Too Much of a Bad Thing
Last night was a planned night of extreme indulgence, and it doubled as a learning experience. My kids are spending the week at my mom's house, a couple hours drive away. Most couples would probably plan out something really fun to do on a holiday weekend, but for my uber-fit husband and this trying-to-get-there wife, we are all about food. We eat clean all the rest of the week, so when we have a chance to venture out and eat some deliciously naughty food, it really feels like a treat.
We started off with an early dinner at our favorite cozy spot, Tucson's. The service there is always stellar, and the atmosphere is refreshingly relaxed, the food is always good. I usually keep it clean and get the ahi tuna fajitas and just eat it without the tortillas, but tonight was a planned cheat and with us not having the kids, it lowered our inhibitions more than usual. I ordered a dish called Chicken El Cortez, which is basically death-by-cheese, with a little bit of panko-crusted chicken thrown in for good measure. I was only about quarter of the way through when I began to feel myself getting full. I had eaten some chips and salsa before my meal, and gulped down a diet coke, so I already had a lot to deal with before my extremely rich, heavy meal arrived. The taste of that dish was a total knockout, very crave-worthy. I gave a good amount to my husband, just so there wouldn't be any leftovers. We were trying to decide whether or not to go get some ice cream from a local custard shop, and of course we decided to do it. We each had a frozen blender treat with bits of sweet stuff in it, for him a reeces peanut butter cup blender, for me a turtle blender. Two bites into it, I regreted eating it, but did I stop? No. We paid good money for this, so I better just eat it. The ice cream (or custard, whatever it was) was over-the-top sweet to begin with, then there was a layer of carmel running through it and sugared pecans. Blech! After eating it, I could just feel the lactose in my system, and was anticipating the GI distress I would likely be experiencing later. But this was our night, our entitlement to enjoy ourselves by way of our mouths, so the evening continued. After the ice cream, we went for a walk on the beautiful Fox River trail, the one where I ran my 5K. While we were walking, I kept remembering how it felt to be running there. Although I wasn't enjoying the exersion of running, the feeling that kept me going was the fact that I am now healthy and fit enough to run a 5K, where many many other people (who looked of average size and health) had to stop and walk for a while. I, the former heart attack candidate, was actually doing something that not everyone can do. And with my cheese and ice cream filled, protruding gut, I was walking along the same path on a hot, sticky day, feeling like all I wanted to do was go take a nap with the air conditioner blasting. What a difference clean eating makes in how my body feels!
We went to rent a movie next, then off to the buy some alcohol. What an all-american evening we mapped out for ourselves! I had once tried some Lambrusco with a meal at our favorite Indian restaurant, and loved it, so I got a bottle of lambrusco, which was really difficult to find. My husband likes to experiment with beer from different countries, so he got 3 bottles and then we got a small bottle of Captain Morgan's spiced rum to mix with Diet Coke.
By 9 PM we were watching our rented movie, (Cedar Rapids) which provided a few laughs, and drinking. Normally, that would sound like such a drag, but it seemed right in line with the rest of our gut-busting indulgent day. The wine was not what I was expecting, it was really sugary and weak, and after drinking 3 glasses I was stone sober and uncomfortably full. I switched to rum, which instantly made me feel better since I mixed it with Diet Coke. The night ended, for me, after a second rum drink, and me falling asleep watching Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. My sleep was not great, and during the times I was awake, I kept thinking to myself, I can't believe I used to live like this, it's really not even enjoyable to me anymore. My body feels like garbage and whatever fulfillment I was expecting to get out of my fantasy of a mega-indulgence just didn't happen. It just isn't worth it.
This morning I awoke, begrudgingly, with a dizzy head, burning stomach, and feeling really dehydrated. But after the way last night's indulgences made my body feel, I knew which way I wanted to feel today, so I strapped on my shoes and hit the pavement. The sun felt good on my bare shoulders, and I did a fairly low intensity walk, but afterword, I felt much better. Today will consist of drinking a lot of fluids, eating squeaky clean, and enjoying the company of my handsome husband. We may see a matinee of Water for Elephants, which looks like a phenomenal movie, and maybe a nature walk or a trip to the beach before capping the night off with fireworks. Tomorrow, it's back to work, and it will be business as usual. I don't even feel tempted to eat anything off plan today, it was really the ice cream that was the kicker for me. Every time I think of it I shiver in disgust, which is a great way to keep myself from wanting sweets of any kind. In that manner, I am glad I ate that sickeningly-sweet disaster last night. Sometimes the fantasy of a thing is much more fulfilling than the actual happening. For me, the way my body feels when I put the right things in it, is enough to keep me from indulging like that for a good long time.
Happy 4th of July to my American readers, and for my other readers, I hope you had an awesome start to your week!
We started off with an early dinner at our favorite cozy spot, Tucson's. The service there is always stellar, and the atmosphere is refreshingly relaxed, the food is always good. I usually keep it clean and get the ahi tuna fajitas and just eat it without the tortillas, but tonight was a planned cheat and with us not having the kids, it lowered our inhibitions more than usual. I ordered a dish called Chicken El Cortez, which is basically death-by-cheese, with a little bit of panko-crusted chicken thrown in for good measure. I was only about quarter of the way through when I began to feel myself getting full. I had eaten some chips and salsa before my meal, and gulped down a diet coke, so I already had a lot to deal with before my extremely rich, heavy meal arrived. The taste of that dish was a total knockout, very crave-worthy. I gave a good amount to my husband, just so there wouldn't be any leftovers. We were trying to decide whether or not to go get some ice cream from a local custard shop, and of course we decided to do it. We each had a frozen blender treat with bits of sweet stuff in it, for him a reeces peanut butter cup blender, for me a turtle blender. Two bites into it, I regreted eating it, but did I stop? No. We paid good money for this, so I better just eat it. The ice cream (or custard, whatever it was) was over-the-top sweet to begin with, then there was a layer of carmel running through it and sugared pecans. Blech! After eating it, I could just feel the lactose in my system, and was anticipating the GI distress I would likely be experiencing later. But this was our night, our entitlement to enjoy ourselves by way of our mouths, so the evening continued. After the ice cream, we went for a walk on the beautiful Fox River trail, the one where I ran my 5K. While we were walking, I kept remembering how it felt to be running there. Although I wasn't enjoying the exersion of running, the feeling that kept me going was the fact that I am now healthy and fit enough to run a 5K, where many many other people (who looked of average size and health) had to stop and walk for a while. I, the former heart attack candidate, was actually doing something that not everyone can do. And with my cheese and ice cream filled, protruding gut, I was walking along the same path on a hot, sticky day, feeling like all I wanted to do was go take a nap with the air conditioner blasting. What a difference clean eating makes in how my body feels!
We went to rent a movie next, then off to the buy some alcohol. What an all-american evening we mapped out for ourselves! I had once tried some Lambrusco with a meal at our favorite Indian restaurant, and loved it, so I got a bottle of lambrusco, which was really difficult to find. My husband likes to experiment with beer from different countries, so he got 3 bottles and then we got a small bottle of Captain Morgan's spiced rum to mix with Diet Coke.
By 9 PM we were watching our rented movie, (Cedar Rapids) which provided a few laughs, and drinking. Normally, that would sound like such a drag, but it seemed right in line with the rest of our gut-busting indulgent day. The wine was not what I was expecting, it was really sugary and weak, and after drinking 3 glasses I was stone sober and uncomfortably full. I switched to rum, which instantly made me feel better since I mixed it with Diet Coke. The night ended, for me, after a second rum drink, and me falling asleep watching Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. My sleep was not great, and during the times I was awake, I kept thinking to myself, I can't believe I used to live like this, it's really not even enjoyable to me anymore. My body feels like garbage and whatever fulfillment I was expecting to get out of my fantasy of a mega-indulgence just didn't happen. It just isn't worth it.
This morning I awoke, begrudgingly, with a dizzy head, burning stomach, and feeling really dehydrated. But after the way last night's indulgences made my body feel, I knew which way I wanted to feel today, so I strapped on my shoes and hit the pavement. The sun felt good on my bare shoulders, and I did a fairly low intensity walk, but afterword, I felt much better. Today will consist of drinking a lot of fluids, eating squeaky clean, and enjoying the company of my handsome husband. We may see a matinee of Water for Elephants, which looks like a phenomenal movie, and maybe a nature walk or a trip to the beach before capping the night off with fireworks. Tomorrow, it's back to work, and it will be business as usual. I don't even feel tempted to eat anything off plan today, it was really the ice cream that was the kicker for me. Every time I think of it I shiver in disgust, which is a great way to keep myself from wanting sweets of any kind. In that manner, I am glad I ate that sickeningly-sweet disaster last night. Sometimes the fantasy of a thing is much more fulfilling than the actual happening. For me, the way my body feels when I put the right things in it, is enough to keep me from indulging like that for a good long time.
Happy 4th of July to my American readers, and for my other readers, I hope you had an awesome start to your week!
You have made so many good points in this post, of course you need an indulgence day now and again otherwise life is not worth living. And I've never heard of Cedar Rapids, who is in it?
ReplyDeleteThanks Tony. The main character is played by Ed Helms, from the American version of the Office, but he is easily overshadowed by John C. Riley and Anne Heche. It's OK for a chuckle, makes a little bit of fun of us simple folk from Wisconsin!
ReplyDeleteJohn C Reilly and Anne Heche are always a sign of quality.
ReplyDelete