Fruit is always good

I played in a poker tournament this afternoon at Cache Creek Casino, which is 45 minutes from my house. When I was knocked out -- on the final table bubble I dumbly reraised all-in with pocket Fours and was crushed by pocket Jacks -- it was 5:25 p.m. and I was hungry. The problem was that I can't eat anything once 6 p.m. tolls. There are a bunch of restaurants at Cache Creek, but because I can't eat breads or dairy on the Bicycle Diet, I couldn't think of anything quick which I wanted, there. (But for the diet, I would have had a hamburger and fries.)

So I got in my car and started driving back home. As I pulled into Esparto, I saw a roadside fruit stand. I bought a $3 bag of cherries. I was going to get some apricots, too, but they were quite pricey. I then sat in the car next to the fruit vendor and munched down most of my cherries, which were excellent. When my clock read 6 p.m. I still had four cherries left. I didn't break my diet and left them for later.

I'll probably feel pretty hungry when I go to bed in an hour. That's not all bad, as it is quite normal and healthy to sleep on an empty stomach and wake up hungry in the morning. The only problem now is that I'm not used to that. In a few weeks, I will be.

LESSON LEARNED

I knew I was going to be playing poker away from home all afternoon. I should have planned ahead and packed a late meal which I could have eaten at the casino. To succeed at the Bicycle Diet, I need to be responsible for my decisions and actions. The reason people get fat is because they act like children and don't think about the consequences of what they are putting in their bodies. A part of being an adult is planning ahead. That is the lesson learned, here.