I have been full of empty little promises to myself. I’ve been struggling to eat well and lose weight along with failing miserably at getting enough exercise. I gave myself permission to be really bad for my birthday, but decided that things had to change.

I love to go out. I need social interaction and Coriander, my little, red dachshund, really isn’t gifted in the art of conversation, although she tries. When I go to The Library, I almost always get involved with a fun conversation. There are some other regulars who I really enjoy keeping company with. The problem is that massive beer consumption is almost always a part of the fun, and that is quite the problem where my waistline is concerned.

It was last week when I decided to start consuming non-alcoholic beverages while out and about. Water and coffee are quite common, and iced tea was the beverage of choice, last night. I don’t have to drink alcohol to have a good time. If I do drink alcohol, it doesn’t have to be in every beverage. Last night, I wanted to keep the calorie count down. It also made for a more affordable evening. I walked into The Library, saw two of my favorite drinking buddies, and ordered coffee. With [then] present company, I knew I was going to be in it for the long haul, so I held off ordering food. This is one of my tricks: take my time ordering, and don’t order everything at once. Don’t be afraid to eat some of the food and leave some of it for a bit later. Spread it out. Enjoy it. Heck, I multi-task at the computer, so why not at the restaurant? It’s like pulling up Facebook, then walking away to do some dishes or watch television for 15 minutes. In the restaurant, I can take a few nibbles of my food, then work on my iced tea and chat for a few minutes, then bring the food back into play.

It comes down to this: I just don’t feel healthy, right now, and it’s really messing with my mind, mostly on the emotional scale. I haven’t been making the best decisions, and I’ve decided that it’s time to put a positive spin on my habits, rather than cut out my social time.