Monday, April 21, 2014

Awkward Social Situation Survived

Yesterday we celebrated Easter.  It was a beautiful day here, and we did our family traditions of dyeing eggs and holding an Easter Egg Hunt.  Luckily we were invited to a very nice Easter lunch party a the home of friends, so I didn't have to cook a major sit-down meal for my little family.  Earlier in the week I was feeling a little guilty that I hadn't thought about buying food and feeding my family, who have to actually eat!  What I didn't realize about this gathering was that it was actually a sit-down meal instead of a pot luck.  This was tricky for me!  Potlucks are easy- I can slide from group to group with a beverage in hand and go relatively unnoticed about whether I've eaten or not.  This time, I had a place at the table.  Oh boy.  So I saw no other choice but to fix a small plate of food -- mostly veggies and sides (I didn't want to be wasteful) that I could scoot around my plate and pretend to eat.  It was very scary for me, but I managed to keep up conversation, scoot food around my plate, wipe my mouth on a napkin every now and then and pretend to eat.  When someone got up for seconds, I got up and threw my plate away and went to check on the kids.  This was the closest call with food that I've encountered so far.

When dessert was served, later in the afternoon, I did tell the host's mother that I had just lost over 55 pounds and as wonderful as it looked, I would have to pass.  Weeellll, that brought on lots of questions about how I was losing it and how much I had left to lose.  This was the matriarch of the host's family, and she was being my mama too.  They were very sweet and encouraging, but it was uncomfortable to talk about it with so many people.  I didn't go into details about Optifast, since that often brings up criticism.  I told them it was a strict plan through my doctor's office.  Anyway, I was able to get through it.

It feels very good to have lost this weight.  I bought a really cute dress at Target that I was able to wear, with a sweater over it.  It was my first Easter dress in 20 years, and that felt wonderful!

So there you go, one crazy social situation managed, one positive weight loss milestone experienced.   All in all, things worked out okay.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yay! Way to do what you needed to do. I found that people were, in general, very supportive of my program - especially when I mentioned that it was monitored by a doctor. And, this sounds weird, but the best way I know how to prove to anyone that was doubtful (which I never really encountered but I'm sure they were out there) is to KEEP the weight off for a year now. Congrats ... and Happy Easter! ~ Martha

happyinca said...

Hi Martha, I see what you are saying for sure! It's funny, but the threat of going out of ketosis keeps me on track and true-blue with the diet. I can envision that when I am in a maintenance lifestyle, I'm sure the hovering skepticism of being someone who "lost lots of weight on Optifast" will give me a nudge as well. I really love reading your blog, and have learned a lot through your journey. We are all in it together. Christy

Unknown said...

Way to make it through! You made some amazing choices and did what you needed to do for you, but also without offending anyone. Great stuff! I'm so glad you got to enjoy a nice cute dress to wear! You definitely deserve some rewards like that. :-)

happyinca said...

Thanks Caitlin! I'll have to post a pic of the dress. It was fun to be girlie.