calories?" I began to slowly chew my Dot. And then it happened.

Sudden, excruciating pain. Could someone be stabbing a sharp red-hot poker into my left jaw? No, it was my one Achilles heel, but in my face - my TMJ deciding to tear and go into acute spasms. I could not chew the dot, nor could I even open my mouth. The severe pain was not going away. Was this all because I had decided to break my diet? Was there some evil power that was waiting for me to do this, just to inflict this pain and show me the error of my wandering ways? Could this just be a random event? Not likely. The truth has become clear to me. Though the pain continues now a week later, I have learned my lesson. Could I sneak another Dot at some point before I hit my target? Yes, I could. Would there be repercussions? Yes, no doubt. Somehow, someway I would regret eating another Dot. So I continue on my no-Dot and exercise diet. That is, until I turn 50 and hit my goal. Then, I will have earned permission to rejoin the world of those happy Dot loving people.

Related Topics: Get Healthy Without Really Trying, Keep Those 'New Year' Eat Better Resolutions