Mood: Happy!
Listenting To: Mark & Brian in the Morning
For some time, I was dedicated to Herbalife protein shakes. They were pretty yummy, a lot of protein packed into one punch and a good meal replacement, but I never actually saw any results from them. I drank them religiously, worked out a LOT but also ate a whole bunch of mac ‘n cheese. I ended up stopping the protein shakes, in which I still have half a container sitting on top of my fridge. It was good while it lasted, but it costs a lot of money and the sales rep was just as sales rep, no matter how many times she said the word “nutrition”.
But one piece of advice she did give me, which I found myself doing last night, stuck with me. Eat something high in protein before you go out and it will help control your appetite.
You see, I found myself at a social event last night at a very familiar place in Culver City. I had been there before, and I was even the person who suggested the place, so I was totally familiar with their food. Being the good little dieter I am, I looked at the menu earlier in the day and decided on what I was going to order – the turkey meatloaf with the 2 veggies and mashed ‘taters. (I ALMOST love mashed ‘taters as much as I love mac ‘n cheese) It helped knowing ahead of time that the mac ‘n cheese at this place left a lot to be desired. If you’re gonna go the mac ‘n cheese route – it’s gotta be worth it.
When I got home, I got ready as usual and was pretty set on what I had planned on ordering. I had looked up the calorie counts, rehearsed in my head how I would only eat half of it and decided to eat a protein bar before I went. I have to say, it was a pretty delicious little bar. As I sat there, chewing away, I thought to myself that I could almost fool myself into thinking it was a candy bar . . . . almost. Once on my way, I was happy I took the time to do my hair properly and have a protein bar. I felt like I looked great, felt great, had a great plan and was proud I planned ahead with the healthy dose of protein.
I was the first person to arrive, and promptly ordered water, so I had something to occupy my hand. Once everyone was assembled, they took us up to the loft area which was typically reserved for bottle service. We all found our way to places on the couches and that’s when the pre-ordered food began to arrive. Craaaaaaaaap. Totally wasn’t expecting them to pre-order food. I thought this was a DINNER! Rather quickly, I realized it was a social hour. SON-OF-A-B----!!!!
They laid out multiple orders of sliders, a couple of pizzas and something that looked like an egg roll, but was no egg roll. It was loaded with meat and what I’m sure was something full of fat and deliciousness. I knew there wasn’t much on that table that was within my dietary guidelines. As I did my best to be attentive to the conversations, a small panic was going on in my head as these delicious odors kept wafting my way. I should have eaten dinner before I came. I thought we were going to get dinner! GOOD LAWRD!!!! MY PLAN HAS BEEN DESTROYED!!! Okay, no one else is digging in. You can hold out. You don’t want to be the little piglet on the couch chowin’ down on this bounty. Once I had come to terms with that, that’s when the leader of this group said:
“We meant for this to be more of an informal group hour, so let’s take some food, mingle around and get to talking to each other!”
And that’s when it happened. That’s when people started to eat. I scanned the items in front of me, and noticed that the pizza looked like it was thin crust. So, okay, I’ll take ONE slice of pizza – just to be social. It’s a smaller pizza, just a little bigger than a personal size. The calories can’t possibly be that much! I grabbed the slice of pizza and had to momentarily close my eyes and take it all in. All that delicious fat from the cheese – oh my gawd it’s been so long since I’ve had full fat cheese! And it’s nice and chewy. Thin and chewy – just the way I like it. Oh! Here come the pepperonis. Oooooooohhhhhhhhhhh that’s SO good! Now, I’m usually not the kind of girl that eats the crust, but this time was the exception.
Okay, I had my slice of pizza, and I’m good! I don’t need any more of this, I can resist and have something stocked away in my fridge when I get home. Gawd that’s a far way away. And I am still hungry. I think the protein bar is helping, but it’s really not doing anything to prevent the HUNGER I am feeling! “Just do it, just dive in and enjoy yourself. You’re here, you’ve already had a slice of pizza. ONE night of yumminess is not going to destroy everything.” Oh, there was that voice in my head. That ID I’ve always had problems with. Gawd my ID and I have been best friends for years. And it has not been good to me . . . . so I scanned the table and waited. Waited for that other little voice to hold me back. “Look, you’re hungry but you can make it through this! You are going to have a lot of these challenges; you need to learn how to deal with them now! One more item! That’s it. That’s all you’re allowed to have on this table – one more item.” Thank gawd that voice finally kicked itself in. I scanned the table, and it came back to what was right in front of me – cheeseburger sliders. Wow those look good. But there are turkey right behind them. I wonder if those turkey sliders are dry. I hate dry sliders. Moist turkey sliders sound kind of gross. And they have BBQ sauce, not the wonderful thousand island dressing with the cheeseburger sliders. If I only get ONE more item on this table, I choose . . . . a cheeseburger slider! Not my highest moment, but dam it, I was going to swim around in that one last item. I put a dollop of dressing on the burger and took my first, wonderful bite. Oh, I didn’t realize it was on a Hawaiian roll! WHO decided to put cheeseburger sliders on a Hawaiian roll??? THEY NEED TO BE SAINTED!!!!!
After I rolled around in the joy of the slider, I remembered how I once read you need to have a signal to yourself that your meal is done. I thought for a minute, what do I always do after I am done eating to tell myself the meal is over? I carefully put my small little plate down, and put my napkin on top of it. That’s was it, it was over.
Lucky for me, we all soon stood up, got away from the food and started socializing. I walked away from that evening feeling triumphant. I had beat an old demon of mine. I felt like I had won a battle, even though I knew this was just the beginning of the war.
