WeightWatchers is stupid.

Okay, that's not true. It's actually pretty great.

Dieting, on the other hand...I hate it.

In case you're unfamiliar with young adult literature, The Hunger Games is the first novel in a series about an American Idol-like competition in which teenagers must fight to the death. Something like that (I haven't read it yet). I chose it as the label of posts to chronicle my weight-loss journey because, melodramatic though it may seem, it feels like it's both a game and a fight to the death, just me and the pounds, dukin' it out.

It's not that I'm all that much overweight. I mean, if you look at the scales, then YES, it seems pretty out-of-control. I've consoled myself my whole life by claiming that my thunderously strong thighs and my bodacious biceps knock my scale reading out of proportion. After looking at some pictures from this weekend, though, I've realized that my mirror and clothes have been trying to tell me the truth and I simply haven't been listening.

I've almost completed week one of my WeightWatchers Online program. I can't tell you if I've lost any weight yet--I'll have to find that out myself after I actually purchase a scale. However, if the points tell a story, then the moral is that I'm probably about the same as I was last Wednesday.

I logged everything today for the time when I was vacationing in Hilton Head, South Carolina. H O L Y M O L Y. Who knew that points could add up so quickly? I think, Oh, two points for a banana, that's not bad. I'll have two pieces of toast with that, too. And WHAMMO next thing I know, I'm only through breakfast and I've already got ten points out of twenty-seven logged. That's with breakfast being my least-calorific meal of the day. Add eating out for lunch and dinner, even if it's a simple lunch and a dessert-less dinner, and I've already delved quite substantially into my weekly 'oops' points.

I know I was on vacation. I know there was pressure to have dessert at almost every meal. I know that it's tough to refuse an open bar. I know that it's tough to cut portions when you're on the road.

However, I also knew that I was on a diet. Did I think that those dessert-less dinners were going to help all that much when I had lobster macaroni and cheese as a side dish? Right. I knew EXACTLY what I was doing. I wish I'd realized that when it could have benefited me.

Now all I want is a stupid Chicken Supremes Combo from Bojangles' with french fries (extra seasoning), honey mustard and sweet tea. Guess I'll have to settle for two-week-old leftover chicken. Yelgh. Let's hope it's still okay--otherwise I'm frying two eggs for dinner, maybe having a piece or two of toast. Approximately ten points. And that's about all I can afford.