Friend of Julie: Eating Out

One of the things about this program I continue to marvel at is how easy it is to eat out. I look at the menu options and see all the things I can't eat. I used to only see what I couldn't eat or feel guilty because I ate those options. That isn't the case today.  If I look at a menu and don't see something I want to eat, I move along to another place. When I was in NYC last week, I was traveling with a vegetarian and it was nice that we were both on the same page with finding a menu that met both of our needs. It wasn't an issue that one of us didn't see something we wanted to eat, we both agreed to keep going until we found the right place to eat. And there are tons of places that serve the kind of food we both wanted.

It's amazing how accommodating places are when I order something not quite on their menu. There's a deli near where I work that I've been having lunch at for over a decade. I order sandwiches without the bread and they make me a beautiful plate. I go to Dunkin Donuts and order a large coffee with extra milk, and no sugar, with a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich - without the bread. Once in a while they have a new server and I have to explain my drill..."charge me for a sandwich combo, they don't discount this, and let the cook know the sandwich is without the bread." The cook and I have it worked out that she'll put the cheese in between the meat and egg, so it doesn't stick to the cardboard they place it in.

Pannikin Coffee & Tea, Encinitas, CA

When I first started this program I gave up coffee. It was easier to give up coffee than to try and drink it without sugar. Three months later, while on vacation in California, I had breakfast with a friend at my favorite breakfast place in southern California, the Pannikin, where they make the best Café au lait. They make froth like nobody else. I ordered my breakfast and a Café au lait, had a great visit with my friend, ordered a second cup and visited for another hour. From then on, I've been drinking my coffee without sugar.

I remember a few weeks into this journey when I was in a grocery store and suddenly I was seeing things differently. I  saw baked goods in a different way. I didn't feel the need to have them, I appreciated how beautiful they looked. I'd never understood people who saw food in this way until then. That's not to say I never want baked goodies, but the moment comes and goes. I know this has to do with the work Julie does and I'm happy to have this now a part of my life.

Pannikin Coffee & Tea

This new view of food is best understood by this analogy: I don't feel the need to eat the beautiful pastry or pizza or whatever the food is, anymore than I would want to eat a beautiful flower or leaf. I appreciate it's beauty for what it is and I move on.

My dreams, well that's something different. I have had a few dreams about eating foods that are not on my current program. A few nights ago I had a dream in which I told Julie and the group that I ate chocolate chip cookies. The dream was so real, that after I woke up and started brushing my teeth, I found myself trying to remember when I ate the cookies. It took a few minutes before I realized I hadn't eaten cookies, it was only in my dream.

Tonight I'm going to see Julie for a refresher and I'm looking forward to it. I go to these refreshers to help me stay strong on the program and to learn more. I've had great success with this program and I want to stay strong on this course. I haven't gone off course, except in my dreams, since I started the end of January 2011. No scale. No sugar. No exception.

How about you? How's your program going?

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