I live right next door to my mother. While this occasionally has its disadvantages (like the time she called my male friend at 5 in the morning to see if I was still there because she had looked outside and didn’t see my car), for the most part it has been a good thing (like when I run out of toilet paper and don’t feel like going to the store).

This proved to be the case yesterday. I was enjoying a lazy Sunday on the couch when she called me and told me to go my front door. Why? Well, she and her boyfriend had decided to start the Atkins diet, so they had cleaned out their fridge and were giving me everything they wouldn’t be allowed to eat. Awesome.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was taken aback when I met her at my front door and saw her carrying three grocery bags full of food! (Turns out they had just gone grocery shopping the day before, which is why they had so much stuff to give me!)

She gave me:

• Fruit – strawberries, blueberries, grapefruits, oranges, apples, bananas
• Vegetables – cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, onions, zucchini, lettuce
• Misc. – olives, almond butter, yogurt, roll of toilet paper (because I asked :-))

Despite the fact that everything she gave me is healthy, most of these foods are not allowed on Phase 1 of the HCG drops. I’d been thinking about stopping the drops anyway, because I’ve taking them on and off since November and I don’t think you’re supposed to take them for more than 40 days, but if she hadn’t given me all that food I would have continued taking them until I finished out my bottle.

But once I saw all that beautiful food sprawled out on my table I decided to stop taking the drops and move on to Phase Two of the diet, which is the Maintenance Phase. I mean, it would be stupid of me to keep taking the drops without even attempting to stick to the approved foods. Right? I think so.

Besides, the truth is that I really haven’t been all that strict with myself while I’ve been on the drops, especially compared to my first go around last year when I dropped 25 pounds. That time, I never cheated and only went out for drinks ONCE. This time, I’ve gone off the allowed menu on many occasions, and I’ve gone out drinking every single weekend. I’m not sure if the drops are even making a difference at this point.

So was it worth it for me to have done the drops at all this time? Probably. Even though I’m only 7 pounds lighter than I was in November, the drops definitely put me back in “diet mode.” Who knows? If I hadn’t started taking the drops again, right now I might be 7 pounds HEAVIER than I was in November. I was definitely heading in that direction.

One of my short-term diet goals is to get down to 135 by my birthday, which is on Feb. 15, less than three weeks away. Right now I’m at about 141, so I can DEFINITELY do this without the drops. I’ll be fine as long as I stay away from pasta, rice, and bread.

So yeah, that’s the update. Phase two began with last night’s dinner – a salad with mushrooms, cucumber, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, and almonds and topped with oil and balsamic vinegar. Delish.