Resisting Temptation

On the heels of an amazingly successful week of work, parties, and NOT succumbing to even just a taste of the birthday cakes (yes, there were two), munchies, and left over sweets from Christmas, I was kind of worn out on Saturday morning. The last party of the week broke up just before 11 Friday night and as I laid my head on the pillow next to my happy husband, I felt quite proud of myself for not giving in to all the temptations I had faced.

But, Saturday came and I relaxed . . . didn't do any planning for the day's food. Unfortunately, my trusty fall-back salad was also gone, and wouldn't you know it, I woke up hungry, really hungry.

Thus, the end of a week that was filled with victories started to come undone. Like Big Mac undone. And a mini $100,000 candy bar undone. And, chips and salsa undone.

As I sat thinking about it all, I realized that the Big Mac could have been replaced easily with a Subway sandwich for a fraction of the fat, and the chips that accompanied the healthy salsa could have been what my friend Heidi made, Kale Chips, a recipe I've been really wanting to try. And the candy bar? Just totally not even worth it.

But, I was tired. And feeling a bit of entitlement after resisting so many things all week. After I finished licking my fingers and enjoying the lingering taste of my chosen sins, I decided that while a Big Mac (metaphorically speaking of course) doesn't add much nutrition to my body, maybe the whole faux pas could teach, even inform my 2010 goals of a thing or two.

Seriously? I was skeptical too that a Big Mac would have anything valuable to say. But, here's my takeaway from my drive-thru snafu:

A PLANNED afternoon of indulgence is better than an unplanned one.

Not too deep I know, but what can we really expect from a Big Mac anyway?

What do you guys think? When we have a particularly challenging week and succeed at resisting the temptations, should we schedule a reward?

Talk to me,
Cheryl

P.S. Seriously, guys, I messed up but thankfully all the resisting that I did manage netted me a nice weight loss - down 3.6 pounds this past week! Woo hoo!

Victories All Day Long

Yesterday was hubs birthday ~ he worked just half a day and while he did I whipped up a Pineapple Upside Down Cake (one of his favorites) that we'd share later on with friends.

As I was mixing it up, I was thinking about all the calories I used to consume without even thinking...specifically from licking the spoon, the beaters, the bowl when baking. True confession: if what I was making was chocolate, I might even dip that spoon back into the batter for more.  I know, horrible.  Please don't tell anyone.

Well, not yesterday. Not even one lick!

I don't really know how many calories are in those seemingly insignificant licks, maybe not that many. But, getting that little taste of sweetness on my tongue would almost always make me want more of it (as evidenced by the redipping of said spoon), more of the batter, the cake and anything else sugar-laden I could get my hands on for the rest of the day.

So, that was kinda victory #1, wouldn't ya say?

So, onto the day. Hubs and I ate lunch together at Axel's Bonfire, a casual but fine dining restaurant that specializes in yummy south western fare. We love the place, we even had our rehearsal dinner there 2 1/2 years ago, and it's fun to go back when we get the chance. I had the BonTon Bites, basically a wonton wrapper around chipotle chicken that you dip in a sweet/sour/spicy sauce. Mmmmmmm. And a glass of diet coke and another of water.

The server discovered it was hubs birthday so at the end of our meal, she {sweet girl that she is} brought a giant, thick chocolate chip cookie with a scoop of ice cream on the top. Hubs ate most of it (really), I had 2 or 3 small bites with just a tad of ice cream. {smiling proudly}

Typically (ok, not his birthday, but other times) its every man/woman for himself, no strict halvsies practiced on sweets. If you could manage to eat faster than the other person, you got more. Easy. Works for us.

But today, and every day since Jan 1, 2010 is a brand new day. Old habits are being looked at, shifted, and it seemed like the decent thing to do yesterday, being his birthday and all, to just have a nibble or two. In years past, we woulda ordered a second so nobody would have to share. :-/

Victory #2? I think so.

But, the biggest test was yesterday evening while hanging out with friends with that Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Everyone there knows what my goals are for 2010, but nobody would have criticized me for having a small piece of my husband's birthday cake.  I surprised us all (me included) and didn't have a single bite!  Yah! I think they were all, honestly, amazed.

I sipped on my black coffee and simply sat back, and enjoyed the friendships represented and counted the victories (THREE!) won throughout the day. And, THAT tasted really really good.

Savoring my sweet feelings,
Cheryl

My Body Is Talking

Not gonna use a lot of words tonight . . . partly because it's Friday night but mostly because this short video featuring a well-loved song from a great movie sums it up so nicely.



I admit, I haven't always paid attention.  I heard recently that our bodies are always talking to us, telling us what they need, that all the information is there if we will just listen.  Seriously?  Sounds so simple.

So, what am I really hungry for?  And, am I really hungry?  What do I really want, a sweet or rich and savory  treat now or that luscious feeling of jeans that are no longer tight?

It's up to me, nobody else, what I pay attention to and what I do about it. Gonna chew on that awhile.

Working it,
Cheryl

P.S.  You may have noticed that my total weight loss yesterday was 4 and today it is 2.6.  Not sure exactly what is going on, but it has my attention.  Guess this post is more timely than I thought.

My First Victory of 2010

Besides celebrating a brand new day, week, month, year, decade AND the first day of my 2010 adventure today, tonight I am celebrating my very first victory of 2010!! Woohoo, I am excited about this!!

Ok, here’s what happened. Hubs and I spent the day with Mom Sweeney at her place in Hutchinson, Minnesota, a remote, sweet little country town about 80 miles west of the twin cities. We celebrated a belated Christmas, Mom Sweeney’s 82nd birthday (yesterday!), AND New Year’s, all in one fell swoop. And going to Mom Sweeney’s always involves food.

The meal before us was Stouffer’s Italiano Lasagna, Salad, Olives, Coconut Cream Pie, Cake, Ice Cream. Seriously? Are you freakin’ kidding me? Yeah, no, I’m not. Lasagna, a favorite of mine since high school, served on the very first day of the rest of my life . . . one of those meals that I find it incredibly easy, almost natural if you will, to gorge on.

But, today isn’t like in high school or any other day in my past where it was almost second nature to eat without thinking. No, today is a brand new day and I’ve begun a journey. And, gorging myself on lasagna . . .  well, it is just no longer an option. I decided to look at it as an opportunity to try out a simple strategy for healthy eating.

I recalled a book I read a few months ago about the composition of a healthy meal, you know, ratios. The author suggested we fill our plates ½ full of veggies, ¼ with meat and the other ¼ with starch/carb. So, that’s what I did.

Half the plate was a chopped salad (mmmmm, lettuce, sweet grape tomatoes, carrots, orange bell pepper, cucumber, red onion), ¼ was a small piece of lasagna, and about 10 black olives (I love my olives and they are actually good for me!) sat bopping each other in the other ¼.   I topped my salad with an amazing all-natural dressing I found at the grocery store in Hutchinson – Briannas’ Home Style Poppy Seed Dressing.

Can you see what the sticker above the label says? Yes, “Delicious on Peaches”. Now, that intrigued me! I’ll warn you, this dressing was not cheap, but as I perused the ingredients on the back I decided the cost was worth it. Completely and thoroughly natural. No bad oils, no high fructose corn syrup, no preservatives. I had to get me this dressing. And, I am telling you, it was worth every penny. Very subtle yet so flavorful, a tiny bit goes a long way. I felt like I was eating a gourmet salad at a fine eating establishment.  And, I will definitely try it on peaches in the summer.

After I finished the food on my plate, I realized I wanted more salad. Pretty amazing for a girl who just isn’t that into salads! So, again, I filled my plate half full with that yummy mixture of fresh veggies and a shy tablespoon of my new dressing. And, two more bites of lasagna.

And, then? I was full. Not stuffed. Pleasantly and comfortably full. And so very proud of myself!

So, victory #1 is under my belt. And I sit here tonight feeling really, really, REALLY good.

Cheers to an AMAZING 2010!
Cheryl

P.S.  I failed to tell you guys about the dessert part (thanks hubby for catching that!) . . . I DID have a very small piece of cake, like 1" x 2", but I passed on both the coconut cream pie and the ice cream.  Another victory. smile. smile. smile. smile.