I had forgotten all about donuts, those round deep-fat-fried bits of cake that people like to bring to parties or gobble up with their morning coffee. I hadn’t eaten a donut for several years when I spied a Dunken Donuts down the street from my gym, and succumbed to the temptation to eat something delicious and fattening. Although I was usually content with stealing cookies and candy (mostly chocolate) from my daughter, this was a food emergency. I had just finished a strenuous hour and a half workout at my gym when I remembered that I had not eaten any solid food for the past 24 hours. My blood sugar was on its way south, and I needed to eat something fast. My usual treatment for low blood sugar is orange juice followed by some kind of protein. So why not buy an O.J. at the Dunken donuts, and then go next door to Wendy’s for some chicken nuggets? My stomach grumbled at the thought of food. No matter what, I just had to have a donut.

I walked into Dunken Donuts and figured that hot chocolate would do just as well as O.J. Yes, hot chocolate and a donut would fix things just fine. I looked around and was amazed but how many different kinds of food they had: coffee cake, brownies, bagels, and even pizza! The entire left side of the store was dedicated to Baskin and Robin’s ice cream. When you’re ravenous everything looks good, even things you would not usually eat. I realized that I could quickly eat enough calories in one meal to gain back whatever calories I used up during an entire week of exercise, and then I could go to the Wendy’s next door and eat through another week’s worth of exercise.

Both the cream cheese bagel and “old fashioned” donut found their way to my mouth, in quick succession. The donut went down faster: I choked on my bagel, probably because I was trying to drink my hot chocolate at the same time. As I experienced the velvety goodness of the donut, I began to wonder why I had ever stopped eating them. A whole box of them would make a great afternoon snack-which was probably why I had stopped eating them to begin with.

My trip to Dunken Donuts had opened a Pandora’s Box. Would I want a donut every time I went to my gym? The idea of taking home cartons of chocolate peanut butter and mint chip ice cream came to mind as I drove home. Would I have to find another gym? For dinner I had a Stouffer’s “Lean Cuisine” to make up for my lapse of good eating judgment, but then I ended up at a reception that evening where I couldn’t resist a chocolate brownie and an absolutely, unbelievably delicious cheese dip. Oh dear. See what you’ve done to me my dear donut? I love you, but it’s just not going to work out.