As I’m writing this, there are 10 plump blueberry muffins sitting on the kitchen counter… right behind me, about a dozen feet away, just through the open window between my sunroom home office and the kitchen.
I can almost feel them staring a hole through my back.
They came out of the oven around 7pm last night, just as I was walking in the door after a 12 hour day of total will power against a buffet of carb choices.
(My teen daughter should be grounded for that -lol)
I spent the day in Nashville attending the Food Blog Forum event, which was fully catered – offering a beautiful breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack.
Breakfast was an endless buffet of muffins, scones, danishes, cinnamon rolls, bagels and fruit juices.
And then I spotted the fruit tray. Still out of my carb range, until I saw the big red strawberries in the bottom tray. I decided to have a half dozen strawberries along with bottled water & coffee.
Then I quickly made my way out of the food area and into the conference room before I lost my will power. 😛
Fortunately I’d had a Quest Bar on the way there. Knowing it was going to be a long day, and not knowing what the food choices would be, I decided to go prepared – and I’m glad I did.
I often carry “emergency provisions” in my bag when I’m out. Things like Splenda packets, Quest Bars, sometimes even Low Carb Tortillas in a Ziploc bag – which are great for handling a big messy burger or sandwich on the go.
And yes, I feel like my grandmother pulling crazy stuff like that out of my bag – LOL. At least it’s not used tissues and Wrigley’s gum. 😛
Usually you can find things like Splenda anywhere you go, but not always – and not yesterday. The only sugar free option they had was Stevia. I tried it, but my tastebuds just like Splenda better.
I’ve found I’m less likely to indulge/cheat if I actually have things I LIKE on hand.
Speaking of Splenda, I realize some of you are not keen on artificial sweeteners. To each his own, I say. Splenda has been instrumental in helping me make the switch to a Low Carb Diet, and cutting the sugar out of my day while still enjoying the coffee I adore so very much. If it kills me, at least I’ll die skinny! And that’s all I have to say about that. 😉 (Besides, I smoke menthol cigarettes – so please, choose your battles with me wisely, okay?)
Will Power = Conscious Choices
I was pretty pleased I made it through the morning without scarfing down muffins and scones, or breaking down and just having a good cry over it (lol). Those beautiful pastries stayed out on display the entire day, by the way – making it a battle every time I walked through the lobby area. I was seriously tempted once or twice, I admit. Especially when I was all alone with the carbs and I knew nobody would ever know but me.
What did I do? I asked myself the usual question every time I felt tempted: “do you want that *more* than you want to be thinner?” The answer was always no. That’s been the key to Will Power for me – consciously forcing myself to make logical choices instead of emotional choices.
I also consider whether I want to feel pleased with myself at the end of the day, or disappointed in myself. That disappointment sucks, and I’d prefer to avoid that feeling – which just makes me want to curl up with a treat and indulge in juicy carb fantasies as a means of comforting my sad little feelings (which doesn’t even work anyway).
Fortunately on a Low Carb Diet there are tons of wonderful, delicious food choices. It’s not like I have to miss out on indulgences at all. It’s just a matter of consciously choosing fabulous yummy low carb foods, then ENJOY feeling skinnier and being pleased with myself.
(If we know all of this, why is it still so hard sometimes?!)
And Then There Was Lunch…
We were treated to an awesome array of foods at the Food Blog Forum seminar. Nashville has some 40+ food trucks, and three of the best arrived with an assortment of choices.
An assortment of carbs, that is – LOL.
I chose @RiffsTruck. The other two were Japanese and Mexican, and Riff’s – well, I had no idea what they were serving but the line was shorter.
The side of the truck said “Special: Shrimp & Grits” (I think), but it also said “ask about Vegetarian & Gluten Free options” at the bottom of the sign. Gluten Free is often close to Low Carb, so when it was my turn to order I asked about the options. The guy was super nice and after double checking with one of the cooks he came back with a big smile and said, “Don’t worry – we’ll fix you up something special!” 😀
My “lunch surprise” was impressively fabulous! I have no idea what the total carb count was, or what the little yellow things were, but the rest was: tender seasoned grilled fish, grilled tomatoes & zucchini and peppers:
O.M.G. Y.U.M. !!!
It was a long day, but I survived the entire thing without splurging on all the beautiful carbs that were offered. I drove home pretty pleased with myself over that, but was super hungry when I walked in the door (to the smell of warm blueberry muffins, no less) at 7pm.
I changed into comfy clothes and flip flops and headed right back out – to the local Waffle House. I decided to reward myself with a big plate of Pork Chops & Eggs. 😀
I made it through the muffin craving this morning too. No easy feat. I decided to try the new “Peanut Butter & Jelly” Quest Bar for breakfast instead. They just came out with it last week, and while I’m not a big fan of the “Peanut Butter Supreme” flavor, I thought I’d give it a try anyway. The PB&J is MUCH better. Love it!! So that makes 3 favorite flavors now, and a handy option when I’m on the go…
What about you – what works for you when you need Will Power the most? How do you make your Healthy Food Choices when you’re faced with other tempting options??
Unfortunately I have been failing miserably. My inner bad girl has been ruling lately. It seems the more I say I am going to stay away from carbs, the more I want them. I feel like Veruca from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, “I want it, Daddy, and I want it now.” I have been searching the internet for inspiration and I found you. You have motivated me. I needed what you wrote today. I am going to try that pep talk you gave to yourself. I look forward to your emails and checking in on your site. I am so glad you had a successful day yesterday. I imagine it feels real good. Thank you for your honesty and inspiration. You go, girl π
Hey Suze, glad you joined us!
I had to *LOL* at your Veruca quote -haha. The intentional decision thing really has been a big help to me. I’m more of an emotional eater, and especially love a “food experience”. My cravings have only started back recently. For months there I had no desire at all for carbs. My fault though – it was a few crazy binges that did me in and kicked those cravings back in gear. Not eating junk is the best way to get rid of the cravings for it in my experience!
I look forward to hearing more from you & getting to know you!
That is so sweet. I am sure you will be hearing from me often and getting to know me since I am lurking on your page every day to check in, admire your success, and see what is new in the low-carb world. I am getting ready to order some Quest bars today with the frree shipping coupon. How fun is that???? I think I am going to try what Howard said about the artificial sweeteners. I think that revs up my desire for sweets and carbs. It will be an experiment, if you will. I will keep you posted how that goes. I can almost hear Veruca in the background screaming π I wish you a great week of eating.
Thank you, and you too!!
I happen to like my sweeteners and don’t find they give me any trouble, though everyone is different – so testing is a good thing! For me, doing without feels like “punishment” and is more likely to throw me over the edge than other things (lol). More on that in an upcoming post π
Nice job on the whole will power thing. I’m proud of you.
Thanks – you’re lucky I didn’t snag your waffle *and* your toast that night! π LOL
The yellow looks like couscous to me — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couscous assuming it’s not corn, which I am sure you would have recognized! In any case, looks delish. π
Thanks for sharing your struggles! One thing that helps me is to realize that those pastries never really taste as good as I think they will… and I only want to spend my calories on stuff that’s amazing. And if it is really amazing, I might go ahead and have a bit… and make up for it later!
Have you found that you plateau and then suddenly lose a pound or two? That’s been happening to me and I wonder if it’s just the nature of LC diets…
Thanks for the link, Lain! I looked it up and the carb count is a lot higher than I would prefer – but it was every bit as delicious as it looked, LOL.
With the Low Carb diet, I have found that weight loss tends to come in spurts like that – yes. In the beginning my weight on the scales would seem to stall for days at a time, then all of a sudden they would move several pounds.
Right now my weight loss has slowed down dramatically, but that’s because I’m getting into those last 10-20 pounds, which always come off slower (and why I am starting to exercise to kick my metabolism up a notch!).
You mentioned spending calories – are you counting those as well? I know Dana Carpender is experimenting with something like that on her Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dana-Carpenders-Hold-The-Toast-Press/118433594850660 …
“(Besides, I smoke menthol cigarettes β so please, choose your battles with me wisely, okay?)”
I could have sworn that I read somewhere that you had quit smoking.
I did quit – over a year ago. I started back about 4 months later π
“What about you β what works for you when you need Will Power the most? How do you make your Healthy Food Choices when youβre faced with other tempting options??”
For me, I didn’t need much willpower after I discovered that the arthritis (that had forced me to quit playing my violin in public for over 5 years) suddenly vanished. It was something like the feeling you might get if you stop hitting yourself in the head with a hammer.
The other thing that helps is that I’m simply not hungry all the time anymore. In fact, I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to be ravenously hungry, it’s been so long. If you are still hungry on low-carb, it is probably because of artificial sweeteners (Google “Your small intestine has taste buds!” and read what Dr. Mary Vernon has to say about that).
Great to hear that you don’t deal with cravings or have a problem with will power. That’s awesome!
My problem is not hunger. I don’t actually have to be hungry to eat (lol). I’m more of an emotional eater, and will even eat way past the “full” stage. π I’m a total foodie, which is why the Low Carb Diet has worked so well for me – I don’t have to do without, can still indulge (in the right food choices), and don’t have to count fat/calories/portions.
Hey Lynn-
I don’t count calories unless I know I’ve eaten too many carbs — then I try to keep an eye on overall cals.
I had a bad popcorn encounter yesterday at the movie theater! Popcorn is one of my fave foods, but here’s the interesting thing… the movie popcorn didn’t taste that great, and I found myself eating more thinking I’d get that enjoyment at some point. I didn’t! So now I know that if the first bite doesn’t taste good, I need to stop because the second and third aren’t going to taste any better. π
I hear you -lol. I’ve gotten to the bottom of many a container only to find there’s no prize there (fulfillment of any sort) π Keep that bad taste in your mouth next time you’re tempted to eat a bucket of popcorn. That’s what I do π Oh, and carry some Almonds with you as a crunchy, salty replacement!