Friday, November 12, 2010

Today as I was thinking about how easy it really is to slip back into the habits we have developed. The term "comfort food" came to mind as I was being tempted to make poor choices. The term obviously has meant a few different things to people, but is generally accepted as meaning food that takes us away from whatever it is we are facing. As I was reflecting on it today I thought of it in terms of where the "comfort food" takes me.

I was tempted to get a chicken Philly sandwich because it has been one of my favorites over the years. When I was in my early 20's that sandwich was a part of my life in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida with some awesome friends. The best chicken Philly then was at a place called RJ Gators. It wasn't even on the menu, but I was trying even then to cut back on the red meat and I asked if they would make a Philly with chicken instead of beef. Well, they started doing that for me whenever I came in for lunch, dinner, or in between. (we met there a lot) Before long it was on the menu. I am not saying that I am responsible for inventing the chicken Philly... but I was at that restaurant. The reason the sandwich takes me back there, however, is because of my friends. The good thing then is that I was pretty fit and played one sport or another almost every night of the week.

Then I moved to Wilmore, Kentucky where I used to order the chicken Philly at the Asbury cafe. We would meet there to study, have lunch, and sometimes just to hang out. Those were good times as well. The thing about Asbury that made the chicken Philly so good was friends. I was also running three miles a day and working out fives days a week. A chicken Philly in those days was really nothing to worry about.

In Orlando we used to go to Beef O'Bradys and to Froggers to get a chicken Philly. I have great memories of taking Abigail, and then Bekah and Abigial, to Beef's for lunch occasionally. It was great because the waitresses would always take special care of me because I had the girls with me. Good stuff! The better sandwich though was Froggers. So today I went to Froggers because I am back in Orlando. This is where the temptation came in and I will admit freely that I gave in today. It was a great sandwich and it was truly comfort food as it brought all of this stuff to my mind.

So where do you go from here when you are trying to lose 106 pounds by the time you turn 46. Two ideas come to mind:

1. Forgive yourself and move on! I could dwell on the fact that I gave in OR I could forgive myself, do a little extra exercise and move on. I think I will choose the forgiveness route.
2. Create new healthy "comfort food" associate with new great memories. This will kill two birds with one proverbial stone. So I am looking for some new ideas.

The good thing to note is that I am still on the wagon and a lot of good exercise will overcome a lot of slip ups. I continue to press on in hopes of winning the race.