Resisting temptation

Sunday:

It was Jasmine's birthday party yesterday so there was a group of kids here, primarily nine year old girls, plus some family who stayed the whole weekend. I served our usual party fare: an ice cream cake, decorate-your-own cupcakes, chips, lollies. But I didn't eat any of that stuff! I had quite a few calories but all of "real" food: cashews, cheese, and fruit. Nothing there to feel guilty about. I just chatted to the adults, organised stuff for the kids, and sipped a cup of tea (with no sugar). The thing that really tempted me, as expected, was the cheese & bacon balls (a chip/cheeto thing if you are not familiar with them). Even before I opened the packet I was imagining that wonderful fake cheese smell. But I resisted them, and felt pretty good about the party overall.

Because we had family here I had a slightly special dinner with cream sauce. As usual I don't check the calories before I eat it and was a bit horrified -- I probably added over 300 calories just with the sauce! Delicious though, and it was still real food made from scratch. And no sugar or salt or flour added, so I stuck to my self-imposed rules. I beat myself up about the high calories for a little while but then put it behind me. I didn't have any dessert, even though it was lemon tart. During supper while others were drinking schnapps and eating Doritos (drool) I nibbled at a few chocolates, which was part of my plan to stop myself feeling deprived. I did crave the Doritos but I knew that I wouldn't be able to stop with just a few, so they are banned. At the end of the evening the half-full packet was on the counter, gaping open. I deliberately left it that way so they would go stale, and this morning threw it out. I could have thrown it out last night but didn't want to look like I was wasting them.

This morning I did an hour of Just Dance 4. It was kind of weird because at the start it felt like everyone was watching me. But I knew that if I didn't do it first thing it would never get done. I did well for most of the hour then suddenly after one dance (Aiden was doing "The Final Countdown" with me) I felt a bit dizzy and completely out of energy. I dragged myself through two more dances, taking it easy, to make up the hour. If you feel nauseated, that means you're doing it right, right?

Tim had a bit more food than me over the weekend but that is fine, we are only reducing his carbs not cutting them out or worrying about calories.

In short, the new determination to get both myself and my husband healthy is going very well.

My dietitian friend was here for the party, as usual she promotes a very moderate line in dieting while at the same time trying very hard not to offend anyone. She is very much against low-carb diets and feels that sugar and flour have their place in a balanced diet that is otherwise mainly fresh fruit and vegetables and lean meat etc. But she didn't think I was being too extreme and I am happy with how it is going so I'll stick with it. The only time she has reacted strongly was when I was trying to stick to 1000 calories a day, briefly a couple of years ago, even then she was very polite about saying she didn't think it was a good idea. She agrees cutting out (or cutting down on) junk is a good idea and that is why removing sugar and flour can work -- it bans a lot of the processed rubbish which is full of sugar and flour. She did say, which I didn't know, that high-fructose corn syrup is only a problem in the US and we don't use it much here in Australia.

I am feeling hungry more, but I think that is a good thing. You are supposed to feel hungry just before a meal. I am certainly looking forward to my food, and I am trying to make sure it is still delicious as well as healthy.