First Thanksgiving Meal of the Year

Yesterday was our annual Thanksgiving potluck meal at work. I am blessed to work in an environment where Christian values and principles are lived every day. Plus we have some fabulous cooks. Every time we have had an occasion to have a covered dish meal like this, the food has been plentiful and delicious, no exception.

I knew I had a challenge ahead and that I'd have to blog about it, so I fell back on my 'serving' plan that has worked so well in the past. I parked myself at the drink area and poured drinks for every one as they finished filling their plates. One person even commented on how I was missing out on the good food, and I explained that was by design. I was secretly hoping that some of my most tempting dishes would be gone, or look gross. Sometimes, after several people have gone through the line serving themselves, food gets dripped on to the table or in other dishes, and it losses appeal for me.

I wasn't quite so lucky on that account, there was still plenty of food and it still had appeal. I had already considered exactly what I liked the most and would be the most upset about not getting. In our office, through the years several people have their specialty dishes, so I knew ahead of time what some of the offerings would be. I went through the line and made my selections taking only the smallest servings. *WARNING* Those that get tempted by reading about food might want to skip down to where is says *SAFE*. I had ham, turkey, corn casserole, baked apples, hash brown casserole, strawberry salad (not the healthy one) and a roll (homemade by me). It was all delicious.

I was even more particular about my desserts. Anything that was not homemade was immediately eliminated. I also knew that I could make any of those remaining dishes for myself anytime, so even they lost some of their appeal. I finally settled on an apple strudel pie, over chocolate pie. That was a bit of a surprise even to me. I made a very good choice with that pie. It was fabulous. I even got the recipe.

*SAFE* After I had eaten my meal, I was very full and decided to save dessert for later, even though I already had it there with me. I could easily take it back to my desk for an afternoon snack. Sadly, I did not. As we sat there chatting and enjoying each others company and a break from the whirlwind, I nibbled on the pie. I would take a very small bite and savor it slowly all the while thinking that was the last bite. But the last bite came when there was none left. The lady sitting next to me, was doing the same thing. Finally, she breathed a heavy sigh and stuffed the last bite of her dessert in her mouth. She said she was stuffed but the pie was too good not to finish. (BTW, it was the one I made.) We had a conversation about why we had to do that. Why do we feel like we have to eat everything that is in front of us?
The lesson for me is tiny, tiny portions, and giving myself permission to get more if that doesn't suffice. Yesterday, I was never tempted to go back for more. That is another surprising development. In the past, hunger had very little to do with if I got more food. It was if it tasted good and I wanted that taste again. Now, that almost seems strange.

Later in the afternoon, after the sugar buzz wore off, the little voice (TLV) came back telling me to nibble. I would have had my pie if I hadn't been so weak earlier. I told TLV that and she got quiet for a while. Then J-boy emailed and asked if I would bring him some of the leftovers for supper. He knew I'd have my drink and he'd be on his own. I went in to do that, and found myself nibbling, but as soon as I became aware of it, I stopped. It scares me a little bit to think that I did that all the time a couple of years ago, but moreso that I still do it now. I'll have to be ever vigilant on that respect.

Last night I exercised like crazy, and I wound up not having my drink. Even that seemed like way too much to put in my overly sated belly. This morning, I've had my drink and feel fine. I'm back in the game and intend to stay there. I'll give a full update as to how I'm progressing on my 50 day goals at the end of the week and each week through the end of the year. I'm looking forward to giving good reports.