"They tried to take away my Reuben I said No No No!"

It’s hard to believe isn’t it? I had to draw the line somewhere though so I said No. I mean a man has to have something to look forward to and what could be better than a nice hot Reuben sandwich. Think about it. Hot pastrami, cheese, sauerkraut, special sauce, all piled high between two slices of toasted rye bread and served with a generous pile of ruffled potato chips and a slice of a deli pickle. That is heaven on a plate if you ask me. But alas I am banned from having my prized Reuben for at least a little while,




I decided to put them into my diet as an incentive for reaching a goal. I will use them as prizes when I lose weight and get my blood pressure down. By the way, I did drop my blood pressure 30 points just by watching what I was eating and stopping the allergy medication. So here is how my plan works:

This will be kind of like those school sales that they send home with your kids. For those that don’t have kids, you are really missing out on a lot of “fun” so let me fill you in. The school sends home this little packet of junk (oops I mean valuable merchandise) for your kids to sell. This is to make money for the school and instill school spirit in your child. I think the school makes about 10 cents for every dollar of merchandise the “children” sell. So you get this packet home and the first thing you notice in the instructions is that your children aren’t allowed to sell door to door. This means that the parents have to sell the stuff to friends and relatives. (So much for instilling school spirit).

The next thing you notice is that most of the items are way overpriced. For example, they have wrapping paper for 20.00 a roll which you could get at Walmart for 2.00. But what the heck you say, it is for a good cause so you find some to buy and alienate all your friends and relatives getting them to buy some. Usually you can scrape up about 100 dollars worth of orders. Then you get the great idea: If I am going to sell only 100.00 worth of stuff, why not just give the school 20.00 and they will be way ahead. Guess what, the school doesn’t want you to give them money, (we tried) they want you to go through the pain of selling the stuff so just go with it. Oh I almost forgot the point I was trying to make.

The more stuff your child sells, the bigger prizes he/she/you can win. For instance, if he/she/you sell 1000.00 worth of stuff, you get some bubble gum. And it goes up. When you child sells 10,000 worth of stuff they get a plastic yo-yo. I believe if he/she/you sell a million dollars worth of stuff you get a neat slinky or something like that. Pretty good isn’t it!

So that is how my diet is going to go. When I lose, 15 lbs I will get a Reuben sandwich. When I lose 30, I will get to go to Kim’s Japanese Restaurant. When I lose 45, its Starbucks time. Talk about goal oriented. I am on my way.


Have a great diet day.
Greg

Comments

Incentives are a great motivator, you have wonderful idea here!

I hope you reach your goals!!
At least your goals are actually worth it!
I always hated getting those catalogs in school where you had to try to sell stuff. I usually just threw them away because I refused to do it.
Lori said…
I like your new system! What a good way to motivate yourself. I'm glad it's working already.
Janice Thomson said…
You bad bad man LOL - you will gain back everything if you have that terribly fattening sandwich and all the salt will put the BP back up too.

On the serious side, awesome news on getting the BP down Greg! Sounds like this regime is working well for you.
Celticspirit said…
What a unique diet plan Greg. I could do something similiar. I think if I lose 10 lbs I'll treat myself to some chocolate-peanut butter haagan daz ice cream but only one small container full. ;) That sandwich sure does look good though.
Kati said…
*Grin* Best of luck with the weight loss goals, Greg!!!

My daughter brings those danged fundraiser catalogs home, and the hubby and I just look at each other and groan.
Kim S in SC said…
Boy that picture of the Reuben sure looks delish! That is definitely worth losing 15 pounds for! Gotta reward hard work.
I use flowers for my reward...no, I don't eat them, I just enjoy them. (Although I have been hungry enough to eat them some days) :) have a great night Greg!
Best wishes with it Greg! I am back on plan myself. Have you ever tried Arby's Turkey Reuben? It's awesome and while it still has a lot of calories and fat it is a better alternative. I personally think it's fabulous!
Kathy said…
I just had a Reuben the other day. I make a healthy version with WW bread and turkey, sauerkraut, and low fat cheese.
Kathy said…
Are you channeling Amy Winehouse with that title???
Angie said…
Brilliant post!

Man that samich looks good.

When I'm trying to watch my food intake I quote self-control verses. It's one of the FRUITS of the Spirit. Ha!
Sian said…
Good grief! I have heart burn just looking at that!
Best of luck with the diet. I'll stick to cupcakes though.
Any chance you could e mail me the recipe for that french silk cupcake? I really want to try it.
Lori said…
You make it almost sound fun! LOL
Happyone said…
Thanks for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment on my blog. :-)
I remember when my kids brought things like that home to sell. I never liked the idea so I didn't participate in it.
My diet plan is to eat whatever I want just not as much of it as I want. It works for me. I've been the same weight for years.
I go for a walk every day for exercise.
Good luck to you on your plan!!
Dave said…
I Soooo connect with your school merchandise analogy! Fortunately, our school over here allow us to give them money. These type of school sales are a joke. I certainly enjoyed the way you described it though. You certainly got me laughing!

Also... All the best on your health and diet. It sounds to me that you are going to succeed! :-)
Andrea said…
Wonderful idea....but being vegetarian I would have to hold off on the pastrami.
Reuben is pretty much the only sandwich I ever order...and I'm doing Weight Watchers now too. A "heart healthy" substitute can be whipped up, but it's not the same!

I got a day at the spa as a Christmas gift; I'm waiting til I hit 25 lbs to use it as my reward.
Robin said…
I hope your reward system works for you. So far just hearing about it makes me hungry.
Unknown said…
Hi Greg!

I really do NOT like those school fund raisers, and I tell my kids, "Hey, I will buy you those toys if I just don't HAVE to take this stuff to work! Hey, I'll give some money to your school, please just don't make me sell this stuff!"

Thanks for stopping by. Funny you said that, cause someone else told me the same thing. If it's not in the house, he can't drink, and he used the same excuse for the big bottle, "it's cheaper than beer and will last longer". He actually stopped drinking Scotch for a about four months. I don't mind beer because he never got drunk from that.

Scotch is the DEVIL!!!!
Angel said…
GREG!!!!! I'VE MISSED YOU! Yes, I was totally screaming that!!!

so...you're on a diet huh? me too...as always. I've been watching what I eat, not eating after 6pm and doing pilates...well, I haven't ACTUALLY done any pilates yet ;) but I intend to...sometime. I'm awful.

But that sandwich looks awful good, with all that kraut and melty cheese...yum. thanks alot Greg.
sandy said…
The Japanese place sounds like a treat to me.. ..Starbucks...ehhh..maybe.

Yes!!! I remember the days when the kids would bring this stuff home from school to sell. I'm glad those days are over....but now I have my grandkids school days coming up....

Congrats on dropping that blood pressure.
Wanda said…
Sounds like a good plan, but every time I rewareded myself with "Favorite Foods", I was back to fighting the battle. Then I started rewarding my self with shoes, a new sable art brush, some new make up....Doesn't that sound great....I'm still overweight, but I painting with great make up and cute shoes....
Greg...I really think you have it all together...Yeah for You!!
Susan Skitt said…
Oh man you crack me up!!! My kids have to sell that stuff too. I loved you take on it. Just give them $20 and be done with it - you actually tried it too!!! (I can't stop laughing!)

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