stepping out of the Garden for a second

i thought i'd start with a definition: the first word for today? totalitarian

to·tal·i·tar·i·an ( P ) Pronunciation Key (t-tl-târ-n)
adj.
Of, relating to, being, or imposing a form of government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life, the individual is subordinated to the state, and opposing political and cultural expression is suppressed.
~*~*~*~
so.

i spent two hours at a meeting with adults and my child M talking about what *works* for a diet. they are suggesting five (FIVE AS IN FIVE, 5, ONE LESS THAN SIX, ONE MORE THAN FOUR) meal replacements per day, which also means their food, their shakes, their supplements, oh and sure, you can eat fruits and vegetables.

then they suggest you check in at least once during the week for accountability purposes and attend weekly meetings and keep a log over all the meal replacement foods you eat (duh) and then, to top it off and here's my disclaimer: i know physical activity is important. they say one hour a day, seven (as in ONE MORE THAN SIX BUT ONE LESS THAN EIGHT) days a week.

you are kidding, right?

oh, and cost? next word for today: prohibitive

pro·hib·i·tive ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pr-hb-tv) also pro·hib·i·to·ry (-tôr, -tr)
adj.
Prohibiting; forbidding: took prohibitive measures.
So high or burdensome as to discourage purchase or use.

the first week it's $135, but thereafter it's $25/week and no, i am sorry, M's wouldn't be covered under insurance.

that's prior to the cost of food, which adds up to about $90 a week, but you can have as much as you want, so you can buy more. of their food. eat as much as you like, you can. but only their food and the fruits & veggies thrown in. because you "need to limit your choices." not my words, really.

and even when you are on maintenance, you can buy their food because once you start buying "grocery store food" (read: evil food), you should still meal replace a few times a week, just to stay on track.

two hours of it.

methinks we should've bolted after the first hour. the receptionist was even annoying (sorry, sandpaper-like in nature when i needed velvet, m'kay?) and said she was going to eat jelly beans over Easter because well, we all "know that beans are vegetables, right?" (add in some irritating high-pitched laughter and you can see how the evening started out, before M even weighed in...)

we have decided (and so has M) that he is motivated enough to go back to the nutritionist that he did so well with before he slacked off, and as God would allow it, she has an opening tonight at 6:30 to see him because she said "he needs to come now, not next week..." love my nancy. it's $100 for the initial visit and $15 per week thereafter. i can handle that and so can M.

to top off a really splendid evening, my oldest child B informs me he wants to withdraw from college altogether and simply work at the hosptial as an orderly and then go to radiology school in like *two years when i can save up money and it won't hurt so much to be in school from 7:30 to 4:30, five days a week*... oh, you don't mean save up money to buy another guitar on eBay for $800, simply because steve vai has the same exact one?

**sigh**

back to the Garden...