Well it is Australia Day and I have just attended a barbeque as any good Australian should. It was a wonderful time with people I like and at a lovely home out in the burbs. It was also the biggest challenge to my diet so far. The spread was divine, with exotic salads and meats and plenty of food for everyone.
I ate before we left so that I wouldn’t be hungry and could ignore the food. I managed quite well with the meats and salads and felt quite proud of myself. Then out came the traditional desserts and my eyes boggled. Pavlova, chocolate ripple cake, cheesecake… the desserts kept coming and my eyes grew wider.
Now I know my weakness, and my weakness is sweets. I have indulged in many a chocolate creamy dessert and my favourite of all is the chocolate ripple cake. It is a deceptively simple dish, chocolate ripple biscuits surrounded by whipped cream and depending how fancy the cook wants to go you can grate a bit of chocolate on the top. It is all chocolaty and creamy goodness indeed. And there it was sitting in front of me while I am trying to be virtuous and stick to my diet.
I am happy to report that I did not succumb to the temptation and found that having plenty of company to talk to and letting them all know the reasons for refusing the dessert so that they weren’t continually pressing me to try some helped tremendously. I think being honest about being on a diet is an important step and it means that you have plenty of people around you to support you.
I haven’t done any exercise for a couple of days now but will get back into the swing of things tomorrow. Alcohol doesn’t really mix with exercise.
One last note before I go. It is Australia Day today and I do expect a certain amount of patriotism amongst Australians as we have a great country to be proud of, but I was puzzled by the sheer amount of cars I saw travelling on the freeway with Australian flags on the back window of the car. Were they coming from an event or is just everyone that patriotic? Guess I will never know.
Paula
The Apathetic Reviewer 