Sweet Nothing Day 12: SURVIVAL

Oh boy, as if this challenge isn’t hard enough, I’m thrown the curveball of staying faithful to my commitment while on a business trip.  In the military, we call our business trips Temporary Duty Assignments or TDY.  I’m now away from the comfort of home, placed in the comfort of military hotels/lodging, and stuck with eating out in restaurants.

You may be asking, kini big deal?  Well, I now have to stay even more disciplined on the road while practicing how to resist the temptation of restaurant foods.  Try picking out healthy food from a menu, say a salad, while your colleagues are busy ordering cold soft drinks, and delicious assorted pieces of bread, with juicy meaty dishes, and then top it off with a yummy looking sugar filled cake.  This is the point where on the inside, I was mad that my timing for going on this no-sugar diet couldn’t be more off.  Well, I calmed down, took a deep breath, and reminded myself, “self, you are two weeks into this challenge, don’t give up.”

True discipline begins mentally. You’ve got to convince yourself that you can do it.  For breakfast, I stuck to eating porridge (oatmeal) and a banana, and as usual, I drank my water before and after my meal.  Mornings were easy. I didn’t go out to eat because I had such an early start to the day, so I was able to make the oatmeal using the microwave in my hotel room.

For lunch and dinner, I had to go out to eat because my teammates went out to eat.  Okay, I didn’t really have to go out to eat, but I wanted to hang out with my teammates. Besides, I saw this moment as an opportunity to test my resolve especially if I intend to make this challenge a permanent staple in my life.

The first thing I did when we got to the restaurant was to ask for a big glass of water and drank that before I even looked at the menu.  Then I requested a second glass of water while I looked at the menu.  For me, what this did was trick my mind into thinking that I wasn’t as hungry and I was less tempted to order the wrong foods.  The result, I felt full from drinking all that water, and suddenly all I wanted to eat was something light.  I could now confidently order a salad with baked chicken or baked fish and have a good piece of fruit for something sweet.

I used this “water system” throughout my business trip, and it worked.  I ended up drinking more water on my trip than when at home. Now, that’s a plus!

I’m halfway there, HURRAY!