It could all be so simple...

I awoke this morning to my adorable 3 year old daughter running into the bedroom asking, "Daddy, you want breakfast with us?" "Sure, Mayah," was my reply. I thought my wife was in the kitchen about to make breakfast. She wasn't. She had actually sent in the scout team to see if I wanted to join them for a family breakfast outing. Sunday morning family time? Of course I'm there.

Then came the problem. My wife walked into the bedroom and asks,"Are you coming to breakfast with us? I'm going to take Mayah to Waffle House." Still battling the fog of sleep, I reluctantly acknowledge that I'm facing the first "Crap, what do I do?" moment of my lifestyle change...Before this morning, Waffle House had been one of my favorite breakfast dives. And breakfast always consisted of one thing and one thing only...Pork chops with cheese-eggs, grits, and raisin toast. The kind of greasy goodness that warms the cockles of your heart while simultaneously clogging your arteries.

My dilemma:
(1) I can't allow my lifestyle change to force the rest of my family to make changes they aren't willing to make yet ;-)
(2) I can't allow my lifestyle change to wrestle me away from my family because my diet is so strict that I alienate them.
(3) Even if I go, (i) can I find something healthy in Waffle House of all places? and (ii) can I resist the temptation of--... it's probably better not to say it again. lol

My solution:
(1) I decided that I'd stick to my guns and, hopefully, my steadfastness, dedication, and most of all, results, will encourage my family to make healthy lifestyle changes of their own. In other words, I must be strong. For me. And for them.

(2) I'll use my lifestyle change to teach Mayah healthy eating habits at age 3 that will carry her throughout her life. I'll turn alienation into incorporation. By doing so, Mayah will never have to make a lifestyle change (a difficult one like mine) because she'll only know how to it healthy.

(3) I convince myself, if they have food, I can find a way to have them make it healthy. And so it was. There was chicken and eggs on the menu. A full size with 3 chicken breasts and a regular size with 2 chicken breasts. It came with toast or biscuits, grits, hash browns, or tomatoes. My order...regular size with wheat toast (i only ate 2 of the 4 halves) and tomatoes. As for the coffee, well, there are no pink or yellow packets there. My solution, have the coffee, use the half/half instead of the heavier cream and allow myself one flattened teaspoon of sugar per cup. Here, I figured I wouldn't hurt myself too much because I never cook with or eat sugar in the foods I make at home. I always use Splenda or Equal.

But, here's where my buddy Ed Huff's website became of immediate importance...I learned from it that one of the disadvantages of only using artificial sweeteners is that your body can forget how to process sugars; you body can get tricked into thinking its getting higher calorie meals than it is and later begin to crave calories, like carbs, and cause overeating; and, too much of the artificial sweeteners in your system can cause your liver to spend more time clearing these toxins out and not enough time transporting the healthy fats throughout your body.

The Bottom Line:
This morning went from "Crap, what do I do?" to "Sweet, I totally did that!" If I can find a healthy menu solution at Waffle House, I know I can find one anywhere. Dilemma #1 abated and I have the rest of my life to relish the victory.

I'm one day closer, Friends.