Sunday, September 13, 2009

Eating Contentment

I had a couple of crazy busy days on Friday and Saturday and as a result, I was off of my normal food routine. But you know what? It was ok. I did not overly worry about what I was eating; I made a few reasonable choices as to what was in front of me and I felt good about it!

On Friday, my workplace hosted a luncheon for a national museum organization - a bunch of bluebloods came, toured, had a catered lunch, dropped some nice cash in our gift shop, and moved on to their next event. We worker-bees got to have lunch with them, and it was nice to not fret about what I was served - the salad had walnuts and gorgonzola, and although it came already dressed, I ate it without worrying about the fat or calories. Then came the main part of the meal - grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast with a bit of pesto sauce on top (yum), served on a homemade bun, with an olive tampanade on one side. I elected to not have the tampanade side of the bun, and used a knife and fork to eat the chicken/pesto side. It was so good and I didn't miss the other half of the bread - and while I normally choose to not eat white flour bread products, I didn't worry about the half that I did eat. A little melon and berries were served with the meal, which of course I gladly ate!

After work I quickly ate a homemade egg mcmuffin for dinner and then went to a friend's house where we, along with a few other folks, were getting items ready for a huge garage sale fundraiser for an organization that I help out with. We were overwhelmed by the amount of things that had been donated, and were trying to sort out everything in the pouring rain. It was crazy - tarps were up, but we were all getting pretty wet. At one point my friend and I went inside for a little snack break and had grapes - I have to say, it's pretty cool when you have someone who is on the same page, eating-wise, as yourself...makes life so much easier!

Saturday morning came much too early - we were up at 5 am and I ate a Luna bar while driving back to my friend's house for the actual garage sale. The rain held off for a couple of hours, which was nice, but then it came back with a vengeance! A few dozen donuts were brought by some other members of our organization, but I wasn't even tempted. At some point during that morning, my friend put a gorgeous peach into my hand - it was the best peach I've had all summer, no joke!

I had to leave the sale to get to work by 9:45 am, and once there, my husband went out for a cup of hot coffee (now that I was in an air conditioned building I was wet and cold) and a Jimmy John's unwich for me - just had him ask for no mayo - and I ate the entire thing! BTW, an unwich is a sandwich wrapped in a huge lettuce leaf instead of on bread. I guess I was so hungry because I got up extra early that morning? I normally don't eat that much for lunch.

Came home from work and had a much-needed nap! Then we decided to go get a hamburger for dinner - we split a half-pound burger (the place we go to will cut it for you and fix up two baskets with the fries that come with the burger - how cool is that?!?). After dinner I suggested a trip to Baskin Robbins - and I am proud to say that I kept my wits about me and only ordered a child's size scoop of their Chocolate Overload flavor - it's one of their healthier options, but it tasted like the real deal!

As I lay in bed later that night, I realized that I was really content with what I had eaten. I had what I wanted in reasonable amounts - I didn't feel deprived at all - and I still feel like I'm on track with regard to my weight loss. Times like this make all the eating struggles of the past worthwhile.

P.S. Did you know that people show up to garage sales early, in the dark, armed with flashlights? There were some hardcore bargain hunters out there!

P.S.S. I'm happy to report that we made nearly $1,900 for our organization, so even dealing with the rain, it was worth it!

21 comments:

  1. Good job, all around, sweetie! :: hugs ::

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  2. What I love about this post is that you can still eat what you want, just a smaller portion!

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  3. THAT IS SO THE WORD HUH?

    CONTENTMENT (I KNOW,I am screaming at you but Im excited).

    it's like when I finally realized there is no need or even CHANCE :) of life BALANCE for me.

    It's all about LIFE HARMONY.

    Reasonable amounts.
    no deprivation.
    LIFE LONG CHANGE.

    love it.

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  4. Wonderful post. Thank you for donating your time to your organizations and to us.

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  5. Great choices this weekend, and you really had to dodge some foodmines (donuts...aggghghgh!). Congrats on your fundraiser, $1900 is huge for a garage sale!

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  6. Great post! You did great on a couple of busy days, that is always the most difficult.

    Congrats, You Rock!

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  7. Great job on being content with what you ate. That is what life is all about. Go with the flow and enjoy and there is no guilt.

    Congrats on raising $1900!! That is awesome!

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  8. Wow, what a great non-scale victory to be able to live in the "real world" and not go crazy and overeat AND not be obsessed with every little tiny calorie! That is great and it sounds like you were very conscious of everything!

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  9. Nice going, Shelley. It really souunds like you're hitting your stride and nothing can knock you out of it. All those things you used to wish you could do are now coming true.

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  10. You are doing fabulous, and your attitude is spot on!! Lifes too short to fret/worry about every single morsel that you put into your body, you have the right attitude! Love reading your posts!! :)

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  11. Good job on tracking the food intake and the monetary intake.
    Love that walnut gorgonzola...

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  12. I love it when everything feels right. Believe it or not I do have those times too....lol

    Life is life. Things come up. Giving up power over even my food choices used to freak me out. Like eating out and the like. Not so much anymore.

    It does feel good!

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  13. Hey there Shelley... I found your blog! This is Jenny by the way... your MW morning workout friend :)

    You have motivated me so much! And, you are SO stinkin' strong! Good grief!

    Awesome job! Looking forward to our next workout!

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  14. The early bird always gets the worm! I have yet to have a garage sale when someone doesn't show up AN HOUR before my scheduled opening!

    Great result though!

    I love unwich's, but I usually chop them up into a big chef salad and pour Annie's goddess dressing on top - so frickin good!

    Happy Monday my dear! :D

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  15. This proves that you have come so far and know what to do with your eating: enjoy and eat not too much!

    Great result on the sale!

    Well done Shelley, you should be proud of yourself!

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  16. Your choices sounded fabulous...like someone who's really got a grip on this whole food thing. So very proud of you Shelley.

    As for the $1900...holy crap! The most I ever made was $200, lol.

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  17. Good job! You have great blog as well.

    Cheers,

    Erin

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  18. That has been one of the side effects of dieting for me...food anxiety. Anytime there was free food at work, or the promise of a free meal, I worried about what it would be, and if I'd eat it...either refusing and annoying the host, or eating it and feeling guitly. I would usually try and try small samples of each, but it always makes me feel anxious. Good for you for making good choices and being happy about them!

    (I loved your trouser jeans so much I got myself a pair too!)

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  19. PISMO BEACH SANDWICHES!!!! Remember?

    You know what Shelley? This is called normal. You're looking terrific, by the way.

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  20. Good job on the intuitive eating and the successful garage sale!

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