Day 23

One. Week. Left.

I can't believe that next week, I will have accomplished something I didn't think I was strong enough to do.
I felt so powerless and out of control.

But by the grace of God, something clicked in my mind.
I guess it was time.

I still notice some bad habits that come up every now and then (like the desire to eat just because and snacking too close to bed time)
But, I'm at least eating things that are better for my body.

Today went rather smoothly, despite two situations that would have normally thrown me off.

At work, we did a team building activity that culminated in team lunch... at Chipotle.

My goodness I love Chipotle.
Usually, I would get a salad bowl - sounds healthy right?
But I would add meat... and rice... and cheese... and sour cream... plus tortilla chips on the side, duh!

I wasn't 100% sure what I was going to do.
(I'm still a little bit apprehensive about some vegetable combinations. Salsa being one of them)

But I went out on a limb and formulated a Whole30 approved lunch.

A salad bowl with lettuce, carnitas, fajita vegetables, and fresh tomato salsa.

I wasn't a huge fan of their use of red onions (I don't think I will ever truly like onions), but the salad was tasty overall.
I didn't even eat it all.

The good choices - plus my teammates saying how much of a difference they could already see in me from my incomplete Whole 30 experience - made me feel great.

The next challenge came after work.

I had been invited to a Cinco de Mayo party for the ladies at my church.
Basically a Mexican food fest... which I was 99.9% sure wouldn't offer too many (if any) options for me.

So, I swung by my apartment and made a quick dinner.
Salad topped with avocado, Tuscan herb olive oil, and left over shrimp and bay scallops from last night.

Then I hopped in the car and headed off to temptation central.
The food smelled amazing...the rice, the meat, the cheese, the tortillas.
But like my other experiences with bad food overload, I entertained a brief moment of self pity... then sucked it up.

I spotted some fruit and got a small bowl.
To my disappointment, though, the first piece of strawberry confirmed that the lovely fruit salad had been tossed with sugar. A lot of sugar.

I nonchalantly pushed my bowl aside and convinced myself I was perfectly content with just a glass of unsweetened iced tea.

The ladies surrounding me questioned my lack of food and I happily explained why I wasn't joining everyone else in the food fest.
They were all very understanding and I didn't feel guilty for refusing.

When desserts were served, I had to politely decline offers of cake and other goodies.
Not my favorite to refuse people, but I'm not about to consciously make a poor choice on Day 23!

Without the focus on food, I completely enjoyed great conversations and fellowship with wonderful women that I hadn't had the chance to meet yet.

There is so much more in life to enjoy than eating. Like the encouragement and company of wonderful teammates and friends.

Let's consider Day 23 socially uplifting.