Conquering Eating Addiction... The Tests Continue

I'm very happy with myself. I passed two eating addiction tests this week on my way to total control of my eating habits.

Friday night is pizza night at our house and prior to January 6th I would go to the local pizzeria and pick up the order. Confession time... I had a little secret habit of buying an extra slice of Sicilian pizza (a corner slice of course) and eating on the way home... cold. Then I would eat 3 slices of pizza at the dinner table. All together this was around a 1400 calorie dinner.

When I changed my life I asked my wife to take over the duty of picking up the pizza on Fridays. I didn't think I could trust myself and I didn't want to slip into that habit again. Last night I didn't have a choice. I had to go there because my wife was busy with something. As I drove the the pizzeria I thought about it. I told myself I would not give in. Then I heard a voice say, "it's only a slice, you can make it up tomorrow". I almost bought into my own rationalization but I caught myself. I told myself I have come this far and I'm not going to F this up now. How could I face my family if I closet ate like this?.. how could I lie to myself?

I parked the car, went into the place and made pleasant conversation with the owner who said "hey, haven't seen you in a while". Amazingly during the exchange not once did I think about the asking for the extra slice. I just talked, paid, picked up the order and split. BTW.. I now have a grilled chicken salad on Friday's nights with 1/2 slice of pizza.

When I got in the car I really felt great about what I had accomplished. This was a major step in conquering my eating addiction. I visualized coming back to the pizzeria a year from now and the owner saying... "man, you lost a lot of weight". To which I would reply "yeah, remember when I use to order that extra slice?" and us both having a laugh about it. The reality of it is that it's no laughing manner.

I had another test Thursday at lunch. I was in NYC and took a few co-worker for lunch at Friday's. Fortunately, NYC has calories on the menu because Friday's menu is a food land mine. What you would think is a healthy choice is loaded with calories. I ordered a Cobb salad minus avocado and cheddar cheese with vinagrette dressing. When it arrived it had chunks of blue cheese and bacon on it. I ate the lettuce, black olives, tomatoes, sliced boiled egg and diced grilled chicken. When the waitress removed my plate she took away the pile of bacon bites and blue cheese. The old me would have eaten those piles first. The new me left them there untouched. I felt real good about that too.

These were both serious tests for me. Having passed them I now feel like I can control myself around food. It's a great feeling. However, I still think I have some behavioral issues I need to be aware of and I will not let my guard down.

BTW... I decided to weigh myself every two weeks so next Saturday will be my weigh in. I did a check this morning though and I'm down one pound since last Saturday. I also fit into a pair of jeans that use to fit me like a sausage skin on me. How cool!

All the best...

ETL