let's forget that ever happened.

ok, that last post was incredibly pathetic and self indulgent. jeez, louise. yeah, i was bummed out. but who has a super amazing birthday at age 36 on a thursday? probably no one, because all of the cool people have to work on friday morning. but then FRIDAY rolls around, and the heat is on.

friday after work, my girlfriends took me to a mexican restaurant for a celebration. i know what you're thinking... MEXICAN? here's the truly loco part: it was my choice to go there. initially i'd said, "anything but mexican." it's so hard to diet there, no matter what type of diet you're on. but the more i thought about it, that place is good, cheap, centrally located, has plenty of space, serves alcohol and wouldn't care if we sat there for 3 hours gabbing. this was one of those times when i decided i couldn't let my diet hijack what was best for the group, and it actually turned out beautifully. they have some new items that are perfect for a low-carb dieter. i got a huge chicken breast covered in cheese and mushrooms that came with lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream on the side. i just had them hold the rice.

initially i was going to eat just 3 chips and have no alcohol. well.... after a couple of hours i broke down and had 2 light beers, which then made my hand go into the chip basket too many times. i probably had 15-20 chips, breaking each into 3 pieces. but i took my own advice at the end of the night and thought about what i would have eaten had i not been dieting: something wrapped up in tortillas with sides of beans and rice, at least half a basket of chips, and 2 giant margaritas. so are 20 chips and 2 beers ideal? no. are they a thousand times better than what i'd have done if i threw caution to the wind? yup. AND i was able to fully enjoy myself without feeling deprived or being distracted by the chips just out of reach.

on saturday i knew i should go run. but i didn't go! i don't even know why. i felt like sleeping in and being lazy. and when i weighed myself, the scale hadn't gone up as a result of la fiesta de cumplianos, so i used my energy to clean my house. not exactly intense cardio, but still good. my BFF and i had the rare chance to spend an evening together celebrating my birthday. we went to get mani-pedis, then did some shopping, and then dinner at bonefish grill. typically i am not a big chain restaurant person. but bonefish is the very rare exception. always the best service, and the food is perfect every single time. i had a dirty martini with 3 blue cheese stuffed olives...my favorite. now this isn't bad as far as carbs go, BUT the body does metabolize alcohol before anything else, so that's the pitfall with liquor. before our meals came, he brought out some bread and dipping oil. i allowed myself a small piece. again, this was one of those intentional choices, not a cheat or failure. for my meal i had grilled salmon topped with spinach, bacon and gargonzola cheese, and for my sides, ratatouille and asparagus. the good choice here was subbing the asparagus for the garlic mashed potatoes that i'd kill for, and choosing the salmon over the chicken just because it's a little lower in calories and it's so good with the omega 3's. after dinner, we shared a pumpkin creme brûlée. it was amazing, but we stopped eating before it was all gone, another small victory. before we left, the server gave me a beautiful little box of artisan chocolates as a birthday gift. in it were two flat discs of chocolate, about the diameter of a reeses cup. one had dried bits of raspberries on it, the other had chocolate sprinkles. my friend asked if she needed to take them away from me, and i said no, i'd probably save them and use them as a stocking stuffer at christmas.

well...that plan lasted about 2 hours, because before bed i broke off a tiny piece and popped it in my mouth. oh man...some of the best chocolate i've ever tasted. i decided this would be my final birthday splurge. i ate them both and went to sleep.

this morning the scale was up 2 pounds. wah wahhhhh. so like i said a few weeks ago, you either have to accept the gain or pay the price. so it was off to the gym where i put in an hour on the treadmill and over 4 miles. came back home, jumped on the scale, problem solved. water weight gone.

i had one more birthday celebration to survive today: a long-standing date with a friend i haven't seen in over a year at the most incredible italian restaurant ever. THE best pizza, THE best pasta. they

literally have a line outside the door every single day waiting for them to open at 4. but i wasn't even tempted to eat carbs. because the other thing they're known for is CHEESE. they dump a thousand pounds of it on every salad. so i ordered the double house salad, and this is what i got. i worked on it for a long time and still had a huge pile left to bring home. they really could have skipped the lettuce and just brought me the cheese and a fork. 

so not only did my birthday get celebrated in epic fashion on friday, saturday AND sunday (and let us not forget breakfast on thursday), but i made some great choices, and i made some choices that were bad for the diet but good for the soul, and i fixed all damage at the gym. i'm going to have to chalk this weekend up as a win.

tomorrow is my tops weigh-in, and for the first time in several weeks, i am confident that i had a loss. the past few mondays have involved me scrambling to work in a run right before weigh-in to try to squeeze out a one-pound loss. i will probably still try to do this tomorrow so i can maximize what i've already done this week, but i think i should be close to 3 pounds. that means this week will be a success as i work on that "20 pounds before new year's eve" self-imposed challenge. i'll let you know tomorrow!