020 - Give up deep fried food for Lent

I am not a religious person, let alone a Catholic. But I think I understand the value of Lent from a secular viewpoint. The idea is to give up something that you believe you love or need for 40 days, to be able to resist the temptation.

This personal sacrifice during Lent is intended as an exercise in spiritual growth. When Easter rolls around, you should be a stronger person for having eliminated something from your life or diet that you desired or even craved without thinking. Successful completion is proof to yourself that you can overcome any habit and that you are strong enough to grow beyond your physical and emotional needs.

I view it as a way to stop a bad habit and develop a new one. In this case, it is goal #20 of the 101 things in 1,001 days. Each year, for Lent, I will not eat anything that has been deep fried. This includes my beloved chicken, french fries, fish, hush puppies, and even donuts.

This could be difficult, especially around lunch. On Wednesday I had grilled chicken, yesterday I snacked on pears, bananas and almonds while missing lunch, and today I had a broiled cod fillet. Did I mention that Popeye's reopened a store about 10 miles from my house? Or that I have a neighbor who makes incredibly tasty Buffalo wings?

I can do it. I'm hoping 40 days is long enough so that there isn't a slingshot effect. By that I mean that I don't want to eat a whole bucket of spicy Popeye' s the day after Easter. This is why I chose an unflattering image of frying chicken, rather than a lovely plate of succulent golden brown pieces piled high on a plate.

These goals do tie together. There will be a few other diet and health-related goals to come. Now, I need to go have a banana. I'm suddenly hungry.