Winning Over Portions

This week I was just thinking about how I had overcome my love of a lot of food. I use to tell folk that I was a food connoisseur because I have a great love for food but it has to be good food. Almost a year ago good food to me was deep fried, smothered, covered and saucy. Being full meant that I needed to sit at the table just a little while longer with my pants unbuttoned so that I could get myself together and catch my breath from that good meal but it also meant that after one good belch that there was room for some dessert.

At my job we have this place we call "The Lodge" it's in our meeting facility and if you have meetings scheduled in the facility your group can participate in "The Lodge Lunch" this lunch is like a buffet there are hot entrees, two chef stations, soup and salad bar, desert bar, sandwich bar, ice cream station and fountain drinks. You walk in and there are options galore and all you need is your free "to you" lunch ticket and your options are endless.

I remember the days when I would get my to go container which has 5 sections and I would fill each section to the top, fill a 12 oz cup with fresh fruit a 6 oz cup with two slices of lemon cake and get one cup of soda. How I was able to juggle all this food and bring it back to my desk, who knows but I was sure to get it there without one morsel being dropped. Well this week I was fortunate enough to go to the Lodge and I was happy about that free lunch but this time I noticed that my plan of attack had changed vastly. I walked around, accessed the menu options and prepared my to go container. This time I had brown rice from the buffet, chicken and peppers from the fajita station with guacamole and salsa and it was all in one section. I then visited the salad bar and got some fresh fruit which I often save for my afternoon snack. Once I prepared my lunch I closed the container and I was done. I was sitting at my desk thinking about all those times that I had filled that container to the max with who knows what and had eaten it all just because I could. When I looked back at my actions this time I was proud as it was a lesson learned, a lesson that I will be sure to repeat.

Please remember that just because you are at a buffet doesn't mean that you are slave to the options. Access the options, make great choices and and remember to eat to live, don't live to eat.
Happy eating everyone!