Relapse and Recovery

Last week was special in so many ways; I'll highlight one.  I had dinner Thursday night with high school friends I haven't seen in as many as 30 years.  Marla Robertson came to town on her way to Norman for a wedding and wanted to know if I'd like to have dinner with her.  In the end, Terry Cummings, Brenda Wilson, Ron and Annette and I met at Hattie's.  I felt confident about the evening because I prepared my menu, with Jack's help, earlier.  What a fabulous time we had!!!  Reminiscing about old times and catching up with our lives made the evening fly by!

However, all my planning went out the window when I saw the menu!  Rather than order the chicken with the sauce on the side, I ordered shrimp and grits.  Had that been my only diversion, perhaps I would not have suffered a 3 pound gain and endless lectures from my coach.  Oh no, I also had 3 martinis!  I probably ate, in one meal, what I could have lived on for 2 days.  I made a conscience choice to eat what I did.  Boy, it was good.  Now my dilemma was how to handle the results of my relapse.

Previously, I am sure I would have continued to eat poorly for at least a week.  Although I did have a Sausage McMuffin for breakfast the next day, I ate a good lunch and dinner.  I did not increase my walking Friday night, but this weekend, I walked like a fool!  Saturday and Sunday's menus were light and delicious.  My goal, to eat what I like within reason, is coming to fruition.

I learned that recovery from relapse is not impossible.  Recovery takes commitment and effort.  I learned that the taste of new foods or those which are not best for me is not always worth the cost of recovery.  My walk on Saturday morning started slowly and stiffly.  Four miles later, my body loosened and keeping to my walking program is easier.  As of this morning, I lost 1 of the 3 pounds I gained.  The best lesson is that I understand what recovery takes.  I am not always willing to fight this long to recover from a couple of hours of food bliss.

Lesson learned.