Road Trips


Ten Extra Pounds, Part 4

Gaining weight two weeks in a row had me concerned. Exercising only on weekends wasn’t offsetting the damage. Try as I might, however, I couldn’t get back to my normal routine.

I had to go to district meetings in each quadrant of the state. The coordinators in each district put me on the program right before or after the noon hour. I go along for lunch to network and catch up on all the real news.

I drove 200 miles (one way) to Tifton and, two days later, over to nearby Watkinsville. Driving makes me hungry. In both towns I ate chips and salsa like I’d never seen food before.

In Watkinsville, a plate of chocolate-chip cookies spoke to me. After all the chips and salsa, I needed something sweet. Nobody else was eating them.

In Tifton, the absence of any snacks was made worse by a table piled high with doughnuts in the lobby outside our meeting room. A man poked his head in while I was doing my thing and invited us to help ourselves. Three doughnuts later, I forgave him for interrupting my presentation.

The following week, I drove 50 miles to Conyers for an assortment of chips, granola bars, and packs of famous brand cookies at the “bring your own sandwich” lunch. I passed on the chips and bars, but ate four packs of cookies. They were small.

After the 200-mile drive to Savannah, I opted for a handful of powdered wedding cookies, a pack of trail mix, and some cheese straws. For lunch I had crab cakes, salad bar, and half a dozen cheesy-garlic biscuits.

And that’s just what I ate on the road. Continued next week.