Eat to Live!

Yesterday I was at a conference all day, and it turned out all evening too. I knew I would have a bit of a challenge with protein snacks between meals, so I made sure I had my raw almonds with me. And I am so thankful I had them! There were no breaks for me to go to a cafe or store to get anything else.

I had had my usual protein shake in the morning, and that did me well for a few hours. Halfway through the morning, my companions were munching on some snacks that I wouldn't touch - they were complete carbs, sugar, and chemicals. It's been a long time since I would even thinking of indulging in something like that. So, as they munched, I nibbled on a couple of almonds. That got me to lunch. Lesson number One: Be prepared!

The event served us box lunches. I HADN'T prepared a lunch because the event was a Kangen Water conference, and the hotel was a high-end hotel, so I figured anything they served would be decent. Oops. Lesson number Two: Don't assume!

Although they served the wonderful, alkaline, micro-clustered water that I have come to love so much myself, the box lunches were not as healthy. They tried. The roast beef was served on whole wheat rolls, and the chicken caesar was in a multi-grain wrap. I ate about half the wrap, and the salad and chicken inside. So, that wasn't too bad. The lunch came with baked potato chips - another item I have not had in a long time! I confess, I did eat the chips, and I was grateful for the treat, even though I knew they weren't the best, and I was wishing I had brought a small baggie of organic blue corn tortilla chips. They also served little containers of macaroni salad. I ate out all of the vegetables and barely touched the macaroni, and put it back on the box to bring home, along with the cookie they also gave me, as I knew my partner would appreciate both.

The day went on. There was a big gap between lunch and the 6:00 close time. Around 3:00, I was hungry again, and took out a few more almonds and had a few bites of the macaroni salad. At least I was balancing the carbs with protein, I reasoned. That actually appeased me until supper. Lesson number Three: Make the best of the situation!

I was unexpectedly invited to stay for the grand sit-down dinner that was offered, and realized that I would have to go another hour or more without eating. I had the last of the almonds I had brought with me, and one alcoholic drink - a shot of vodka with seltzer water and lime. I sipped on that until dinner was served.

When the salads came, I was disappointed to see only iceberg lettuce, but, I made the best of it. I avidly ate the salad with a trickle of the balsamic vinaigrette dressing that they served. Dinner was chicken breast in some sort of really tasty sauce, on top of root vegetables and mashed potatoes. By then I was really hungry, so I ate the vegetables and the chicken, and had a few bites of the potato.

Then they brought the dessert. I looked at that mass of white sugar and white flour with a little sweetened raspberry syrup over it and thought, "all I can eat on that are those two little raspberries," and so I did. I confess. I had a bite of the cake. I am glad I don't eat cake anymore. Even that one bite, I could feel that crap (for lack of a better descriptor) flowing through my body. Lesson number Four: Nourish yourself!

I had a cup of coffee after the meal, and luckily, I carry stevia with me, so I enjoyed that, and soon after that, we left. When I got home, I could still feel the sugar in me, so I drank a few glasses of water and had a bit of protein (lamb) to counteract it.

All in all, I think I did pretty well, considering all of the factors. I even got in some good walking because the hotel is on a hill, and I got to walk around quite a bit, including some incline walking.

In the future, I would bring some sort of healthy trail mix or other healthy protein-laden snack, probably fix my own lunch, and stay away from the sugar!

This morning, my blood sugar was only up a few points from usual, and I again committed to myself that I eat to live, not live to eat.... my food is my nourishment, and keeps me healthy. Better to eat well to live well than to give in to the foods that prevent that.