Tempted & Tried

Time for an update on the “30 Before 30” Project.

Let me just say this:  last week kind of sucked.

Last week, I was tempted.

Appropriate, I suppose, considering it was the first week of Lent, right?  As I listened to our minister Nancy’s sermon on Sunday morning, all about Jesus being tempted for 40 days by the Devil, I reflected on my past week of temptations, and how relevant it all felt to me.  Last week was Week #6 for me, and it was my toughest so far, by far.

First of all, I should tell you all that I’ve given up French fries for Lent.  Some might argue that that’s too easy, considering I don’t eat fries all that often to begin with; however, the challenge lies in eating out at restaurants.  One of my goals with this new healthy eating lifestyle was to choose salad over fries whenever possible.  I have been unsuccessful thus far on the few occasions when I’ve eaten out.  By giving fries up for Lent, I plan to change that.

Now all that being said… Fries were not the issue last week.  At all.

But I was tested. 

Not once, but twice.

The first time, a friend texted me, inviting me to join a group of them for wings at the Ladysmith Hotel for dinner that night.  For those of you who know me, you know what a treat Ladysmith wings are to me.  And the timing seemed perfect, since the thought had crossed my mind a few times lately that I haven’t been to Ladysmith for wings in ages.

The problem was that I had already planned on a light supper and going to Fit Club that my coach, Jared, was hosting that evening.   And one of Chalene Johnson’s tips in committing to a healthy lifestyle is to plan your work-outs, and not let anything de-rail you.  Act as though your allotted time for exercise is a very important appointment that you cannot cancel.

It took every ounce of willpower in me to text my friend back and tell her that I couldn’t go, because I already had plans.

The very next day, a new test presented itself.  I had a healthy breakfast with my mom as usual, and had packed everything I needed to make my daily Shakeology meal for noon at work that day.  That evening, the plans were to get together with all of my family for a nice lasagna dinner that my mom had prepared.  All meals of the day, accounted for.

When I got to work, the ladies informed me they were heading to Shawville to run some errands that morning, and were planning to bring back lunch from Cafe 349.

Crap.  Another of my favourites.  And I was so tempted.  I had almost convinced myself to give up my Shake for the day, because A) The Cafe choices are generally healthy sandwiches, soups & salads, and B) It was Valentine’s Day, and damn it all if I wasn’t allowed to treat myself!!!

I had even looked their menu up on-line to peruse, really feeling my arm being twisted, practically tasting my favourite Jalapeno Turkey Bacon Club panini will all the melty Brie cheese…

And then the little voice in my head started. 

You’re already going to have a treat today, silly.  You LOVE your mother’s lasagna, and there will be Caesar salad and garlic bread and cherry cheesecake, and you’re probably already going to surpass your calories for the day just with that meal.  If you splurge on lunch too, then you’ll be WAY over.  Save the Cafe for a treat another day.  This is a test.   Pass it.

I did.  I had my Shake for lunch instead.

And of course, I felt proud of myself for passing both of these tests.  For sticking to my plan, and not allowing myself to waver, even though the temptation was strong.

Now, before you all go feeling sorry for me for depriving myself, you should know that my week was far from perfect anyways, food-wise.  I kept up with my work-outs, but even with the refusal to treat myself on those two occasions, there were still way too many “treats” last week. 

There was the small bag of chips I shared with Caden while watching a movie on Monday; there was the pancake supper on Tuesday night (I had much smaller portions than I normally would, but still, it was pancakes with butter and maple syrup and ham and beans and salads and cake – far from healthy!); there was Mom’s delicious lasagna supper on Valentine’s Day, along with the V-day cookies my sister put out that I ended up having one or two (or three) of; there was dinner out at the Aylmer BBQ after Caden’s hockey game on Sunday – no fries, but a massive plate of delicious Chinese food.

I was FAR from deprived, to say the least.

But there were also a few victories, to balance things out.  As I said, I worked out 6 days, following the TurboFire schedule, and each week that I do this successfully I consider a huge accomplishment.  During my Stretch 40 class on Sunday morning (basically a Yoga work-out), I held myself in plank position every time I was supposed to, when prior to now I was always dropping to my knees or flopping on the floor.  I also didn’t miss a day of The Assertive Girl’s Arms & Abs Challenge, which I started this month as well, and I can definitely feel the benefits of building my upper arm & abs strength in my work-outs from doing the daily push-ups and mountain climbers.

When I weighed myself this morning, I had dropped another 2 pounds (a total of 19 over 6 full weeks), and my mom chastised me this morning for my pants being too baggy and sloppy to wear to work.

Little by little, I’m getting there.

I just need to keep passing these tests.

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Linking up today with Impulsive Addict and Shawn for Talk To Us Tuesday!