Good afternoon bloggies! Last time we spoke I was off to get ready for a fancy dinner out to celebrate Dean’s birthday. 

I think the four of us clean up pretty well!  The birthday boy and his lovely wife.  I love Holly’s top, the aqua and turquoise colors are so pretty!

Hubby and I.  As usual we don’t coordinate. 🙂

I think this pic is cute and wish it wasn’t blurry.

It was the perfect evening to wear the cocktail dress that I bought for Holly & Dean’s wedding.  I love this dress, wishing it hadn’t gotten so tight over the past year though….

The plan was to go to Il Mercato for dinner but turns outs none of us actually checked to make sure they were open. 🙁 Opps.  After a little drive around downtown exploring our options, the birthday boy requested that we check to see if Upstairs at Salty’s had a table available.  After a quick phone call, we had a reservation and were seated as soon as we arrived! Yay!

Salty’s is a restaurant right on the Halifax Waterfront, the scenery is absolutely gorgeous!  They offer casual dining downstairs (pub-type food) and finer dining upstairs.   To be completely honest, I was wondering how great the experience would be considering how disappointed I with the casual dining facility last year.   Obviously I kept an open mind and am happy to say that both the food and service were great!

Our table over looked the harbour;  we had an amazing view of all people out enjoying the sunny evening on their boats.

They brought bread to start.  A multigrain and a cinnamon raisin.

I had a piece of both…..and went back for seconds throughout the night 😉  I love fresh bread, delish!

Everything on the menu looked good.  I had a hard time deciding on what to start with, let alone my main course.

 
In the end I went with the Braised Mussels for my appy – Nova Scotia cultivated mussels with a white wine garlic broth.

Delish!  While I was enjoying the mussels I commented that the only time I ever ate them was when I went out to a restaurant.  Seems silly, considering how readily available they are. 

For my main course I was kept going back and forth between a curried maple chicken dish and the roasted scallops.

In the end I stuck with my seafood theme (considering that’s the speciality!) and order the Roasted Scallops – Nova Scotia scallops, sweet red Thai curry sauce, spinach-lemon risotto, and grilled vegetables.

Yay, okay I was drooling a bit when our server brought over my meal. 😉 Incredible. I was the last once to finish because I was trying to savour every bite.

 
Everything about this dish was fantastic.  The scallops were cooked to perfection and the risotto was just the right amount of creamy.  But my fav part of the whole meal was the grilled veggies, specifically the mushrooms, I believe they were portabellas. OMG, I could have had a plate full of those and been completely happy.

Looks like hubby enjoyed his filet mignon too. LOL! 

And ya know we went for dessert! We split this beautiful creation –  New York Cheesecake topped with chocolate sauce. OH.EM.GEE!   I just let the pictures do the talking….

 
So there you have it,  ending the celebrations with a fabulous Nova Scotia meal!

***

The weekend was great but we had a lot going on and there wasn’t a lot of down time.  I woke up this morning feeling absolutely burnt out and almost hung-over. 

And

The scale was the highest its been in 2 years.

EFF ME.

I am struggling on many levels.  The past month has been nothing but humidity.  Exercise has been severely lacking. 

I was also dealing with a lot of stress/anxiety and this undoubtedly, has led to the gain.   I am an emotional eater and have tried many techniques over the past three years to overcome it. But, when it’s how you’ve coped for 24 years it’s a hard habit to break, it’s almost instinct to reach for food.  I’m good about writing/talking out my feelings but having food provides an almost instant relief.

The worst part is now my # 1 source of stress is my weight.   The issues surrounding my past stresses/anxieties have been resolved out but now I’m left with this extra weight.  Weight that I’m very aware of – half of the clothes in my closet are currently out of rotation.  Those same clothes that we’re almost too big for me this time last Summer.  I am also noticing it a lot in current pictures of myself – the extra chins and chubby cheeks. Gah. 🙁

I will not be a statistic and gain all the weight back. I just won’t. 

I am trying very hard to balance my eats.  I enjoy a variety of foods, that’s not really the issue.  My main problem is portion control, and occasionally binging from the above mentioned stress.

Being down in the dumps about all this will only make it worse.  So, I’m staying positive and trying to be truly honest with myself. If having to asking myself a few questions before & during my meals will help me to not mindlessly eat than I’m willing to try it.

1) Am I actually hungry or am I bored, stressed or upset?  If I’m not actually hungry then I will deal with my emotions by talking/writing them out. It does work.

2)  Do I need to eat that large a portion to feel full and satisfied? Am I full?  Must understand/accept that it’s okay to leave food on my plate. 

3)  Do I really need to eat “insert food/drink here” or am I doing it because everyone else is? IE: Social eating.

4) Is there a healthier alternative that I could be eating?

I know I’m not alone with these feelings. Food issues are a struggle for many people.  If you can relate, let me know what positive changes you’re making or have made to work through and overcome emotional eating.

On a complete side note –  I’ve been afraid to go to the doctor and get my blood work to make sure sugars are in check, cholesterol levels are good etc.  I’m scared that the weight I’ve gained is going to undone all that I’ve worked to overcome.   I’ve been using the fact that I don’t currently have a doctor to avoid a check up. (My doctor relocated to a diff province last Summer.)  I am having a hard time finding a replacement but it makes it so easy to not go and avoid it all.

But that attitude is plain stupid and got me all to almost 300 lbs.  Ignoring my health issues will not make them go away, it’s only going to hinder them.  So, no more being scared, instead it’s motivation to track my food and be active.

FYI:  I made an appointment with a new doctor at my medical center for early August. 🙂

Have you ever put off going to the doctor because you were scared of what they’d say about your health?