Temptation

Let me tell you about the "events" I had to attend this week and how I dealt with them on the first week of my new diet.

Wednesday I attended a BBQ for the last night of our church youth club. There were hamburgers and hot dogs, which didn't really call to me since I was on the first day of the diet and feeling rather strong. The hardest part was that there was a basket full of green and red grapes and another full of carrot sticks. Tempted by the fruit? Yes. I knew I couldn't have the fattening stuff, but it was a new sensation to know that I wasn't able to eat even the healthy choices. I stayed "in the box" and didn't eat anything at all. I told the others at the table that I had dinner plans for later. I did...they involved a shake.

Thursday I had a sit down banquet for the scholarship and award winners for work. I'm in charge of the banquet. I get to play hostess and also stand on a stage to help pass out the plaques and certificates. The dinner looked and smelled delicious! I gave my chicken to a hungry guy sitting near me. He traded me his empty plate for my full one so it would look like I had already eaten. I told everyone that I was too nervous to eat before the presentations. I also left the dinner for a little while to help calm a fussy baby in the lobby. Anything to get away from watching other people eat.

Sunday we were invited to a going away party for a good friend who is moving to Austin, Texas. (Lucky him!) I thought about skipping the party entirely since it was being held at a pizza place. Pizza is probably my number 1 favorite food. But I didn't skip it. I actually went early to help another friend hold the tables until the rest of the people could come. That helped. I told her about my program and she was very interested and supportive. I drank two shakes before I left so that I wouldn't feel hungry. That helped for the first couple of hours. While my family ate, I moved around a lot and chatted with different people who were already finished eating. I helped my kids play games and trade in their tickets for prizes. No one noticed that I hadn't eaten, so I didn't need to explain myself to anyone else.

That was an awful lot of temptation to handle in the first week of the diet. I made it through, but there were times I thought I was going to grab a piece of pizza in spite of everything.

Even walking through the grocery store on Saturday was a strange, new experience. I went to buy flavorings for my shakes, but felt like I was in a forbidden place. I was very conscious of the fact that I can not eat anything at all. Even the produce section is off limits.

And how bad is it that I thought communion on Sunday tasted GREAT?