Friday, May 25, 2007

Challenging Weekend Ahead

One of the toughest diet-related challenges for me is to take a pass on food during social situations. It's easy, when I'm at home, to eat appropriately. It's easy to count calories, figure out what I'm allowed to have, and go from there.

It's much tougher when I have to do the same in social situations. Restaurants are dangerous. Being invited over to someone's house is even worse. This weekend, I've got two friends/family BBQ/potluck gatherings to attend, and I know they are going to be tough.

Both involve really good food served buffet-style, which is the hardest to resist.

I wish I could just not go, but both parties involve gatherings for a military friend who will be deployed to Iraq next weekend. A week from tomorrow she'll be saying goodbye to all her friends and family and getting on a plane headed for one of the most dangerous parts of the world. If we are all very lucky, she'll return home safely in six months. If not, her tour of duty could be extended, or she could come home injured or worse.

Facing a diet challenge is the least I can do, given the circumstances. But I still wish I didn't have to go. I wish my friend wasn't leaving in the first place. Regardless of how one feels about the war (pro or con), it's very hard to say goodbye to a friend knowing her life will be in jeopardy every single minute that she's there.

Even if we didn't have the family gatherings, I expect this weekend will be tough, anyway. The Kid has been exhibiting some pretty challenging behaviors of late, which means the stress level in the house is high. Although I'm not prone to stress-induced binges, I do tend to be less willing to make the effort regarding wise food choices when I'm stressed. When things are tough at home, it's hard to be focused on making good choices in other areas.

Oh well, things always get better. I just wish I had a big enough freezer.

2 comments:

Shannon said...

I wish your friend a very safe return. She is very brave and I am very grateful there are people such as her to serve our incredible country.

Congrats on your TERRIFIC weigh in! I hope it helps get you through this weekend with all of the choices you'll have to make. Don't you wish getting weight off was as easy as it was to get on?? HA!!! There's a joke...

On a side note, what is a typical menu for you in a day?

Mr F. said...

Nice blog! thanks for stopping by. God bless your friend, enjoy your weekend. we're gonna try and hang low to avoid any massive eating situations, but we'll probably lose control and wind up prone.

the Fats