Last night, I went out with some friends for dinner at a bar. This is a local bar that I really like; the steaks there are absolutely fantastic. The cuts of meat are generous and of very high quality, and the proprietor/chef does an amazing job preparing them. The bar itself is fun: not trying too hard to be hip or trendy, yet hitting those chords perfectly. The drinks are good, and the service is always spot-on. What drew me there last night was the filet mignon served with a salad and garlic mashed potatoes. What I wanted to avoid was the alcohol.

It wasn’t easy. I was tempted more than a few times to have a drink, but I resisted. No, I’m not an alcoholic, and I don’t feel drawn to drinking. It’s just that after a long day or a long week, a cider really tastes good. I get it. But the thing is, while I thought having a cider would have been nice, I kept coming back to, “I’m in strict diet mode right now. I have to avoid the alcohol.” Eating the potatoes was as far as nearly off the reservation as I was allowing myself to go. Alcohol was simply unacceptable, and I kept it that way.

You know what? My friends were totally cool with it and understanding. No peer pressure or judgment from them (which is the opposite of what I got from the bartender who gave me a judgy look for ordering “Un-sweet iced tea.” I know it was in jest, but still.

The other thing that was amazing is how empowered I felt after dinner. On my drive home, I had time to think about the evening, how nice the food was, and the conversations and laughs with friends. But I also thought about how not drinking didn’t ruin the evening, how it allowed me to continue making progress in getting to my weight and size goals, and how much better I felt for that.

The best part; this morning, I was down another 2 lbs. That’s 7 total in four days. The Paleo Diet works if you give it all the effort you have. And no, I haven’t exercised AT ALL this week due to my knee injury. Maybe next week I’ll get back to running, but so far, I’m just letting my body heal a bit before I start with exercise again.