How I Made it Through a Reception … With NO Cake!

A Romance Author’s Quest to Get Fit on the Cheap

How I Made it Through a Reception …
With NO Cake!

(Without feeling deprived!)

I have always been a sucker for bakery cakes. And I’m not exaggerating. Not even a little bit. I especially love the frosting – and the more, the better. Ever since I was a kid, my hope was always to get a corner piece, one with a big flower on top, or – at the very least – an edge piece. Those hopes were usually dashed when I would be handed a center piece with nothing but a thin layer of frosting on the top.

Yeah, I love a good bakery cake. If you have any doubts, you can read my post, The Worst Birthday … Ever!, by clicking the pink title.

So, when the wedding invitation arrived in the mail – after I’d finally committed to a low carb way of life, Trim Healthy Mama, aka THM, to be exact (affiliate link alert – learn more about those by clicking here) – I was nervous. Receptions usually mean yummy dinner rolls, croutons on salads, and they always include the pièce de résistance … the cake.

I didn’t want all of my hard to to be for nothing…

…so there was a lot of praying. A lot of bargaining with myself – as in, it’s just one meal. In the grand scheme of things, what can it really hurt?

But I knew one meal could actually hurt a lot.

It had taken a couple of weeks for most of the brain fog to go away, and for my energy to return, after giving up the foods that make me feel bad. And I knew from experience that one bite of the wrong food could result in another two week detox – and I didn’t want to deal with that again!

So… What did I do?

You might have read my last post, Nothing Tastes as Good as Healthy Feels. I wrote that sixty-seven days into my new lifestyle. The day of the wedding would be ninety days. 

And I didn’t want to blow it. Not even for the cake I’ve loved all of my life. So, I had a plan. I would take two low carb protein shakes with me. I’d have the first one on the drive to the venue. Then later, if there were no on-plan foods, I’d sneak back out to the van and have the second one.

Fortunately, there were a number of foods I could eat. Fresh grapes, strawberries, and pineapple chunks (all allowed – in small quantities – on Trim Healthy Mama), and pulled pork – with NO sugary barbecue sauce. It worked out perfectly!

A little wisdom from Ben Franklin.

Mr. Franklin is credited with saying, “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail,” and it’s truer than you might think. I’ve successfully navigated a number of events this summer – all centered around food. And the only reason I’ve been able to do so is because I planned in advance what I’d do to avoid temptation.

Sometimes, that meant bringing a dish that I could eat – and that everyone else could too. Other times, it meant eating before I arrived, or bringing a snack to eat on the way home, or quickly (and on the sly) during an event.

Is it a pain? In the beginning, it was. Now, it’s just a normal part of my life. My health, and feeling good again, is important enough that it’s worth the little extra planning and work it takes to continue eating the right foods for me.

Why?

Because I love feeling better. Because I love being able to think more clearly again. Because I love what I do.

After not being able to write for several years – from pure, food-fueled exhaustion – it’s nice to be back at work again.

No, I’m not at 100% yet, but I’m getting there. And I hope you’ll be with me in this quest for better health and fitness. And for my books. 🙂

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One of the best ways I’ve found to stay on track is to be accountable to others – both for my writing goals and my health goals. And if you feel like joining me on my journey to a more slender, healthier, and active me, please do. Keep me posted in the comments below on how you’re doing. I’d love to cheer you on!

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