No, no, this is too banal. It’s the last thing I want to consider. But. This is different. I mean, I’ve been dieting all my life, well, not always really DIETING, but mostly being careful, trying to say no, except when I didn’t. I keep saying just think what I would look like if I didn’t keep trying - a little. I could pass an exam on calories or (Weight Watcher) Points. I abandoned WW a couple of years ago. Have the points given way to some other kind of calculation?

I love food. I love to cook. Some of you know my joke about my four Basic Food Groups: chocolate, garlic, champagne and broccoli. Not entirely a joke.

Why, then, my banal, predictable, boring surrender? I seem to be celebrating March by launching into Whole30, the food régime closely related to the paleo diet, so I understand. One eschews the word diet, though there are certainly rules and regulations and recipes very similar to a diet. Briefly: no bread, no sugar, no alcohol, no legumes, and no dairy. Sort of kills my four basic rules, except for the broccoli. The program claims that it will re-set your clock – no – chemistry, but you must be absolutely rigid in your obedience, I auld say abstinence.

This time I’m not doing it to lose weight and maybe it (they?) isn’t either, because it tells you not to go near a scale for the month. Instead, it promises improved sleep patterns, increased energy, clearer thinking, and better walking (lowered joint pain), all benefits I would, hope to enjoy.

Of course, I am suffering withdrawal symptoms. I miss chocolate even more than I miss wine, and cheese and oatmeal porridge, too. On the other hand, maybe I will develop an addiction to coconut water.

It’s too soon to tell. It’s not even the Ides of March yet (March 15). I look forward to not hurting so much when I walk but even more to a creative spurt in this screenplay I am working on. I'll let you know if I lose any weight.