Magic Elixir

It's been a whirlwind couple of days and I haven't been able to give any updates to my oh so scintillating life (snort). But I have some rather bizarre news to share.

It's entirely possible I've invented a magical combo of foods that will keep us all happy and (feeling) young forever!

It's a completely random mix of foods that I threw together for a Friday lunch because it was the end of the week and I had to make sure I ate up all the leftover veggies before they went bad.

So, into my lunch pail on Friday I took:

1) the leftovers from Thursdays' dinner (the tiny remains of couscous, sauteed tempeh, squash, carrots and cabbage mixed with Amy's low-fat black bean chili).

2) a bunch of mixed greens, arugula, spinach, etc with some delicious leafy things I can't identify

3) purple cabbage

4) freshly grated carrots

5) two sheets of Nori seaweed that needed eating up

I ended up tearing off bits of the seaweed, throwing on some greens and spooning the rest of the stuff on top for a very sloppy sushi roll.

Anyway, it was surprisingly delicious. And even though I had started Friday off in a funk of a mood, and biked an extra four miles that morning (making me feel a little hungrier than usual), after I ate that random assortment of veggies n' stuff, I was flyyyyyyyyinnng all afternoon.

My mood soared, I was full of energy, I was mentally sharp and just ... for lack of better words, feeling really, incredibly good.

I know -- am 100 percent positive -- that the food had a lot to do with it. I biked home around 9pm that night still floating along.

And it's stuck with me now for the last couple of days! I know the food hasn't powered me for that long, but it seems to have put me in such a good place that everything has suddenly become easier than usual.

Maybe that's why last night at dinner with friends, I was able to control my wine intake without too much struggle. I had *some* cheese when we got to their house. I was hungry and wanted something in my stomach for the glass of wine. But I didn't go crazy -- I had a few bites of each type that I wanted to sample, and that was it.

Then on to dinner, when I declined the two-for-one martini offers, didn't order another glass of wine until my entree came, AND...most importantly, stuck to my plan to order the Nicoise Salad.

That decision was aided by the fact that the BF got the fish-n-chip dish that was calling to me. I knew I could -- and did -- get in a good couple of bites off his plate. Maybe it wasn't the "perfect" solution. But it's what got me to order a hearty, healthy, satisfying salad instead of my own plate of deep-fried calories.

We did order three very delicious desserts to share among our party of nine. So I got to taste some of each one, but again....the dictates of manners meant I couldn't just slurp them down my gob.

By the time I left, I was sated, happy and just the right kind of full. No feeling deprived. No stress that I'd had too much of this, too much of that.

It's kinda nice to be able to live the moment and let go, yet still land on the right sight of indulgence.

I guess that's what's known as the sweet spot of weight loss. It's a relaxed and comfortable place to be. I've passed by before, but never really stuck around.

Gosh, wouldn't it be great if I could take up permanent residence?