Super Bowl

One of the toughest things is to be mesh healthy eating with an active social life. You go out with people, you don't want to be "that guy" - the guy that orders a single celery stick or insists the chef prepare his meal in a specific PITA manner to meet his dietary needs. No, you want to maintain your normal social life, because what good is being in shape if nobody wants to hang out with you?

So how do you balance health and frivolity? I was at a birthday party yesterday and the host bought a special cake just for the adults. Have to eat a piece, right? I'm not sure if it was the self-denial, or if it was just really good, but that small slice of cake tasted better than anything I've eaten in a long time. I just accepted I needed to eat it, accepted that I wanted to also so I wouldn't be a baby about it, and then forewent my afternoon snack. No big deal, but I did avoid most of the other snacks that were lying around.

Today is the Super Bowl, and I have people coming over. Again, not wanting to be "that guy" I'm putting out real food for people. I love to cook, and it would be insulting to people if I didn't provide real food for them. So I'm putting out shrimp cocktail, wings, popcorn, guacamole, and some other snacks. And I will definitely have a beer or three - you can't watch the Super Bowl with a club soda and lime.

I figure that I can't be at a 1,200 calorie deficit every day, and as long as I am conscious of what I eat I can still keep things in check. One wing is 150 calories, but 4 large shrimp are just 22. A cup of popcorn is 64 calories, but 7 tortilla chips are 150 calories. A good scoop of guacamole is about 50 calories. Light beer is 100 calories for something potable. I can do the math and keep things in check, while still having a good time.

It will be nice to treat myself. Food tastes so good to me right now that my array of bar food will surely taste heavenly. A good reward for my monastic lifestyle.