I Did It.

Ok, so over the past few days I have alluded to the fact that I had made some really good food choices over the holiday weekend.  This is exciting for me, because making food choices is something that I find particularly difficult.  I mean, let's be honest, making the wrong ones is the reason I am the size I am today.  So, get comfortable, cause this is gonna be a long post about food.

I began my Advocare Cleanse on Monday and almost didn't because I knew that I would be out of town from Thursday until Saturday.  I thought of how difficult it would be to eat clean when not in my own home calling all the shots.  I quit that way of thinking and decided that this would be the ultimate test.  I decided that it is finally time to gain control in a situation where I would normally feel totally out of control.

So, I took on the challenge...

Barbecue number one had more than pictured above to tempt my taste buds.  However, the two things pictured would have been the things that I overdid -- chocolate chip cookies and Butterfinger Puppy Chow.  I didn't touch them.    Other tempting treats included:

• Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
• Nachos
• Chips
• Cheesecake
• Chocolate Cake
• Ice Cream
• Hot Dogs

I brought a large bowl of tossed salad to share.  I ate it with a plain hamburger chopped up in it along with fresh fruit.  I was full and it tasted good.  To say I did not want any of those foods listed above would be a lie, but the important thing is that I did not eat them.

The second barbecue included treats such as:

• Lots of cake
• Barbecue Ribs
• Burgers
• Hot Dogs
• Key Lime Pie Cheeseball
• Adult Beverages -- something yummy and fruity looking, not sure what it was though
• Nacho Dip

What I ate:

The pasta salad on the plate was a healthier version that I made with whole wheat pasta.  I did eat one small serving of ribs.  I know it may not be healthy, but that is the one food out of everything that I never get to eat otherwise. So, I had a taste.  Not even a little bit sorry about it either.  I did try some of the salsa dip, but not with chips.  I decided to dip celery in it.  Delicious!

The pasta salad I made. It had veggies, whole wheat pasta, turkey pepperoni, and organic Italian salad dressing.

I am really proud of a lot of the decisions that I made.  We went out to eat and I ate well.  We went for pizza and I had a big salad with grilled chicken.  We went to a restaurant famous for fried fish (I mean, seriously, that batter would make a fried shoe taste good).  I ate baked fish, green beans, and a sweet potato -- no butter or brown sugar.  My mother in law made cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  I ate oatmeal.   I seriously rocked it!

This is what I learned was most important about the whole weekend:

My kids enjoying their meal.

Darcy playing in the sun.

Tim and Darcy Swimming

Darcy and my niece checking out some of the neighbor's fireworks

At these parties and get-togethers, it is the people that are important.  I found myself enjoying those who surrounded me a lot more, when I was not so focused on the food.  All of the stuff that was so hard, was not so hard anymore.  I just told myself to walk away from the table and to enjoy the people that surrounded me.  You know what?  I was right and it worked.