Celebrating with FOOD

Isn’t it weird that whenever you come together with friends or family to celebrate there is always food! You would never have a party and not have snacks at the very least… and there is ALWAYS an abundance of food! NEVER one bowl of chips… 3 or 4 minimum. Dinner is never one course, there are appetizers, and desserts. The trick is knowing how to partake in these events without feeling like you’ve cheated yourself or just plain not enjoyed yourself!

I was just faced with this conundrum… and thankfully I was with the 3 people who would “get” this better than ANYONE else! I got really lucky!

Just as Crystal and I finished our 12 week BeautyFit Challenge another occasion crept up… The one year anniversary of my life changing journey… and Crystal’s, and Amanda’s… yep that’s right, One year ago this July each of us met Sandra (Sam) Compton… each of us have our own stories of how that happened,  but the result was the same for each of us… our lives CHANGED! Think that’s strange… we didn’t even realize we’d all met Sam at the same time… we also just happened to become very close friends and bond so tightly that nothing will ever pull us apart… all this while Sam sat back and watched… strange eh?

So Sam invited us all to dinner to celebrate and I’ll admit I was terrified… was this a test? How was I going to handle ordering at a restaurant? Could I resist? Would I be able to stop eating when I “should” stop eating? And to top it all off, I’d need to dress up… In fact, Sam’s exact words were “I want you to feel Sexy”… WTF?? Sexy? I’m lucky if I’d be able to pull off “cute”… as the days went on I started to feel kind of excited about wearing a dress that I loved, and getting all dolled up… but the prospect of ordering was REALLY weighing on me… no pun intended!

It’s actually quite funny because I’m pretty strong… I don’t scare easy and am not often intimidated… but I was completely unable to order… until Crystal finally asked out right “is this a test?”… You should have seen Sam’s face… and she laughed!! It was not a test, we’re adults, in charge of our own actions and should be able to eat at a freaking restaurant… right? Bhahahahah ummm sure…  Well finally we ordered, I had a Wildcraft Salad, Steak (8oz) and sweet potato wedges… and it was delish!  OH YEAH, and I had 2 small pieces of bread… YUP! I HAD ME SOME FREAKING BREAD!!!  Sam even took a picture of it… it was a monumental occasion! You have no idea how badly I was missing bread, and it was good… but I was able to stop too. I’m no longer that child who feels the need to finish EVERY BITE from my plate, anymore! Just because they put it there doesn’t mean I have to eat it… weird concept!

The same thing happened at dessert… Sam took us to Symposium, have you been there? If you have then you KNOW what a huge panic attack this caused me… and I had to keep my cool because no one else seemed to be freaking out… If you haven’t then let me just tell you that if there is any doubt at all that you will not be able to control your urges… RUN AWAY!!!

I ordered a piece of cake that was at least 8 inches high… had 3 layers… one chocolate brownie, one chocolate cheese cake and one chocolate mousse … OMG!! SOOOOOO  yummy! and back in March if I’d ordered it, I would have eaten every single bite of it (it was about a pound of cake, no joke!) and I would have loved it too! But now that I’m no longer delusional and I realize that this is a stupid thing for me to do… I brought half of it home for my kids and husband to share… Jim only got a tiny bite of each layer, but the kids loved it! So see everyone wins!

I mentioned a few times throughout dinner that I was gonna feel guilty on Saturday, because I was cheating… but the fact is I’m going to have to learn how to deal with food. I’m getting it, I can control the food, it doesn’t have to own ME! I stop eating when I am satisfied, not FULL or STUFFED. I can order dessert, I just need to make sure my weight is in check before and then work a little harder after to burn those calories! This is my way of life now. It’s not hard, it’s not a cross I must bear. It’s healthy living and I’m loving it!