OF TASTYKAKES AND WEIGHT LOSS

Many of us have fond memories of foods from our childhood. I have several, which includes a product called TASTYKAKE. Another is Gefilte Fish. Trust, me, they have nothing in common.
The various varieties of TastyKakes were a regular in our home. My favorite was the "Junior", a small yellow layer cake with chocolate frosting. I also liked the Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes, pictured here.
So imagine my joy when I got a tweet from a friend announcing for all who cared the snack cake is being sold at the Target Stores in Little Rock. Understand, this product, made in Pennsylvania, has not been available anywhere in Arkansas for as long as I've lived here. (But for a one week period at a single Wal Mart in Hot Springs about two years ago.)
My travels don't generally take me to Target. But with that Tweet in hand, off I went. And yes, my friend was right.
And, in talking to a Target Manager who just happened by, he told me they sold the product in two locations in the store, because it's been a very good seller. Oh Joy, it looks like they'll continue to carry my favorite snack cake from childhood.
I'll have to admit, that they don't taste exactly the way I remember from childhood. Yes, I still like them. But somehow they are not quite as magical as I anticipated. That said, they do bring back memories from growing up in New Jersey, and I'm enjoying the snack cake and the memories. In short, I still like them.
And this is where my problem begins. I've been successful with a weight loss plan which I've even talked about on the radio. Called "Plan Z", I lost 24 pounds in five weeks, and I kept it off for 6 weeks through the holidays. The learning to keep it off is part of the plan. I go back on Plan Z "reduction" on Monday, confident in my ability to loose another 15 pounds.
The diet materials arrived this week, and this morning I have scoured the manual. While it's very helpful, no where did I find even a reference to TastyKakes. In short, they are not on the diet. Not really a surprise.  (small tear forms on right eye).
But oh, Joy, there is a loophole. I won't go into the details, but when you go on "Z - Reduction", which is the part of the diet with rapid weight loss, you actually start with a binge. Two days of eating as much of whatever you want. They explain it in the materials, and even after reading it, I don't fully understand it. I'm just taking it on faith. It worked the first time, so I'll do it again. In short, you put on a little temporary weight which comes off very quickly, and jump starts your rapid weight loss.
The timing couldn't be better. I have TastyKakes, and my dedication to this diet plan means I must binge this weekend. Want to guess what the cornerstone of that binge will be? (Again, a small tear forms.)
Thank you Tastykake. Thank you Target. And Thank you Plan Z for the guilt free binge.
Two days worth will have to hold me for a long time.
Meantime, if you like snack cakes, Hostess announced this week they were filing for bankruptcy. Now's the time to line up an alternative. Might check out your local Target store. Bye-bye Twinkies, hello TastyKakes!
Except for me. Bye Bye Tastycakes, hello lean protein. And vegetables. And a little fruit.
(In the interest of full disclosure, Plan Z is an advertiser on our radio stations, which is tied to my success on the diet. You can get more information at www.planzdiet.com)