No Thank You

Whoops, haven't updated in a bit!

Last week, I spent the entire week on vacation. Actually, when you're trying to be careful and aware of your healthy eating habits, that should be ON VACATION. It's a treacherous and danger-filled situation, and one that I've historically not had the best of luck in coming out victorious in the past. For me, being On Vacation means a complete break from routine; it's good for my mind, but not for my eating habits. It means eating out almost exclusively, and it's my personality as a wannabe foodie (you have no idea how much Food Network I watch) to plunge in head first when the food is good and high-quality.

I still did that, to an extent, but I think I made some better choices than before. Maybe not necessarily the best choices available, but better. More importantly, I was in constant use of three important words:

"No, thank you."

You see, when I was a kid, I was the family Mikey. The one who ate the leftovers or what other people weren't having. Mikeys get a lot more food than they mean to, and when your family has one, the rest of the family gets into the habit of having one. So when I go out to dinner with my family, those old habits come up-- food comes in front of me, is offered to me, is brought home and my old habits respond in kind.

But this time, I put up a fight.

"No, thank you."

As much as I wanted that extra helping of fried calamari, or would have been happy to split that dessert, I stood my ground, at least for the most part. Maybe I wasn't exactly the Immovable Object, but did better than before, and when it comes to long-term changes, any progress is triumph.

I don't begrudge my family their old habits. I was polite and cheerful in my refusals, and I made it about how I was full, or I was choosing to stop eating. I'm sure that eventually, their habits will change to match mine. We all just need time and practice.

Weigh-in is tonight, and I know I've gained some, but I know it's not as much as it could have been, and I accept that.