EATING OUT

Just to give one example as a guide for eating out, I joined friends at The City Café last night for dinner. Two of them, already there, were chowing down on a taco salad starter with their drinks. When the waiter came, I asked for ice tea and refused polite encouragement to join in the taco salad. Two other friends came. They also ordered drinks and joined in the taco salad. I stuck to my ice tea. It was a little hard to watch them eating and drinking as they pleased (or so it seemed, and as I used to do) but being very determined on this diet, I resisted.

The chef joined us for some friendly conversation and suggested the lobster tails sous vide for dinner but, in answer to my question, he said the sous vide package included butter; no way to avoid it Two of my friends ordered this, as well as a lobster bisque for starters. Like me, they must love lobster. My other two friends had lollypop lamb chops and shared a watermelon salad. I searched the menu for something permitted on my diet and selected seared scallops, with tempura asparagus – I asked for mine without the tempura batter – and slices of cauliflower in a fruit reduction sauce. Fruit is not really permitted on my diet but I figured there would be so little that it wouldn’t really matter. What matters is not eating a lot of fat and carbs and avoiding sugar so I can overcome my addiction to it. I’m almost there.

The meals came and everything looked delicious. I concentrated on my scallops and ate slowly, in small bites, as the Medi-Fast program suggests. (It takes a while for your stomach to tell your brain that you’re full, so the slower you eat, the less you feel you need.). I stuck to my ice tea, with artificial sweetener but after the waiter refilled my glass once, I turned to my water and drank it all. My friends had a medley of desserts the chef was developing – rhubarb and strawberries, lemon custard with blueberries, and a new kind of cheesecake. All of it looked good, but I resisted. Just one taste, someone asked? No, thanks. Even one taste would restart my craving for sugar.

Since one other guest had tried Medi-fast and given it up, there was some conversation at the table about dieting. I know I’ll stay on Medi-fast for the duration of the food – I want a return on my investment - which should be about a month, but after that, I may go back to regular, but carefully chosen, food. One tip I learned from the conversation was that, when I do, I should try eating my food from a bread and butter plate rather than a dinner plate. That will automatically reduce the portions. But for now, it’s Medi-fast.

I enjoyed the dinner, and the evening with my friends, and my hunger was satisfied, even staying (at least almost) on my diet. When I got home, for my  nine o’clock meal, I had a Medi-fast brownie.

Stay tuned.