the demonization of dessert is a topic beyond interesting. I think it’s better to eat a little bit of chocolate every day; as soon as you look into the origins, the question of just which chocolate becomes a significant moral question.

Yes. (on both counts) I’ve lost 50 pounds in 10 months and not given up any food that I like. I did discover that I have a very hard time if I bake, but that it’s okay if I can give it away immediately. A little bit of sweet goes a long way.

dieting and SXSW are the most unrelated topics I could possibly imagine

I’m proud/embarrassed/baffled that I lost a pound during SXSW, and I wasn’t doing anything, except not absolutely stuffing myself, and walking/biking whenever I could. And I still totally, completely, whole-heartedly enjoyed the food. (OMG Ironworks BBQ!)

But keep it up — in any case, giving a good role model is a tremendous thing for your little sweetie’s future eating habits.

Just yesterday evening, I had two latent chances to ingest low grade substances but I chose not to (little bravo’s for me). Then today, all those good intentions were tossed overboard in a split second for a See’s Candy Cafe Latte lollipop. My absurd reasoning? It was free.

I’m a fellow New Yorker now, but in a previous life I was an Austin Texan, and I can honestly say that dieting and SXSW are the most unrelated topics I could possibly imagine. Try taking a desert or a triple portion of migas or fatty meat from a Texan and be ready to fight! When in Rome do as the Romans. When in Texas get ready to eat.

I had been eating fast food for lunch almost every day and going out for ice cream with my wife 2-3 times per week.

I love(d) a good cheeseburger and I really love cake batter ice cream, but it was starting to affect my health in measurable ways so I decided to do something about it before it got too far out of control.

My primary goal was just to reduce my cholesterol back to a safe level by cutting way back on beef consumption, fries and ice cream.

I didn’t put myself on any crazy exercise routines. My only regular exercise was and still is the <2 miles of walking I do during an average day at the office and running errands in the evenings.

I still eat pretty much anything I want for dinner.

The only things I changed are:

1) when I do go out for lunch, I no longer get burgers anything fried.

2) I rarely get ice cream any more

3) I eat half a blueberry bagel and one banana for breakfast every day.

4) On the days that I don’t go out for lunch, I have a snack pack of peanut butter filled crackers and a glass of green tea for lunch.

5) Around 3PM every day, I have two oatmeal raisin cookies.

6) I eat whatever I want for dinner. Including desert.

Eating light throughout the day also has a nice side benefit of keeping my energy level all day long. When I was eating full lunches every day, I’d get the usual drowsiness and loss of productivity around 2PM-3PM. Doesn’t happen any more.

It seems to have worked, as my cholesterol dropped ~40 points in one year without any medications.

As a nice by-product, I save ~$200/month on lunch over when I was eating out every day and I lost nearly 30 pounds during that one-year period and have stayed within 7 pounds of my target weight for going on two years.

…and I still eat anything I want for dinner (including the occasional desert). I just don’t eat heavy during the day.

I sacrifice a little during the day when I don’t really have time to enjoy it anyhow in order to be able to have an enjoyable meal in the evening.

I still go out for lunch on occasion when friends call me up, but I honestly don’t miss it when I don’t go out (aside from the good company).

My diet is currently Ramen noodles for lunch M-F. 3 weeks in so far so good. 6 varieties to choose from helps. Though cupcakes sound good.

I’ll pay the shipping.

Of course, they said he could grow out of it by 3. He gets tested at the allergist’s on Wednesday. If my wife calls to say he’s been cleared for eggs, I’m leaving work early and baking chocolate chip cookies from scratch before he gets home. Then, over the weekend… Matzoh Ball Soup! I found a great egg substitute for latkes (potato starch), but never got the eggless matzoh ball right. I haven’t had MBS in over 2 years!

Sugar was my downfall ever since I was an adolescent, along with lack of activity. Now after having a child at 44 and going back to my first love; design at the age of 40, it has gone full circle. Sugar along with lack of activity has returned. I just started getting grip on it again, with joining a key gym (24/7) and fake eating the sweets. The key gym allows me to go whenever and fake eating is tricky, but you find ways. I bartended for several years, and you learn to fake doing shots to survive on a busy Saturday Night.

Michael: “And you just gotta remember, Sparky – no matter what they tell you – you can *never* have too much sugar. “

Ah, but you can’t make yourself throw up a one night stand with someone you met at a bus station.

*APPLAUSE*