Sometimes the Cookies Win
“So, you’re cheating on your diet,” said Trainer Daniel when we met on Thursday. Note: it wasn’t a question, like, “So you’re cheating on your diet?” it was a statement; the answer already known.
“Yes…But, see, I have some very valid reasons for this,” I explained to him.
1. I started going back to work two weeks ago and my office has neither a refrigerator nor a microwave. I had the best of intentions and even pre-packed my food Sunday night (see photo evidence A.) But it’s 100 degrees here in Austin (for you non-Americans that translates to VERY HOT degrees Celsius) and my food was rotting in the heat instead of staying fresh in a fridge. And have you tried eating ground turkey, quinoa and green beans without heating first in a microwave? Room temperature green beans? Yuck, right?
2. I work with my husband and he is the antithesis to clean eating. He is beyond dirty eating; he is filthy eating. (See photo evidence B.) Our first morning working together he stopped at McDonald’s to order a sausage egg McMuffin and hash browns. For lunch he went to Sonic. They next day he went to Panda Express. (I was still eating lukewarm green beans on Day 2.) By Day 3 I caved and ate at Thundercloud Subs. Lunch has been pretty bad ever since.
3. Did you know that McDonald’s sells 3 chocolate chip cookies for $1?
“Why do I get the feeling you’re cheating more often than just lunch?” he asks, piling more weight on the bar over my back as I do squats. I shrug sheepishly. What else could I do? I was busted.
“Well, my son turned 3, so there was birthday cake, of course.”
“Stay back on your heels.” He added more weight. “And you only had one piece, right?”
“Well, no, I had a lot. But the cake is gone now, so I don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
“It’s gone because you ate it!” He added more weight. A bead of sweat rolled down my face. “Funny how I know these things, huh?” he said with a smirk.
Note to self: Figure out those damn privacy settings on Facebook so Trainer Daniel can’t read my comments to Jenny and Marci about the merits of ice cream cake.
“And I did have chips and dip the other night…” That was the tipping point. Why did I tell him that? Oh no, here it comes…
“Do you know the difference between polyunsaturated fat vs. the saturated fats you find in McDonald’s french fries…”
Do you know what’s worse than a (granted-deserved) lecture about polyunsaturated fats? A lecture about polyunsaturated fats while you are doing 20 squats with a 50 lb. bar on your back.
“Lisa, you can cheat from time to time; everyone does. But you can’t cheat every day. This isn’t a binge and diet thing, eating clean is a lifestyle.”
So, tomorrow is a new week and I will start anew with clean eating. I bought a $49 microwave at Walmart for the office, so now I really won’t have an excuse to get fast food. In the battle for clean eating, sometimes the cookie wins. Next week I will.
Lisa
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