Oh, I have another confession to make. For the first time in a long time, I set the alarm to get up on a Sunday morning.  If you think that this is nothing abnormal or blog/news-worthy; know that for our household, it is. Normally, my husband and I rely on our “kid-alarms” to get us up at a reasonable hour to be able to get to church on time (works about 9 out of 10 times), but this Sunday I must confess that I set the alarm because I did NOT want to miss church today. Today was communion Sunday. During today’s service, I was going to receive a tiny wafer and a thimble full of sweet red wine, and since it’s for church, it can’t  be considered cheating on my diet, right? I mean, I can’t really ask the pastor for a more “paleo-freindly” option, so I guess it’s going to have to be “carbs for Christ”.  During service while the communion plates were being passed, my husband must have seen the sheer delight on my face, and she shook his head with a knowing grin. (Not gonna lie, I took an awfully loooong time to chew that wafer.)

See, it was my first week-end of Paleo-dieting while still trying to be a normal, socializing, human being. There were birthday parties, soccer games, BBQ’s, etc. to attend. Like most social gatherings in our culture, food would be a large part of them. I knew the temptations were coming and braced myself for them, when I should have just prepared for them. (Fortunately, the sharing of this blog had many of the friends and family I encountered over the week-end prepared for my odd dining behavior, and many even asked questions and showing interest and support in this journey. :))

The first challenge was turning away a cupcake yesterday at a birthday party #1. Yes, this seems ridiculous, but I LOVE SWEETS. To me, turning away a yummy iced concoction was like someone handing me a fistful of cash and me saying: “no thanks, my wallet is too thick at the moment. Just leave it on the table for someone else”.  My brother (the awesome personal trainer) told me that our bodies have learned to crave sugar and carbs and during a diet like this you go through similar withdrawal symptoms as you would if you were in drug rehab. Oh and I am in rehab from white, powdery substances alright… I want flour! Powdered sugar! Feeling these intense emotions over a cupcake can’t be normal, and I realized I needed help. (Admittance is at least the first step to recovery, right?)

It was after going to birthday party/BBQ #2 yesterday that I learned I needed to plan better and have a “food emergency” back-up. Birthday party #2 was a rocking pool party/BBQ where kids and adults alike were having a blast…and then there was me. After only 5 days of “the diet”, my neuroses and I of course feel am not quite”swimsuit ready”, so I didn’t swim,  couldn’t drink, and felt very unsatisfied eating only 1 un-sauced hamburger patty with a tomato and some onion on top, with a handful of raw broccoli and green pepper from the veggie tray (no dip!). The friends who knew I was dieting even gave me sympathetic looks and mouthed “I’m sorry” as they saw me try to relish each tiny bite of burger as they reached for the cookies on the massive cookie tray that just so happened to be on our table. Not gonna lie, I was more than fine to “have to take” our toddler daughter home for bed. This morning I kicked myself for letting a stupid thing like food and my own neuroses get in the way of fun…especially when my husband (who stayed at the party until @1 am), revealed to me that I missed the cops being called on the party around midnight after an apparently too-loud-too-raucous group karaoke rendition of a Dixie Chicks hit.

Lesson learned: DON’T LET A DIET get in the way of LIVING YOUR LIFE. It’s about FAMILY and FRIENDS, NOT FOOD. So, to not let this happen again, I have tried and will try some new tactics from now on. This morning, I deployed the first new tactic: The Emergency Nut Sack. Let me explan. After church (feeling not as satisfied as I thought I would after having “Christ’s carbs”) we have a tradition of going out to breakfast  before we pick up our son from Sunday school VBS. Today we chose my husband’s favorite: Steak N’ Shake. I was determined NOT to let my diet get in the way of our traditions. Surely, I could find something in either the breakfast or lunch menus to satisfy my appetite and my diet. 10 minutes after looking at nutrition information on my phone, (can you believe NO breakfast item is served without some sort of potato or bread?) my order went like something right out of “When Harry Met Sally” (one of the greatest movies of all time by the way)…

“I will have the grilled chicken salad. That’s GRILLED, please, with no croutons and no cheese but with the balsamic dressing…on the side. I would also like to add the guacamole but on the side. Thank you.” (waitress was kind enough to not roll her eyes in front of me)

While I waited for my breakfast salad, by husband enjoyed a cup of breakfast chili…with a ton of crackers…I felt my mouth start to water and started feeling sorry for and upset with myself. (I believe this is known in Snickers commercials as being “hangry”). Then I remembered the Emergency Nut Sack! I packed a snack-size plastic baggie full of cashews, almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc. (peanuts are a no-no right now) to snack on when the crave strikes! The protein packed flavor variety helped curb by appetite and my attitude. I now carry one in my purse all the time. If I am ever getting “hangry” again, all I have to do is whip out my little nut sack. 😉 (Yes. I went there.)

This tactic may not be perfection and did not make me stop craving chili and the new Steak N’ Shake Nutella shakes (hey, there WERE some hazelnuts in my emergency nut sack! Score!), but it was a decent fake-out for my mind and stomach in the restaurant…although not nearly as good as my other favorite Harry Met Sally restaurant fake-out scene.

“I’ll have what she’s having”.