Gave in

When I started this blog in September, it was all about my journey to eat healthier and shed some serious weight. But back then, I had seven months to get in shape for Kara's wedding. Now I have 59 days and I am in a panic.

Four weeks ago I joined Weight Watchers, a plan I really love, and if I had joined it back in September, I would be in fine shape today. And I lost 5 pounds, which is not bad. Just very slow, and half the weight my husband, Jack, has lost.

So now I'm thinking drastic, and started Jorge Cruise's Flat Belly Cure Tuesday. On a plane Monday, I planned what I was going to eat and made up my shopping list. My second stop when I got off the plane was the supermarket, grocery list in hand. My first stop was home, to read the labels of some of the healthy foods I had been eating on Weight Watchers. My favorite yogurt has 17 grams of sugar in each container, two more grams than Cruise allows per day on his plan.

And that's the heart of the Belly Fat Cure: sugar and bad carbs. On his diet you eat a mere 15 grams of sugar a day, and six servings of good carbs, such as whole grain breads, crackers and muffins, and brown rice and quinoa. Since I am allergic to wheat, my options are limited still, but Cruise recommends Ener-G rice bread, and I have to admit it's not bad. (Remember, I don't eat normal bread, so what tastes good to me might taste horrid to you.)

And my favorite breakfast: oatmeal with apple and cinnamon. A few days ago I posted that I cannot get through the morning without reaching for a snack. Usually, it was a grapefruit, but by noon, I was famished again.

Cruise is a big proponent of protein in the morning, so Tuesday and Wednesday I made myself two eggs scrambled with a slice of Cheddar and a diced scallion. And since I cannot bring this to work, I have been eating at 6 a.m. daily. But here's the really interesting thing: Both mornings I was not searching for a snack at 10 a.m. I actually made it to noon before I was hungry.

And that fat belly of mine -- it's down an inch. I know I have a long way to go, but for me, this is progress. Seven months ago, it was all about baby steps. I'm into giant leaps now.

Jorge Cruise's Web site -- jorgecruise.com -- is loaded with information and videos about the science behind his diet. He's made the circuit -- even appearing on Oprah -- which makes me wonder why I never heard of him until one of my blog's readers mentioned to me that she was starting the Cruise diet. Ann and I are now diet buds, and plan on checking in with each other daily.

Giant leaps!