I have never had to diet that much in my lifetime

up to the age of forty, my weight was constant

despite whatever I ate or drank

I developed a love for bread and potatoes

it was a lot of fun for a while

until my weight started to creep up slowly

I took up running to burn off some extra calories

and I briefly cut out bread and potatoes to get my weight back down

then it stayed constant for a long time

well more or less constant

I would always come back from vacations a few pounds heavier

a week of light eating got it back down to ‘normal’

my love affair with bread and potatoes resumed

around the age of fifty, I developed severe knee pain

my doctor told me to give up running completely

so I bought a bike and hit the road

I was soon cycling 100 miles a week

I was burning off a lot of calories from intense cycling

so much that I could eat and drink anything I wanted without weight gain

bread and potatoes became my lovers of choice

I sustained this lifestyle for more than a decade 

my bread and potatoes love fair continued 

until I got Covid with follow-on complications

never-ending cycles of colds, sinus infections, and bronchitis ensued

I had no energy and impaired breathing for over three months

I fell back on my comfort food of bread and potatoes

they told me not to worry and just eat more of them

it was so bad that I was unable to get on my bike

without regular exercising and my weight crept up 

the bread and potatoes consoled me daily

eventually, I got well enough to start cycling again

it took a few months to get back into my cycling routine

I was not happy with my heavier weight

and my cycling performance was well below par

I had a long and serious chat with the bread and potatoes

they were not happy about breaking up our relationship

they cried and cried as I left them unconsumed on my plate

I got hooked on weight loss and my cycling performance improved

I set myself a goal to drop below my pre-covid weight

but my body refused to cooperate and I hit a plateau

the bread and potatoes kept calling me from the pantry

I was somehow able to resist their efforts to lure me back into their arms

it took a sustained effort of dieting and exercise to crawl off that weight plateau

the bread and potatoes keep winking at me

but the celery and peppers are my new lovers

I imagine they have fights over me in the pantry