Day 122 & Only One Day a Year

Hello again, Readers,

Confession time. Thursday was my birthday.

So my 93-year-old aunt who still lives alone invited me to lunch on Wednesday (because my actual birthday day was a conflict with her hairdo appointment). She always has been and still is a great cook! I did just fine with portion control and no seconds of the baked ham, green beans, fried okra (just 3 little pieces), corn, potato salad, crowder peas, cornbread (just 1 little muffin), tomatoes and cucumbers. And probably a couple of things I can't remember at the moment. But...of course she had dessert and it was...chocolate chess pie. OMG!

If my aunt is 93 and can prepare a full meal, then I, at 53, can darn well eat dessert on my birthday. So I did. She did offer ice cream with it, but I politely declined. She has no idea I am on a plan to get healthier, which includes weight loss, and I didn't bother her with it.

What did I do to prepare for this overeating? I only had a small banana and 1/2 of a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast. Then I started drinking the water. How many calories was the lunch? I am counting it as 1,000. Nothing was drowning in grease or salt, but I DID eat the dessert. And at dinner I only had grilled chicken and salad. Day over, just a small overage on calories. However, I did notice that after eating that pie, I guess it spiked my sugar, because I was hungry for something sweet or carbohydrate for the rest of the day. I was aware of this and did not cave in, but it's just amazing what your body tells you if you will just listen.

At this point, we are still at the day BEFORE my birthday. So Thursday was the day. I ate yogurt and 3 strawberries for breakfast. I walked 2 miles on the treadmill. Then Husband took me to lunch at a little restaurant we like because it offers healthy options. I had grilled tilapia, steamed broccoli, and a small salad. Healthy choices.

This is where it gets nasty. In the early evening my neighbor called me to come over. There were 8 of my neighbors around the table, and a bar loaded down with chips, cheese dip, 2 kinds of salsa, some kind of little homemade bread rounds, chocolate dipped strawberries, key lime cake, and...margaritas! Oh, and cards and presents!

I had no choice. I ate a little of everything. No seconds. Only one margarita. I didn't fall off the wagon. I didn't take any leftovers to eat later. Then for dinner Husband cooked steaks and we had a small salad. Whew! I sort of felt that I had navigated a minefield.

All the special birthday eating is over now. I still have time before Tuesday's weigh-in to get the sweet and salty stuff out of my system. But I will have to really watch what I eat over the weekend. And I am going to do just that.

The treadmill has made my knees and right hip hurt a little. Both knees are unusually warm. I think I have just overdone a bit. So today I skipped the treadmill. I plan on taking Dog for a walk, since the humidity is not as high today. And I will do some squats and pushups and the light weight lifting.

I'm sorry if I have bored you. My point in all this is that I have been tested this week and made it just fine. And, thankfully, it is only one day a year.

Thanks for reading. And remember that this is not a diet, it is a way of life.