I have watched several movies in the theater since the first of the year and movies at the theater are just not the same while on a diet....  Even though Paddington Bear was an awesome movie to take our youngest daughter to, we just did not get the full enjoyment from it like we had hoped.  Going to the movies is more than just sitting in your chair, fixing your eyes upon the massive screen in front of you, and watching a story.  It’s a total sensory experience…. I want to get all of my senses involved and walk away with an experience I cannot get at home. I found myself more worried as to what my neighbors were crunching on then what the story was. Watching the lady next to me eat a Twizzler was more enjoyable than the little bear on the screen. 

When I go to the movies I want the smell of popcorn to make a smile flash across my face as I exit my car in the parking lot and I get a whiff of its heavenly goodness drifting from the building. I want to be thinking about what I will pair with my popcorn as I walk the 400 plus steps from my car to the front doors of the theater. Will it be peanut butter flavored candies with a small candy shell, or will it be long red whips of sugary goodness shaped like a straw? My wife and I could reenact that scene from “Lady and the Tramp” while we dined on our strawberry goodness (Double bonus)…. Butter or no butter?? Lol.. Dumb question but I am more of a no butter kind of guy while the wife likes our popcorn floating on a sea of butter. I often cave and get her what she wants (Happy Wife=Happy Life) but sometimes I pose the question and she says “ok, we will skip the butter”. That answer is normally followed with a cute pouty face with her lower lip creeping out ever so slowly… 

I worried about even going to the movies… Could we resist the temptation of the 64 oz. belly busting Mr. Pibb and his trusty crime fighter Uber Monster Bucket of Corn? They are quite the pair you know..… Why not get them in a bundle package, they are $1.00 off if you do, and the guy behind the counter says “it’s enough to share with your entire family…” Sounds like a deal right? 

Three weeks into the diet and I have been doing great. I miss carbs and the full experience at the movies. I decided to initiate cheat days. It was date night with my beautiful wife and by gosh we deserved it. Yes, she has been by my side eating what I eat and keeping me motivated. While she has to only lose her “3 pounds” she is ever so supportive. We started the night off at this wonderful Sushi restaurant where a train actually passes by your table and you pick from the cars what sushi that you want. At the end of the night they come by and count your little plates and give you your bill. It is quite fun. The first taste was nirvana…. The rice teased my tongue with its weight and texture while the fish and sweet sauce gently sent tremors to my taste buds. Each taste bud was firing like a piston in a small engine. We both closed our eyes on that first piece and you could hear the release of our anticipated breath slowly exhale while a subtle mmmmmmmmm that came from the back of our throats. Our eyes both opened slowly and it was like that feeling we had the first time we met… We were falling in love with our meal. After several plates a piece and a Tsingtao (beer), we were stuffed. Each plate had 2 pieces of sushi on it so we are not talking a huge amount but enough to fill our shrunken tummies. We eventually had another plate or two while we sat and conversed about the meal and enjoyed our drinks. 

It was nice to sit back and watch excessively heavy people walk in and down 10 to 12 plates without blinking an eye. Heck I would have downed 10 plates myself back in Nov/Dec. Now, my body is use to smaller more frequent portions. I try to eat 5 times a day. For us to split 9 plates was perfect. We left quite satisfied and knew that while this would setback our daily incremental weight loss number, it far outweighed that negative by satisfying cravings that we have been having for the last few weeks. Needless to say, our viewing of American Sniper that night was top notch. I found myself sitting there thinking how content I was; a great movie on the screen, a beautiful lady next to me, a reclining leather chair, a bucket of corn, a wheat beer, and butter running down my arm….. Ahhhhh now this is a Cheat Night….         

 It’s a game you play with your body. A small cheat once a week is not going to derail the train unless you let it. It is a reward. It’s something to look forward to at the end of a long and stressful week. Pick and choose your cheat nights but do not let it interrupt your continued success. You have to keep cheat nights in check. Two nights later my wife said “hey, do you want to go RA (Sushi Place-Not the one with the train) tomorrow for a member’s only event?” Lol.. I was like “NO BABE, cheat nights are not but once a week or maybe once every two weeks.” We can’t let the cheat night derail our focus. Some people have cheat meals and not full blown nights. It is up to you and what progress you are trying to maintain. You will find that sometimes your body will fight you in your attempt to shed those unwanted pounds. It realizes that you are no longer feeding it the things in which it has become accustomed. It will go into survival mode and try to self-preserve. Throw it a curveball and go eat (in-moderation) a meal or food that you have cut out while on your diet. You might notice like I have, a stagnant day or two after your cheat then a big dip in the scale as your body got over the hurdle and realized it did not need to self-preserve. Cheat nights will also allow you to fight those cravings and give you strength to keep up the good fight. Cheat your diet, not yourself…….. This is a long battle and not a sprint! Keep up the good work and I will see you at the end.  If you liked what you read be sure to hit the like button up top.... (Smily Face)