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| Is the soup pot half-empty or half-full? |
A family member recently morphed from foodie into a devotee of
the Cabbage Soup Diet. Like all followers of extreme diets, she cycles between exhilaration,
“I lost another pound!” and despair, “Can I sniff your salmon? One sniff will
get me through the next hour.”
If I don’t sneak off to eat my breakfast in a closet and
serve dinner so al fresco it’s behind a hedge, I feel as if I’m sabotaging my
daughter’s efforts. Then again, we’re talking extreme diet. Isn’t it a mother’s
job to model a sensible eating pattern for her children, even the grown ones
who should know cabbage soup for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner doesn’t
offer complete nutrition? By eating three square meals a day, I’m setting a
positive example, right?
My family’s ancestors would have been grateful for all the
cabbage soup they could eat, but I want to slip my girl a little protein. And
calcium. Meanwhile, I'm eating more sensibly than I like because I’m doing
the role-model thing. The sacrifices
parents make! Au revoir to cheese and crackers before dinner. Hello, handful of
almonds. Goodbye, frozen yogurt at eight p.m. Hi there, half-cup of
blueberries.
My daughter’s extreme diet could result in modest benefits
for me IF I resist the temptation to sneak off for a BLT.
Right now, though, a sandwich is calling my name, and
there’s not a leaf of cabbage on it. Quick, where are my car keys?
Have family members roped you into their diet regimens? If
you’re the one who tried an extreme diet, how did it work out?
