CAN I INSPECT YOUR KITCHEN? Travel, Restaurants and the WLC.

The Wedding. Family, crowns,
ornate Russian church and love.

My cousin got married last weekend, and my fabulously huge family gathered in Washington DC for the festivities. The weekend was gorgeous and celebratory and moving and not even a little bit WLC-compliant. I have to confess that I blew my first big test of steering the WLC course while dining out and traveling. 

My first impulse when we climbed into the car on Saturday was to say "Maintaining the challenge this weekend will be impossible. IMPOSSIBLE, so why even try?" So I didn't try. Off the wagon - completely - Saturday through Monday. 

But of course it wouldn't have been impossible. It wouldn't have even been hard. The truth is, I just didn't feel like dealing with it. I didn't want to ask for a list of ingredients or "just eat salad" -such a huge lie to tell myself that I would have had to spend the weekend eating salad - or just have one drink at the wedding (okay, the cocktail points I would happily lose without guilt. Absinthe and tequila and agave...sigh). But people do this sort of thing all the time, right? People with allergies, or religious dietary restrictions, or people who maintain a vegetarian or vegan diet - they ask about ingredients all the time, they are carefully selective and observant about what they put in their mouths ALL THE TIME. But me? Faced with one weekend during which I wasn't in charge of the grocery shopping and I gave up. 

Zeke's in DC. So, so good.

As you can see, I'm disappointed in myself for not taking advantage of a learning opportunity. After all, this is the WHOLE Life Challenge. Occasional family celebrations and more-than-occasional meals in restaurants are a part of everyone's WHOLE life. Why wouldn't I ask questions or take a minute to think about a meal decision when what's at stake is my overall health, my commitment to an effort to make a meaningful and lasting change in how I view food and the role it plays in my life and my family's lives? I mean, sure, I didn't have any allergic reactions to the pasta, bread, cheese and sugar I indulged in this weekend... but I have to admit I kinda feel like shit this week. My energy plummeted, I'm a little cranky, I feel mildly unfocused... was this worth it? The restaurants had non-pasta options, and I could have easily asked about sugar content in those items. The wedding feast had plenty of compliant offerings. Couldn't I have been happy with salmon and salad and avoided the bread basket? Maybe a couple of bites of wedding cake (bad luck to entirely skip the wedding cake) instead of a whole piece? And the effing amazing Mexican chocolate and ancho chile donut from Zeke's didn't need to happen TWICE. Maybe one donut shared with Rick would have been sufficient.

All that said, I realize that I can't beat myself up too much. The fact is, I am not a person who has to worry about life-threatening allergies or other restrictions, and one weekend of over-indulgence has never hurt me before. I know I can enjoy to excess on a very occasional basis and recover quickly, and everyone should be able to take a break now and then. And of course, part of the dilemma in taking WLC rules on the road is not wanting to appear rude. Who dares to question a chef in a fabulously-reviewed DC restaurant about the sugar content of his recipes? Who would refuse the chocolate cake so adorably sliced by the bride and groom?

Still... I really, really don't like how I feel this week. Three days of lazy = losing too many of the positive gains from three weeks of the WLC, and it was ridiculously avoidable. Recovery from excessive indulgence is harder and takes longer now that I am - well - let's just say "not a kid anymore." Perhaps my occasional excesses need to be less excessive. 

One husband + one brother + that building
=  a morning of innuendo. 

And there, I suppose, is the lesson from the weekend away. Have one bite, share one donut, choose the chicken instead of the gnocchi. Maybe I don't need ask if there's a sugar glaze on the chicken I'm not comfortable being that obnoxious (our friends have our permission to punch us in our noses if Rick and I ever become this couple), but still - pick the chicken instead of the gnocchi. Enjoy the company, the family camaraderie, the travel to a fun city, the dumb jokes about the Washington Monument and come home feeling satisfied but healthy.

(Dudes, seriously though - go to Zekes. Share the donut, but go.)