Crazy Food Dreams

Let me tell you about last night. First of all, this wouldn't have even been an issue if yesterday was my cheat day. However, my weekly splurge has been reserved for Saturday since we are celebrating Jude's 3rd birthday then.
I will set the stage. We were taking a lovely friend to dinner before she moves away. I said, "you pick the place." She picked Buffalo Wild Wings. I was thrilled with this choice as my kids have been to this restaurant and they love it because of the Pac-Man, claw, and elk hunting arcade games. This makes my night easier already! Then I started researching the nutrition information and reality hit me hard. This is going to be a challenge.
I opted for the Honey BBQ Chicken Salad. Left out the cheese and dressing. Basically I was eating lettuce, pico, and grilled chicken with BBQ sauce on it. My guess is my modified salad came in somewhere around 450-500 calories. It was good, but it didn't fill me up physically or mentally. We chased down Wild Wings with a trip to Braum's - a glorious regional ice cream and burger joint. Ice cream never looked so good to me, and as everyone was enjoying it all I could think about was my morning cup of coffee. Fast forward time, please!
Obviously, I felt left out and unsatisfied. I even had a dream that I ate a humongous ice cream cone and 2, yes 2 full size apple pies. Waking up this morning I'm not very hungry, hmmmmm?
It is amazing to me how much we think about food. How important it is to us, not just physically, but especially socially. Thoughts about food even control our subconscious! And, I think food is supposed to be that important. Food is a gateway to friendship, to recreation, to special family memories. The problem is that a lot of times we let food become more important than people. The main "people" often times is ourselves.
Next time you are in a situation where food is the catalyst for friendship or family time, whether it's a birthday party, family picnic, or work lunch, remember that the food comes secondary to the people. The relationships, memories, and fun you are creating matter way more than what you are eating.
That's what got me through last night. I stuck to my commitment because I was determined to make the night about my friend and not the food I was eating, or not eating. Remember too, that losing weight is just temporary if you do it right. At some point in the near future I will be able to enjoy that ice cream cone because I'll just be maintaining my weight. Until then I'll stick to my midnight fling with all sorts of luscious treats ...even if only in my dreams.