It’s the small victories
Travel has been heavy for the past few days which has made eating well a constant challenge. Today, I’m happy to say that I met the challenge and won.
For lunch, I was in Austin, TX and ate a grilled chicken with quinoa, olives, tomatoes, onions, and feta cheese bowl. I washed it down with a couple of glasses of sparkling water. I was not full, I felt completely satiated.
My dinner choices were a cup of minestrone soup, Caprese salad, and shrimp diablo fettucini. On rare occasions, I’ve been able to eat vegetable soup at home, but I’ve never ordered it in a restaurant. After thoroughly enjoying the soup I dug into the Caprese salad which was light and delicious. While finishing the salad, I noticed that I was feeling full and didn’t really want to eat anymore and the pasta should not be touched. In addition, to really test me, the waitress told me about their special dessert, a warm bread pudding….I wanted it. The “old” me would have ignored the fact that I was full and just forced down all of the pasta and then ordered the desert. My mouth would have been sooooo happy, but I would have felt totally uncomfortable all night. Just as importantly, I would have succumbed to my old habits, rather than purposefully chosen to cement new ones.
Not today!
I put the pasta in a to-go box and paid the bill before I could think twice about that desert. While leaving the restaurant I was happy with the choices I’d made. I was super happy that I recognized my older eating patterns before I ate too much.
Challenges appear frequently. With regard to food, I find that making decisions one meal at a time is the most effective way to change my habits. The trick is to stay alert.
I love this journey.
