Three weeks ago, I wrote about a breadless October. A one-month diet regimen.

I honestly had no idea how many foodstuffs fall under the Bread category, or how often that category entered my digestive tract!

Dear Richard and I decided to try just cutting that one item – in all its varieties – out of our diet. I had heard from a high-flying, banquet-going friend about his loss of 20 pounds merely by giving up bread. We were lulled into a sense of confidence by thinking how easy it would be. But we learned that bread is everywhere – it lurks around every corner.

A neighbor, David, who is a terrific cook, made a grape pie and delivered two pieces to us. OMG. They were gorgeous. Worthy of a magazine shot.

I had not only never eaten grape pie, I had never even heard of it. Our friend said that it was a common dessert in up-state New York wine country. “They sell it on every corner in the Finger Lakes,” he said. The flaky crust oozed its dark purple jammy center, glistening on the plate. It was beyond tempting. GROAN.

I couldn’t very well say, “We can’t break our diet,” to someone so thoughtful and generous. The combination of the pie’s aroma and beauty were overwhelming. I could feel my October resolve slip, slip, slipping away. So yes, we ate it. I scraped out as much of the delicious innards as I could manage, trying to leave some crust behind. I think Dear Richard ate the whole thing, but I didn’t watch and I didn’t ask. Guilt is hard enough to manage. And it tasted even better than it looked.

Then there was that one other little challenge, late in the month. My birthday. We went away that weekend, and I was looking forward to a special birthday dinner. Dear Richard found a nice restaurant and we managed to stick to our regimen through dinner. Until dessert.

I almost never order dessert in a restaurant. I gave it up years ago as non-necessary. But on my birthday? Fuggedaboudit. I was going to have a little something, even if I couldn’t imagine a worse choice than cake. But they offered a special! A dense, killer chocolate, FLOURLESS cake. Really? I was sold. And, I still managed to behave. Sorta.I had three divine bites with my decaf.

The following morning, I relished three more bites with my coffee in the hotel room. I couldn’t wait to scoff up the last three bites after arriving home. The next day, I faced the enemy. Our bathroom scale.

I had gained two ounces during the weekend away. Yay! Not too bad for celebrating another year, including the wine with dinner.

So, we struggled a bit, cheated a very tiny bit, and made it to the end of our month-long challenge. A week later, on the designated morning, November 1st, I stepped on the scale with great trepidation. I knew it wouldn’t be a 20-pound loss, but from tracking progress through the month, I was optimistic.

I had lost 17 pounds! Seriously? Wow. Not too shabby.

Then this past weekend, the beginning of November, I had to be in Jamestown and decided to surprise Richard with a side trip to Wegman’s. We both love New England scallops, but don’t often indulge because they are priced like jewelry. I thought, “Hey, we have earned ourselves a special treat.”

Then Sunday night, as I began to gather the makings of dinner, I realized I had created a problem. Richard likes his scallops pan sauteed in oil. OK. And breaded. Oh no. Breading is obviously made of – what? Well, actually breadcrumbs, but we know how they began life. So, I dredged the plump scallops in flour, then the egg, and finally in the breadcrumb and panko mix. While working all goopy-handed from the flour and egg, I thought we better enjoy this – it’s going to be a long time before we do it again. And yes, they were wonderful.

This morning, Dear Richard came out of the bathroom, showered, shaved, and dressed for a doctor’s appointment. “Guess what?” he grinned at me. “I lost another three pounds. I lost a total of 17!” I was thrilled for him. And he has decided to go to work without sandwiches for November.

We’re going to keep on keepin’ on. Especially since I didn’t confess after the scallops. I gained a pound.

Back to the regimen. Because if October was challenging, November and the holiday season ahead are not going to be a piece of cake!

Marcy O’Brien writes from Warren.