LEIDEN's CalorieKing blog
Wednesday, Oct 14 2009 - back to normal
View LEIDEN's food & exercise for this day
The NYC trip went well.. Except for eating. That was pretty expected though, not having a choice in where to eat I had to make due with what was presented to me.. Oh, and I could have said no to the cheesecake.
I'll get into the food in a minute, but just in case anyone is interested I'll explain the day a bit.
I take part in an Investment Group on Campus, and yesterday we went into NYC (Wall Street, specifically) to goto a meeting with E-Trade. Essentially, the guys at E-Trade gave us the low down on what they do, how they do it, and why they are successful - as well as effectively selling their product and firm. It was actually pretty enlightening and they were great hosts. After our meeting with the big boys was over, we had lunch, than went to the Museum of Finance, the Bull, Alexander Hamilton's grave, etc etc. All kinds of stuff I've done a million times since I'm constantly in NYC anyway, but a bunch of people in the group haven't so it was cool for them to get to see that stuff.
Anyway, lunch. Oh what a lunch it was.
We had lunch at Harbor Lights restaurant, which is on Pier 17 in the South Street Seaport. Fantastic restaurant with great food. However, our menu was limited. The group had arranged for preset meals and you basically got to choose the steak, chicken or pasta. Well, pasta was out of the question - and since my surgery I have a hard time eating steak. So the chicken it was.
A chicken sandwich. It wasn't a very big sandwich, but the bread was quite daunting.
This was the first time I've gone out to eat with a bunch of people (16 others) that don't know I had surgery. I'm still mildly self conscious about it, so I gave in to peer pressure and just ate the sandwich. I thought about removing the bread and just eating the chicken more than once, but I couldn't bring myself to do it in front of a bunch of people. I was completely stuffed after the sandwich and was just thankful I made it through. I felt pretty bad about my decision making, but peer pressure won and I accepted that.
Then came desert... Cheesecake.
Yes, I could have just said I was full and didn't want it and handed it off.. And I did at first. Until everyone started talking about how amazing it was, and I finally gave in and tried. Amazing indeed, and I ended up eating the majority of it. Already full, already on the verge of eating myself sick - I did myself in.
Luckily, it wasn't a full blown episode of dumping syndrome. I was able to sit there and keep my composure and just wait for it to pass.
If it wasn't for all the walking we did yesterday, I'd probably feel a lot worse than I do. I know I made some poor decisions, but I also know I can get right back on track with ease. I do not have any more events like this coming up, where I'll be forced to eat with peers. And even if I do, I think I'm going to attempt to explain about my surgery. I really don't like all the questions I get about it, because a lot of people still view it in a negative light - and I hate defending myself. So who knows.
I think I'll just try and avoid those types of situations for now on.
I've planned my food out for the day, I'm about to go work out, I'm happy with my meal plan.
I'm going to see that chick I talked about last week again today. After a conversation with some very nice people on CK, attempt #2 at going for it is inbound.
**LADY UPDATE**
Balked again. Next attempt - Friday.
I'll get into the food in a minute, but just in case anyone is interested I'll explain the day a bit.
I take part in an Investment Group on Campus, and yesterday we went into NYC (Wall Street, specifically) to goto a meeting with E-Trade. Essentially, the guys at E-Trade gave us the low down on what they do, how they do it, and why they are successful - as well as effectively selling their product and firm. It was actually pretty enlightening and they were great hosts. After our meeting with the big boys was over, we had lunch, than went to the Museum of Finance, the Bull, Alexander Hamilton's grave, etc etc. All kinds of stuff I've done a million times since I'm constantly in NYC anyway, but a bunch of people in the group haven't so it was cool for them to get to see that stuff.
Anyway, lunch. Oh what a lunch it was.
We had lunch at Harbor Lights restaurant, which is on Pier 17 in the South Street Seaport. Fantastic restaurant with great food. However, our menu was limited. The group had arranged for preset meals and you basically got to choose the steak, chicken or pasta. Well, pasta was out of the question - and since my surgery I have a hard time eating steak. So the chicken it was.
A chicken sandwich. It wasn't a very big sandwich, but the bread was quite daunting.
This was the first time I've gone out to eat with a bunch of people (16 others) that don't know I had surgery. I'm still mildly self conscious about it, so I gave in to peer pressure and just ate the sandwich. I thought about removing the bread and just eating the chicken more than once, but I couldn't bring myself to do it in front of a bunch of people. I was completely stuffed after the sandwich and was just thankful I made it through. I felt pretty bad about my decision making, but peer pressure won and I accepted that.
Then came desert... Cheesecake.
Yes, I could have just said I was full and didn't want it and handed it off.. And I did at first. Until everyone started talking about how amazing it was, and I finally gave in and tried. Amazing indeed, and I ended up eating the majority of it. Already full, already on the verge of eating myself sick - I did myself in.
Luckily, it wasn't a full blown episode of dumping syndrome. I was able to sit there and keep my composure and just wait for it to pass.
If it wasn't for all the walking we did yesterday, I'd probably feel a lot worse than I do. I know I made some poor decisions, but I also know I can get right back on track with ease. I do not have any more events like this coming up, where I'll be forced to eat with peers. And even if I do, I think I'm going to attempt to explain about my surgery. I really don't like all the questions I get about it, because a lot of people still view it in a negative light - and I hate defending myself. So who knows.
I think I'll just try and avoid those types of situations for now on.
I've planned my food out for the day, I'm about to go work out, I'm happy with my meal plan.
I'm going to see that chick I talked about last week again today. After a conversation with some very nice people on CK, attempt #2 at going for it is inbound.
**LADY UPDATE**
Balked again. Next attempt - Friday.
4 comments so far.
4.
a decade ago
I think we sometimes feel we owe an explanation. I recently ate lunch with some work related people for the 1st time. I did notice that someone (a THIN someone) ate their burger with a knife/fork and left the bread. He offered no explanation and no one commented either. We have to realize that we aren't the center of everyone's universe. I am so guilty of this and always feel I need to offered excuses/reasons for what I do. I'm glad you still enjoyed your trip and it sounds like you learned something from the experience. Keep up the good work. Sue
by MEDIASUE
3.
a decade ago
I second Squirrely Sarah's comment! As for dealing with people, you don't have to share anything you don't want to. You can always cut your sandwich in half, take super small bites (so they see you eating), and if anyone comments that you left half on your plate, you can say you had a big breakfast or that you're not really hungry or that you didn't like the spices on the sandwich, etc. You don't need to divulge anything personal, b/c you don't owe *anyone* an explanation for perfectly normal behaviors. And we've got to get away from thinking of restaurant-size portions as normal! Eating less should be the new normal!
:) As for the cheesecake. Yes, it would have been better had you stopped yourself before eating so much of it, but there was nothing wrong with just having a bit. For ex, when I was at a social meeting for pharm, we had pumpkin cheesecake (and like you, I'm enamored with pumpkin), I took my fork and "scored" (drew a little line) about 1/3 up the slice. I allowed myself to have that much with lots of little bites punctuated by conversation and sips of coffee. One of my cohorts asked why I didn't finish it b/c we were all (like you guys) saying how good it was, and I just said that if I eat too much rich or sweet things I get a headache (which is true; that's one of my migraine triggers). I could have said I was too full to finish, or I could have simply smiled and offered the rest to her. 
:) It's hard to get out of the mindset of allowing the anticipation of others' judgment to impact our actions, but if you're going to be social, you've got to get over it. It's hard, but it must be done. Something tells me you can handle it.
by ROSERENE
2.
a decade ago
Group settings are difficult to deal with when it comes to food... But we live and learn... And I hate when we feel we have to explaine or defend ourselves to other people... I am learning to do what I want and if people start questioning me, I give simple answers and move on. It's hard but I need to start watching out for me and not worry about them. So, I hope the next group event you have it's a bit easier for you and I think it will be! Keep up the good work and good luck with chickie #2...
P.S. I saw you are in NEPA, I am too ;-)
by MRSDSB
1.
a decade ago
ooo! hope it goes well with the lady!
by MYSQRL