PRIORITIES & A WEIGH IN!

Last night after work, Chris surprised me with a night away in the big city (well - big for Utah).  He had made a reservation for us at the Radisson downtown, AND at a fancy steak house. I am ashamed to admit that the first thought that went through my mind was "oh no!  my weigh in is tomorrow!  This will not be good!".

Balance.  I need to remember that life long change is about balance.

Honestly, I panicked...and I think Chris saw the panic on my face, and that hurt his feelings.  UGH!!!  I need to keep my priorities straight.  Here my husband just went through all this effort to get child care, get someone to take the girls to their volleyball games, get a hotel, make a reservation for dinner...and I'm thinking about my damn weigh in AND hurting his feelings in the process!

PLEASE!

Although losing weight and getting healthy is incredibly important to me, my husband and my family are so much more important to me it isn't even funny.  I realize that being fit and healthy will help me to be a better wife and mother in the long run...but while I'm getting there, I need to make sure that I keep my priorities in check AND stay balanced.

I tried to change my attitude, but that damn weigh in was looming over me.  So, I just decided to take the scale with me and do my best to control my calories at dinner...oh yeah, and work out WITH OUT FAIL at the hotel after dinner.

And that is exactly what I did.

Chris and I had a fantastic evening.  We ate at Fleming's steak house, just a short walk from our hotel...and let me tell you, it was AMAZING.  The prices took my breath away, but we decided to share an entree to lessen both the cost and calories.  We ended up eating the following:

• Filet Mignon - 11 oz.  (we each got 5.5 oz)
• Grilled Jumbo Shrimp Skewers w/ Chimichurri dipping sauce (we split the plate and used the dipping sauce very sparingly)
• Baked Potato (we split it and ordered the toppings on the side so we could control the amount of "stuff" that went onto it.  I ended up topping mine with a little sour cream, chives & bacon.  I skipped the butter and the cheese.)
• Grilled Asparagus - TO. DIE. FOR.
• Free Bread - yeah, we ate the damn free bread.  It was good, but certainly not worth the calories.  It was the only think I would do different about our meal.  Just not calories worth spending.

It was such a delicious meal!  We both felt very satisfied, and although it wasn't the meal I would normally want to eat the night before a weigh in, I was very happy that we had made an effort to make good choices!  BTW - the steak we shared was one of the best steaks I have ever eaten in my life.  It was AMAZING.  I do recommend Fleming's, for sure - but if you eat there, prepare for the sticker shock.  It is not cheap!

When we got back to the hotel we changed into work out gear and headed down to the fitness center.  I walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes while watching The Office and laughing my a** off,  and Chris swam and relaxed in the hot tub.  I know that a romantic evening out with the spouse doesn't usually include a workout, but I feel lucky that my husband recognized how important it was for me to make my health and fitness goals part of the night.

This morning, when we got up, I was committed to weighing in.  I got the scale out of the bag, wandered into the bathroom and stepped on.  Here is what I saw:

I'm not going to lie, I was sad.  A loss of only 0.2 lbs.  I kept trying to tell myself "well, at least it's a loss", but that didn't really help.  I was grateful that I didn't lose ground, but it was obvious that I needed to commit to a week of really clean eating.

The reality is this.  Fleming's was not my only eat out this week.  The last 2 weeks I have allowed eating out to creep back into my habits.  Even though I am tracking the calories, let's face it, the sodium and hidden calories in restaurant food makes it VERY difficult to stay on track.  I ate out a total of 4 times this week! Jimmy John's, India Palace, Fleming's & Cafe Rio.  Not good.  After I looked back over my tracking journal I actually felt good that I didn't GAIN weight!!  I have flooded my body with sodium!!  And again, the calories are basically a guesstimate!

Ups and downs...this journey is all about highs and lows.  The key, I think, is to make sure to make it a learning process.  This week I learned:

• Keep things in balance and remember priorities
• Limit eat outs to very rare occasions!  Make it worth it! AND skip the free crap they try to give you at the beginning of the meal.
• You can have a FANTASTIC meal and still make good choices!
• Working out, without eating right, just can't save the day!  BUT, it can help you not lose ground.
• I am a blessed woman...my husband is amazingly supportive and I am so damn lucky to have him!

I am glad that I got 2 workouts in this week!  I am still struggling with this aspect of my health journey.  Bottom line, I don't like working out.  Oh well, like it or not, its important and I am forcing myself to do it right now.  How long 'til this is a habit???  Seriously, I hope I can hold on that long!

We have very rainy weather today, so I am going to be homesteading with the family.  Have a great weekend and a great week to come!!!