Part 7: Psychology

(This is, like, a series. Start at Part 1.)

I said yesterday that it was worth it to stick with Carb Nite even without much evidence that it was working, and I guess I mean three things by that:

1. It was clearly working for M.H., so why would I jeopardize his progress by changing anything?
2. It was clearly working for M.H., so that gave me confidence that it would work for me, too.
3. Eating this way is the furthest thing in the world from a hardship—it is totally fun.

I didn’t find going ultra low carb difficult at all. (The dragging feeling finally passed after about four weeks, but that’s not what I’m talking about.) What I mean is that I love my breakfast of bacon, sausage, fried eggs, and brussels sprouts topped with butter. I love having steak and caramelized onions for lunch. I love having chili and salad for dinner. I don’t even usually crave carbs, and if I do, I just write down what it is I want and plan to have it on Friday night.

Because, yes, hilariously, you find yourself planning and scheming all week for the wonders that await you on Carb Nite. Everything that was difficult or off limits before is fair game again. Any restaurant in town. Things made of chocolate. Eating at other people’s houses. Pizza. Any amazing recipe you see on the Internet—it’s no longer a matter of whether you can have it or not, only which night of the week you can have it on.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “You people are impossible to feed now” since we started eating better. So the absolute best thing about Carb Nite is simply that we can eat the way we want without being a gigantic pain in the neck.