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As I lamented last Thursday, breaking bad habits is not an easy task, especially when you're enduring a so-called diet – or, as my mother says, a healthy lifestyle change – and you find yourself fantasizing about yummy treats from the past. True, the past that concerns me now happened fairly recently – only six months ago, in fact, when Dan and I were exploring Key West in preparation for my Moon Florida Keys guide. You see, it was at that time that we ventured into Better Than Sex, a bordello-style dessert lounge and wine bar just a block from Duval Street, the city's main drag.
Back in April, I wrote about our sensual experience on my American Nomad blog – an experience that I won't easily forget. In fact, every time I sit down to eat my perfectly proportioned bowl of oatmeal and blueberries, I dream about the tempting delectables we consumed that night, and I try to take small comfort in the fact that I'm a little lighter than I was then, so at least this diet – I mean, healthy lifestyle change – is good for something. Still, at my most desperate moments, I gaze at the photos we took during our memorable meal, and I try hard not to salivate at the thought of my Kinky Key Lime Pie, a fluffy, tangy lime chiffon mousse pie covered with macadamia nuts.
It might seem like pure torture – just as Dan torments himself by watching Giada, Paula, and his other favorite Food Network stars – but I actually find it comforting to remember how delicious the Peanut Butter Perversion was that night. At least, it gives me something to anticipate on our next trip to Key West. Besides, we've come to realize that deprivation is no way to modify our eating habits. Frankly, neither of us is ashamed to admit that we relish food – so I suppose it's just moderation that we need...
...and a white chocolate-rimmed glass of sparkling red Dolce Stilnovo Moscato – otherwise known as Kelly's Klimax – wouldn't hurt either.
Dan and I had the brilliant idea to go on diets just weeks before Christmas. Really, we’re smarter than we sometimes appear – just not this week. ‘Cause this week we’ve been counting calories up a storm.
Here’s a typical conversation in our house:
“I really want a chocolate-covered pecan,” Laura says.
“Well, have one then,” Dan replies. “What harm could one do?”
Five chocolate-covered pecans later, Laura says, “Wow. That was 115 calories down the drain.”
“Really? For that? You’d have been better off eating a salad.”
“Gee. Thanks, honey. Now, you tell me.”
At first, I was proud of us – the way we passed up lemon poppyseed muffins at our favorite coffeehouse, the way we ignored the aroma of pralines on Decatur, the way we splurged today on unsweetened iced tea and six raw oysters each (which have surprisingly few calories, I was happy to discover). But now I just think we’re stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
And I’m hungry, damn it. Hungry, hungry, hungry.