Well I made it over my HUGE social hump. I attended not less than 4 social events over the past three days. That's right, 4 celebrations and not one cheat! Don't ask me how I do this because I barely know myself. I have never been this committed to weight-loss in my life. It hasn't been easy but I keep thinking about how much I want health and happiness, and I'm able to persevere.
On Saturday afternoon I had lunch with my birth mother (whom I've only seen one other time a year and a half ago) and her daughter (whom I've never met). And as if that wasn't trying enough, we ate at the Pickle Barrel! Only one of my favorite restaurants EVER! I was able to stay on track and ordered grilled chicken with sauteed vegetables. I was actually more worried about what I was gonna eat than seeing my birth mother. We had a lovely visit and she met my son and husband, then we parted ways. It really was nice to see her around the holidays.
Saturday night I went to my girlfriend's Christmas party. She has this party every year so I know what to expect when I go there. I prepared myself and made sure I ate a good dinner before I left. It was actually quite easy because first of all, I wasn't hungry, due to my very substantial dinner of butterfly cut pork chops and mashed cauliflower. And secondly, she lays out her buffet in her formal dining room, some place I completely steered clear of. I'll come clean and admit that I snuck in before I left and scoffed down about a 1/2 dozen shrimp sans cocktail sauce. Shrimp is allowed on phase 1 of www.poondiet.com. So technically, I did not cheat, just ate more protein, which is allowed.
The hard day I had was Sunday afternoon when I went to my neighbour's open house. Now, she is a fabulous cook and baker, so I knew that there would be absolutely nothing I could eat at this soiree. She did not disappoint anybody, except me. There was NOTHING I could eat there. I did however drink 4 glasses of water and 1 cup of coffee. My husband ate enough for both of us and my son picked up delectable hors d'oeuvres, licked them, then exclaimed that they were "yucky". ARE YOU KIDDING ME? How is it that my kid has the taste buds of a koala (noted to be the pickiest eaters in the animal world) when my husband and I would eat anything that doesn't move? Needless to say, the open house was a real test of endurance which I am proud to say I passed.
Finally, today I went out to dinner with a friend and we ate at a swanky restaurant in Don Mills Centre. I haven't been there since they made it an outdoor mall, and it was really cool. What wasn't cool was the over priced, mediocre place we ate at. My choice because there was something on the menu I could eat, but a bit of a disappointment because I could have gotten the same meal at Swiss Chalet for $12.99. My whole bill with tax and tip came to about $42.00. Yeah, that was just for me, not for me and my friend. I was so disappointed because I asked for the chicken with vegetables and they brought me turnips. TURNIPS! Who in the blue hills wants turnips with roasted chicken? It also originally came with mashed potatoes, so I assumed the veggie selection would be broccoli or cauliflower, but turnips? Had I not told the waitress to nix the potatoes, the meal would have been mostly carb with a little meat. Needless to say, I can't eat turnips. So if you ever find yourself at Joey's in Don Mills Centre, be warned that it's over-priced and the food is just okay.
So what now? Well next weekend will be a doozy. Yes, it is the traditional Polish Christmas Eve, as well as the Italian Christmas day. No pierogi and lasagna for me. My weigh-in is coming up this Friday morning. I haven't weighed myself at all since I was last weighed and I'm very curious to see where I'll be. Even though I'm choosing not to indulge in Christmas eating like everyone else this year, it truly is the most wonderful time of the year. I get to spend quality time with friends, neighbours, family and of course my son. Seeing his excitement and joy is infectious. It makes everything else, like what I'm eating, seem trivial.