Temptation

I grew up knowing those familiar phrases from the Lord's Prayer: " . . .lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil . . . ." Those phrases really spoke to me today.

You may know that DH and I are wrapping up a trip to Colorado. He had a business conference Wed pm through Fri, but we came on Sunday and have been having a marvelous time exploring this beautiful state. You may also know, that DH (who is a WW lifetime member) and I planned pretty well so that we could stay on plan with diet and exercise during this trip. And, you may have read, in my last post, that I found a WW meeting and bagged a 3.6 pound loss yesterday.

All well and good. So today was the first full day DH was involved with his conference. I slept in and enjoyed my strawberries and cereal breakfast on the deck outside our room overlooking a lake and a mountain. (Cheyenne Mountain Resort gets 4 stars in my book!). Then I spent some time reading in the blogosphere. And then I got my wonderful day. I drove to a very nice mall I'd spotted and got a pedicure (my very first, but surely not my last!). By then it was near lunchtime and I went to a California Pizza Kitchen and (despite nagging temptations from the pizza pages of the menu) I managed to order a nice grilled chicken salad (the Moroccan) with roasted butternut squash, cubed beets, dates, and sliced almonds . . . dressing on the side. When the waitress asked if I wanted a half portion, my immediate thought was "NO!," but I asked how big it was and she said the half portion was plenty. And it was. Victory. I firmly closed the menu on the dessert section (this was lunch time, after all). Then I had another treat. I went to the movies. By myself. I saw a chick-flick (Letters to Julliette) that I'm sure DH would have politely watched, but not enjoyed. There were about 100 people in the theater, all women. And I walked right past the popcorn/candy counter that had the not-so-subliminal suggestion in screaming huge letters, "Buy some goodies! Eat while you watch the show!"

DH and I rendezvouzed at the hotel about 4:30. He wanted to go work out in the gym. I should have gone too, but I didn't wanna. I like my own gym, where I know the machines and the right settings. [Whine] So I stayed in the room while he went to work out. Bad decision. I was leafing through the info in the hotel notebook and noticed the gift shop. I also noticed that it stocked "goodies." What is it with 'goodies' today??? I lied to myself that I might buy something for the grandbabies and went to check out the gift shop [read 'goodies']. I could use a walk, right? I made a show of looking at the t-shirts in the small sizes, but I was really looking for the candy. There it was, they had Snickers, M&Ms, Reeses PNButter Cups, and bags of chips, my favorites. WHAT was I doing?? I threw myself out of the door and walked back to the room. Why is it that I was feeling on-top-of-the-world yesterday with my weight loss, my rediscovered self-control, and today I'm flirting with devil-candy??? And the day was not yet over.

At dinner, DH had an official dinner (to which I was not invited). I knew from the beginning that this was true and tried not to feel left out. I'd had a great pamper-myself day. I made plans of my own for dinner. I'd go to Macaroni Grill. I knew I could get an OP dinner there and there is one close to our hotel. I got there, got seated, and managed to stave off the (mouth watering) warm bread with olive oil. I nipped it in the bud when the waitress started to pour the olive oil into a dish on the table. "I won't be having any bread." Yay me. Bread is NOT my friend. I feasted on the menu discriptions and flirted with the idea of throwing my plan away, just for the night. They have pizza on their menu, too. I had asked for a make-your-own pasta form when the waitress brought the menu. That was my go-to, safe plan. I did it. I ordered a whole wheat pasta dish with veggies & chicken, and a green salad. Hold the croutons, hold the cheese, EVOO based dressing on the side. The waitress asked if I had allergies. "No, I'm a weight watcher," I answered. After that, there was no way I could give in to the desserts. I escaped! I think I've made it through the day. I'm home. DH is watching the end of a playoff game while I write this, then we're going to the heated pool (overlooking the mountain and the lake) and the pool-side hot tub before we sleep.

I hate temptations. I'm not good with temptations. I'm weak. Thank you Lord, for seeing me through today. Please, don't let me fall prey to temptations tomorrow. Or the next day.