The first time my friends Bridget and Mel and I went to the NKOTB concert, it was at Caesars Casino in Windsor and afterwards we speculated over Big Macs about where Jordan, Jon, and Donnie were and what they were doing. (Funny sidebar: while we were consuming McDonalds downtown at 10pm on Saturday night like a bunch of 13year olds, other friends of ours actually were with the heart-throbs at the casino bar!) So tonight when we went to see them (yes, we went again – although this time it was NKOTBSB), it was decided that McDonalds was part of the concert ritual. It was when I sheepishly asked for “just water” at the drive-thru, when all hell broke loose.
I always wondered how some people were able to do it. How some people could stare a Big Mac or other delicious piece of food in the face and say, “No, thank you.” What goes through my mind is always, “I deserve a treat after this crappy day”, “It’s a special occasion”, “I’ve been eating really well lately so this won’t hurt”, or “I’ve been eating really crappy lately, so what’s something else added on?” It takes a total of 2 seconds for me to talk myself into eating something unhealthy, even if I’d just sworn off treats that morning. It’s even more difficult when everyone else is indulging. Mel and Bridget tried to persuade me today but I stood firm. I’d just consumed my breakfast shake so I wasn’t hungry, I knew that if I broke my cleanse on Day 2 that the rest of it would likely fall apart as well, and I figured Nick would expect me to cave in and go for the fries, so for those reasons and to prove Nick wrong, I said, “No, thank you.” I did it! I turned down McDonalds.
What I realized tonight is that I have begun to take control of what goes into my body. I may have needed a book to tell me what the right things exactly to put in it are, but it’s me that is choosing to do the program and fuel my body with healthy food over unhealthy food. It seems silly to say that I had no control over what I was eating, but it’s true. If it was available and it tasted good, I would have it – no matter how processed it was or how not-hungry I was. Looking back, I felt out of control when it came to my cravings. Self control has never been one of my strong suits, but when it came to food , there was practically none, and I’d started to just accept that as a fact of my life. I hope to get a lot out of doing this cleanse, but if nothing else, I hope to remember that I am in control of what goes into my body. I am in control of making my body work well, look good, and feel good – and if I eat Big Macs, I’m going to get stomach aches and gain weight, so why should I inflict that on myself?
When I saw them eating their delicious hamburgers and talking about their peach and apple pies, I do admit that I questioned my decision. And I am, by no means, saying that I will never have McDonalds again or that I’ve conquered my self control issues with food completely. Just that, in the words of a wise man called, Bob, I am taking “baby steps.”
Oh…and the NKOTBSB concert was awesome. =)
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