Well, the weekend just gone was an extra long weekend with public holidays either side and I went to the big smoke, catching up with friends. It was certainly hard to keep motivated to exercise and eat right.
As I was staying with my friends, I was somewhat restricted in what I had available to eat. I ate what they ate, even if it wasn't so great. We had leftover risotto on Thursday night. And this was the last of the fresh food in the house. This meant pizza on Friday night - luckily I have already learnt that it is possible to order a vegetarian pizza without cheese. You get a funny look, but at least it is better for fat content. I just wish they'd learn to bulk up the vegetables in its place! Saturday night was Chinese takeaway. Even with choosing only vegetable dishes, there's still a lot of oil and salt involved. And Sunday night we went out to dinner at a bistro. Even lunch wasn't a meal, but either 2 minute noodles, or grilled cheese sandwiches. And the pulling out of cheese and crackers and dips and corn chips and bags of lollies to snack on… Have you got the idea yet that my friends don't like to cook very often? :-)
In going out to dinner Sunday, I was really worried about my food choices. For the previous three days I'd eaten really heavy foods, and foods that I like and enjoy, sure, but not all at the one time as happened this weekend. I was starting to crave fruit and vegetables, something fresh, something clean. I also noticed I was really thirsty - coming from having barely any liquid in the past three days other than coffee with my breakfast. Now, I'm not a big water drinker. Even in summer I struggle to drink enough water. I can, and frequently do, go three days without drinking water. Not good.
But on Sunday, I was really starting to feel the effects of three days of heavy foods, or, foods that I will eat no more than once a week. When we got to the bistro, I looked at the menu choices and I decided I'd go the lightest food I could. No dairy (cheese, cream, etc) and try to stay away from anything fried. I ended up choosing the grilled fish. It came with the side options of either chips or mash (potato) and salad or steamed veges. Usually I get chips and salad, eating everyone else's chips when they are finished with them. But not on Sunday night.
I asked the server if I could skip the chips and get both veges and salad. Smart choice for me! She had to check with the kitchen, but they were fine with it. YESSSS!!! I am still feeling so pleased about it. :) And when my food came out, I just attacked my salad and veg. My body must have really been craving for nutrients and fresh produce because I just chowed down on the greens. And then I ate about 2/3 of the fish, because it was A) a fairly large portion and B) I just didn't feel like it, because I wanted the vegetables & salad.
I am actually really excited over this, even though this may seem like a small thing. I normally am not a huge vegetable or salad eater. As I mentioned above, I usually go for chips. I have even gone so far as to convince company to change restaurants/bistros/pubs, etc, because the meals don't come with chips. For me to have such a turn around like this, and ask for no chips, and extra greens instead, is such a good thing. And I don't regret the decision at all. I keep coming back to "it was such as easy thing to do, I'm going to do that each time now when I go out".
And I feel too, that maybe on some level, my body is getting used to me trying to feed it better, and is now recognising when I am slacking. Overall, this weekend was not great food wise, and after three days, I really felt it. But, when I saw the opportunity to turn that around - I took it. I didn’t just tell myself too bad, you're away this weekend, worry about eating well when you get back, you're kind of on holidays. I actually saw somewhere where I could make a good choice, to start to counteract all the poor choices I made over the weekend.
Now, if only I could remember to do this all the time.
-SunnyDuckling
No comments:
Post a Comment