Day 31

Day Thirty-One--The last hurrah--The Grand Finale--The Meltdown to Countdown. Yup, today is the last day to imbibe solely on ice cream.

Breakfast was Phish Food by Ben and Jerry's--highly recommended and very yummy, but ya gotta like marshmallow. Choc ice cream with fluffy threads of marshmallow and dark chocolate fudge fish--good to nibble on and actually a bit to sink your teeth into.

Lunch was a big ice cream party thrown by the dialed in dude--He's always in the know and knows how to celebrate! Plenty of ice cream all around--strawberry marble, rocky road, toffee almond crunch and plenty of cheering. THANK YOU DIALED IN DUDE! I had originally wanted to do this Ice Cream Diet quietly, but now I'm glad it was a somewhat shared experience--kept me from dairy detours as I knew I had to blog each day.

AND . . . the answer you've all been waiting for . . . what was the result . . . drum roll, please . . . dududududdddddd . . . The scale revealed another BIG drop of one pound . . . But I was still eating ice cream, so my official weigh in will be in the morning churning all those high fat calories into a grand total. So roll with me and stay dialed.

Here's highlights of what the past month has revealed to me.

You can eat ice cream and lose weight.

You can lose weight by not counting calories but staying in tune with your body's messages--I ate when I was hungry and stopped eating when I was full.

Ice cream is satisfying . . . I truly never felt hungry at all unless I was late with a meal, but that's when I tended to eat more ice cream than normal as I was soooo hungry. The lesson is don't wait to eat until you're too hungry--you'll probably overeat.

Since ice cream is associated with treats, celebrations and lots of fun things, I never really felt deprived. I had positive mental associations with it and so it always tasted good to me and I felt satisfied and happy eating ice cream.

At times, I did get cravings, but that usually came when I started down a mental track of thinking about food too long--I'd start thinking about spicy foods, crunch foods, foods you could sink your teeth into a really chew. I never, ever craved any other kind of dessert. I thought I might miss chocolate, but since ice cream comes in chocolate flavors that wasn't a problem.

My sense of smell became extra sensitive--everything smelled divine, especially if it was cooking or grilling. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, even opening the can of cat food made my mouth water as it smelled pretty 'doggone' good. I also noticed my mouth watered a lot more when I smelled food or saw good food people were eating on TV.

Another challenge was when cooking shows or commercials for food would come on TV. If you ever try an ice cream diet or, perhaps any diet for that matter, these are too be avoided. I'm sure the hunger or craving signals of the brain kick in through visual indicators. It was fascinating how my stomach almost hurt, I wanted some real food so badly, the longer I watched that cooking show. Also, avoid looking at cookbooks and recipes in magazines--they will trigger your brain to want food. I ended up with a dish of lemon ice cream.

I didn't linger in grocery stores, but went just to the ice cream section. I spent some time as I wanted to check out any new flavors or at least not end up with something disappointing.

Variety is very big when you're limiting your palate, so ice cream was a good choice--I only scratched the surface of sampling the myriad of flavors out there. Glad I still like ice cream as I've enjoyed making hme made varieties. They are better than store bought and probably better for you.

I didn't get tired. My teeth don't hurt. Overall, it's been a satisfying experience as I tested new territory and challenged myself.

Another key to success is take one day at time. Have an end in sight so you can delay gratification, but know you'll get a reward in a reasonable time.

Don't listen to the naysayers and negativity--They will drain you. Surround yourself with positive people who will support and encourage you--They will energize you. Be sure to practice gratitude and thank those who help you along the way and give yourself a pat on the back now and then for succeeding for another day or overcoming temptation. Mental and spiritual preparation are every bit as important as the physical aspect, maybe more so in your overall success.

So just about one hour to finish line, but I'm not burning the midnight oil.

Goodnight and dial in one more day for the grand total and report on any tummy troubles after switching to real food.

Thank you everyone for following this frozen journey with me. Ice cream is truly enjoyed more when shared!