Special Occasion Eating

Sorry for the radio silence, friends. My work schedule is kind of blowing up for the next few weeks as we enter Spring Break time for the tourists, so my posts might be kind of intermittent for the time being. For now, though, I want to talk a little bit about eating for special occasions.

Last night I had the opportunity to have dinner with my sister who I hadn’t seen in nearly ten years. As nervous (and excited) as I was about seeing her, I was also a little concerned about making the right food choices. When you’re out with friends on a normal night you don’t think twice about asking for dressing on the side or skipping the bread. But this was a special occasion, and besides, I didn’t want to look like a weirdo to someone who was basically re-meeting me. So when the bread came, I had a piece. But I didn’t have two (or three, or four). I even put a little bit of butter on it. I skipped the cocktail menu and stuck with water – I gave up soda at the beginning of the year (more on that later). When it came time to order, I bypassed the steaks with cheesy potatoes and chose ahi tuna with garden vegetables; leaner protein with skinnier sides. Everyone else ordered appetizers, so I did too, but instead of a creamy pasta dish or a salad oozing dressing, I picked seared scallops.

The choices worked out well for me; this morning when I stepped on the scale I’d lost a half a pound, putting me firmly in 20+ territory. While I know I can’t attribute that all to the choices I made at dinner last night, I acknowledge that had I ordered the way I would have two months ago the outcome the next day would’ve likely been different.