Winning One Battle At A Time

Some great happenings are going on here in Operation No More Chunk. I received two chances this weekend to prove my mettle and determination to stick to this newfangled lifestyle, and I'm proud to say I came out swinging! The sordid details follow.

On Friday I ventured out to the home of my friends Melody and John. It was Melody's birthday and she had invited a few of us out to hang and celebrate her arrival on the planet some mumblemumble years ago. I love hanging with Melody, John and their three awesome kids, so I was delighted to head over there and chill for a while. Melody was even kind enough to make sure that I had something to munch on that was conducive to my new dietary plans. She's such a sweetheart. You see, this party was a...dessert party.

Break time kids. As an aside, I love sweets. Cake, pie, doughnuts, candy, whatever. I'm a fan. Anyhoo, back to the story.

Melody had prepared a wonderful fruit pizza and a cake. I did not partake of the cake. This is known as "Small Victory Number One". Normally, I'd have been all over a cake. I looove cake. Mmmm..cake.

Sorry.

Then our friends Julie and Jay show up with their two kids, and Julie has prepared this healthy little loaf of what I think was banana bread, but I can't remember. It was fantastic! I had a little of that. But then she brought out some sort of chocolate cherry whipped cream monstrosity. It was one of the most beautiful and horrendous things I had ever seen in my life. Julie informed me that each slice had like 900 calories in it. I wept on the inside. The Chocolate Sin Pie just sat there getting all melty and good. I have to admit blog fans, I tried it. But. But. I tried the smallest sliver possible, and one of the chocolate covered cherries that was on top. Ohmygoditwassogoodithinkipeedalittle.

"But Casey, you say. How is this a victory (specifically Small Victory Number 2)?"

Simple. I didn't eat any more. I practiced one of my Ten Commandments. Portion Control. In the face of this amazing pile of fantastic food, I managed to control my cravings, enjoy the more healthful stuff that Melody had provided, then proceeded to have a grand time with Melody, John, Julie, Jay and our latecomer friend Jerica. Good times were had by all, and I left that night a little prouder than I had going in. It was Melody's birthday, but I got the present. Nice.


Last night, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the going away party for two of my favorite people, Natalie and Michael, a pair of theatre loving twins who have been involved with the local theatre company and two of the coolest folks around. I was invited to the party by two of my other favorite people, their mom and dad, Kent and Tara. It was a great time, we surprised the heck out of Natalie and Michael, sang some musical theatre songs, laughed, joked, and celebrated these two wonderful people who will soon be going off to college.

And there was food. Lots of it. Loooots of it. Jambalaya, veggie tray, sandwiches, some sort of chocolate cupcakes, and many many bottles of soda. I claimed a victory in the name of portion control once again when I ate lots of veggies, a small helping of Jambalaya and no cupcakes. I nursed a couple of Coke Zeroes throughout the night. The Coke Zero thing is important because they had Sunkist Orange there. I love Sunkist Orange. I mentally gave it the finger while I was pouring my Coke Zero. Take that, Orange goodness!

It may seem petty for a grown man to be celebrating the fact that he didn't eat a bunch of food, but part of my struggle is impulse control. I must say that Bad Decision Casey didn't show up at all though. I was surprised. (Small Victory #3)

Finally, we come to Today.

I managed a solid twenty five minutes of cardio work on the exercise bike at the gym. Twenty five minutes. On Wednesday, just four days ago, I couldn't even do a solid ten. This makes me happy. I wish I could properly articulate my joy at reaching that 25:00 on the bike's clock. I feel awesome.

So, what's today's moral of the story? The human body is a wondrous thing. When working in conjunction with a strong mind and resolute attitude, anything is possible.

I am ready to head into the upcoming week with my spirits lifted by my great friends, and the knowledge of my small victories. I hope next week is as good as this one. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I'll talk to y'all on another day.

PS Julie. I want the recipe for the bread that you made. Send it to me and I'll post it on my next blog.