Former Fat Girl and the City
It's been a little longer than anticipated, but as many of you know, I have been sick since Easter. I got a little cough on Saturday while in NYC and then Sunday afternoon I got knocked on my butt with a horrible headache and fever. The fever lasted until late last night. So I was not quite up to writing. I'm not sure any of it would have made sense anyway.
So I think there will be a couple of posts today :-) Let's start with my NYC trip. The plan to start the day was to meet my ride at my Aunt's at 8am. I was up early and had to decide what to wear. I pulled out a few dresses. I started putzing around and then realized that I wanted to go a little fancy. I was going to Carnegie Hall after all. So I pulled out a pretty little black and white cocktail dress that I wore to the rehearsal dinner for my brother's wedding a few years ago. I HEART this dress. I felt smokin hot in this dress back then.
Um...I'm a little smaller now. First off, I was able to zip it on my own. I did not need any help. Holla! The first time I wore it, it was a tad snug. Alright, I could not sit comfortably in it. This time I could shove a fist down both sides. The dress has spaghetti straps. They were falling down all day on Saturday. The pretty dress is now retired :-)
Okay, so the dress is picked out and I had to get on the road. I took a little longer than anticipated, but I still needed to stop for some cash. So I ran to the grocery store and grabbed some bananas for the week and a protein bar for the car ride. I also brought my water bottle.
We got on the road a little after 8 and needed to be at Carnegie Hall by 10:45. Not knowing how much traffic we were going to hit I did not really drink too much water on the ride. Turns out it was a quick trip. We were standing in front of Carnegie Hall by 9:45. We had a whole hour to kill. We found a cute little cafe and I needed a hot chocolate. It was Chilly in that dress. So I ordered my hot chocolate...with a large black and white cookie. They are my New York favorite. I could not say no.
They also had some delicious looking salads and sandwiches. In retrospect, I should have gotten something more than a cookie. The show started at 11:30...and wasn't over until almost 2.
Before I go on, let me give a shout out to my cousin Keeley. She was the finale for the performances and was Awesome! I had never really seen her play the piano before and I was awe struck. She also looked very beautiful in a champagne dress that I would like to borrow one day :-)
The plan was for us to go to lunch at the Carnegie Deli. The line was a little long and we were a lot starving. Change of plans. We walked across the street and went to the Ben-Ash Deli instead. If you aren't familiar with these locales, they are famous for their ginormous sandwiches. The sandwiches are more than enough for two. I could not decide what to have. I could smell the burgers and my belly was freaking out. But, I really wanted some corned beef or pastrami. They had salads, but no way was I wasting this opportunity. My mom and I were going to split something when my cousin asked her to split a steak. I was on my own. What to do? What to do. Then I saw fried pierogies and I made my decision.
The orders were placed and one by one everyone's plates were brought to the table. These portions were huge. I was getting very excited. Naturally mine was the last to come out. And my plate had 5 pierogies on it. Are you freakin kidding me? Everyone else has a plate that could feed a small country. I was starving! I had a few bites of my mom's steak. I had half of my grandmom's bagel (it came with her awesome looking salmon salad). And I had a small portion of my uncle's towering pastromi/roast beef sandwich. Yes, the pierogies were delicious, but Oh dear lord I needed more food. Remember, I also had that monster run the day before.
After lunch, Keeley and I walked over to Starbucks for some Vanilla Chai Tea (I was still cold). I wanted one of their cookies, but alas, I had already had my black and white. Then we walked the few blocks up and took pictures in Central Park. It was such a beautiful day.
I would have liked to have drank a lot more water, but I was unsure about bathroom breaks and so I held back. I did suck down a bunch when I got home. I also stopped and got a lean cuisine to eat for dinner. I was still hungry :-(
Many moons ago I lived in Jersey and worked in Manhattan for a year. It was a wonderful experience. I did a LOT of walking during that year and lost a lot of weight. I also did not eat well. I was particularly fond of corn fritter and knishes. I did not have a lot of money, so I often ordered my food from street vendors. Here's a tip: if it's sold from a street vendor just keep walking. Nothing nutritional there! Now I will say, I was quite impressed that there was a produce vendor on the corner of Carnegie Hall. Yeah! However, no idea where that fruit came from so I passed.
I loved being back in the city, but my food habits were coming back too. Back then I ate no veggies unless they were fried. I lived for hot dogs and soft pretzels. Cheap and quick. Not good! I also never drank water at that time. I was the queen of Diet Coke. Happily, I didn't have the urges I had before. I was quite proud. (I meant about the street vendors...I realize that I ate fried potatoes for lunch *sad face*)
Knowing what I know, I would have done things a little differently, but I won't let that overshadow what a wonderful day it was.
****Please note****
If you feel like you are alone on your journey and you just need some encouragement I am here for you! Shoot me an email and I will do my best to check in on you or give you the words of support you need several times a week. The journey is so much easier if you have support.
jhendersonfit@gmail.com
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