I cannot lie to you guys. This weekend I ate things that don't belong on any site with the word "healthy" in its title. Why did I do this? Because I can. Life is all about balance and as Julius would say, I "eat clean during the week and eat dirty on the weekend." Another friend, Stark, always says "Work hard, play hard." He probably wasn't referring to exercise, but I've applied these two quotes to my life regarding fitness and nutrition. Being well-behaved during the week grants me that free pass to be naughty on the weekend.
I have found that this type of balance works for me. I'm not saying that everyone should eat like a mouse or give up their favorite foods Monday-Friday just so they can eat a truckload of food come Saturday. I just think when you are nourishing yourself with healthy foods the majority of the time, it is okay to indulge occasionally. Don't fear the spinach...or the pizza. Your body wants you to have both. I'd be a raging lunatic if I didn't have the occasional burger or slice of cake. Wouldn't you? In the past I have found that depriving myself only makes me binge later. I eat chocolate pretty often. I know that if I don't eat it here and there, my body will be so excited to finally see it, that I'll eat a damn cake. Then I'll feel cake pregnant. And I don't want any babies, cake or human.
Since I gave up alcohol, my perspective on drinking has also changed. I love beer. I love wine. And God bless tequila. But do I need to throw back Patron every Friday and shotgun Coor's Light? Ehhh probably not. Can I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner and have a few during the weekend? Absolutely. Moderate drinking has been so much more fun. In the past week I've had 3 glasses of red wine and two beers. I haven't had a hangover and I've gotten a lot done.
Sunday Funday began with a blogger meet up at the Fat Hen. Amelia is moving to Denver, so she chose this restaurant for her last Charleston blogger meet-up. Amelia + her husband, Blair, Lindsay, Erica, and I met up for brunch. The Fat Hen is located on John's Island, and from Mt. Pleasant, I felt like I was going on vacation. The drive over is really pretty and I was so excited to get out of Mt. Pleasant. I'm acting like it was hours away, but it was really only 14.6 miles from my house.
Upon seating, we were immediately served water in Mason jars. How cute!
The brunch menu has a lot of fantastic options, and I had a difficult time deciding what to order. Erica tried to catch me in a rare serious moment, but I caught her camera flash first!
I chose what my eyes immediately darted to when I first saw the menu: Creme Brulee French Toast served with Grand Marnier and strawberries.
Although it wasn't fancy plating, the food was good. The toast was really soft and doughy, with a custard-like taste. I was expecting more of a crispy crust, like Creme Brulee, but didn't get that at all. It was very very sweet. I think everyone enjoyed their meals, which included eggs Benedict, a crab crepe (amazing!), scrambled eggs + fruit, and an escolar over mixed greens special.
The Fat Hen parking lot makes for a great photo op:
Can I just say that Amelia's husband, Kevin, did a wonderful job at his first all-ladies meet up? The topics of conversation ranged from blogs, to hair stylists, ex-boyfriends, and back to blogs. He actively engaged in all of our girly conversations and took like ninety photos of us outside. I feel like blogger meet ups are a great way to either scare the shit out of your boyfriend/husband or test their tolerance....how do you ladies feel about me bringing a man on a first date with us? HA.
Sunday Funday continued...I migrated from John's Island back to Mt. Pleasant, straight to my pool. I met up with Jen, Hannah, Mike, Scott, and Kelly to bake in 100* weather. HOT DAMN it was hot. We lasted about two hours until we decided we needed refreshments: beer and burgers. Poe's Tavern on Sullivan's has the best burgers. It's fun to sit outside (by the fan of course!) and enjoy cold beers and humongous, creative burgers. Their menu has burgers, chicken sandwiches, nachos, and fish tacos. I've always wanted to try the Tell-Tale Heart: a burger with a fried egg, apple wood bacon, and cheddar cheese. Yep, it sounds like a great way to have a heart attack but I'm thinking all the cardio I did this week would negate balance it out.
Totally worth treadmill pounding. I think Hannah would agree for her special of the day: a burger with jalapeno jack cheese and fried pickles.
Scott said, "I only work out so I can eat more." He went with Edgar's nachos: tortilla chips, Edgar's drunken chili, monterey jack, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, jalapenos, and scallions.
That wasn't all the damage I did this weekend. No, my friends, I ate a lot more. Margaret was my eating partner in crime this weekend. Friday night we sipped red wine and I ate a lot of pretzel m&ms (I want to marry these!). Last night we ate Blue Bell banana pudding ice cream. Can you believe that is real? It even has chunks of wafer cookie in it.
And Saturday night we ate at La Pizzeria in Mt. Pleasant. La Pizzeria is a small restaurant that serves authentic Italian pizza. It is reallyyyyyy good. I had a slice of Margherita with
San Marzano plum tomato sauce, basil and fresh mozzarella.
Margaret had a Bianco pizza with spinach, Romano cheese, and red pepper.
We also shared a Sicilian style slice. We must have lived in the South too long because we pointed at the slice and said "Oooh, we want that one, with the fried green tomato." The server said "Um..that's eggplant." Oops.
Weekend Recap: red wine, pretzel m&ms, pizza, french toast, burgers, beer, and ice cream. THIS IS WHY I WORK OUT.
Do you know how excited I was to drink milk and eat oatmeal for breakfast this morning? You have no idea.
Do you ever have weekends where you eat whatever you want because you know you deserve it? Do you ever regret eating this way or do you enjoy it to the fullest? Do you eat similar to me by eating clean for the most part and then giving in occasionally? Or do you have another balancing method? Please share! Enjoy your week!
In discovering true healthy eating, I've realized that I need to nourish my body with what it wants. Some days all I want are veggies and fruits, so that's what I eat. Some days, though, I want cupcakes and pasta, so that's what I eat! It has worked because I've been maintaining my weight well. I work out almost every day so I can afford to eat what I want and drink wine. I definitely get more lax on the weekends (mostly with alcohol) but I much prefer drinking a glass of wine with dinner every night to binge drinking.
ReplyDeleteThis is my philosophy for my eating habits most of the time! While I was training for my first 15K I was starving all the time! I ate super healthy during the week, and on the weekends I may have treated myself to pizza and gelato. :-) Sometimes, I still feel guilty if I go a bit overboard, but I know I really deserve the indulgences after working so hard. :-)
ReplyDeleteI know Stark. This made me laugh.
ReplyDeletehahaha YES I HAVE BEEN TO POES!!! thats awesome. I think I got an egg and bacon on my burger! It was a while ago. It was a fun experience, but I like my burgers plain with cheese! That place has some INSANE combos. glad you have a great weekend lovely!!!
ReplyDeleteI try and eat healthy all week because it's just a given that you'll encounter 3,000 delish foods in any given weekend. At first, I tried eating healthy all the time, and I was miserable! I love food too much to do that. So now I focus on eating healthy during the week, and splurging a little on the weekend. If I REALLY overdo it on a weekend I do feel pretty gross and regretful come Monday though... so I try and keep it to a reasonable level of unhealthiness on the weekends :)
ReplyDeletei HAVE to have that burger with the fried pickles on it!!!
ReplyDeleteI definitely understand the "relief" of eating something super clean after a few days of out of the ordinary/heavy/junk food. I usually call it my salad detox. ;)
ReplyDeleteI physically can't eat a lot of the food that you indulged in over the weekend. It's sad, but true. So my weekends are pretty much just like my weekdays. I have to stay in control the whole time or illness will set in. There are a lot of foods that I just can't have (beef) or have too much of (lactose, salt, sugar)...Or else I will get really sick. And if I don't exercise....My mind gets really sick. Take a week off from the gym and I am one seriously cranky woman. Although, I DO take Sundays off.
ReplyDeleteI would've indulged too if I had all that delicious food in front of me! YUM!
ReplyDeleteI used to be SO SCARED to indulge. Now I know that if I eat healthy the majority of the time and splurge a little from time to time--nothing is gonna happen...Ill just have fun and enjoy myself!
I totally live my life the way you do... and I don't feel guilty at all... you gotta live a little right? And "living" to me includes pizza, french fries and Blue Moons :)
ReplyDeletePS- Poe's is amazing!! This is the first year I haven't vacationed at Sullivan's during the summer. So sad to miss out on Poe's this year!
love your perspective on indulgence :D I think I indulge too much daily to devote an entire weekend too it, but damn, this makes me wanna rearrange things a little bit!
ReplyDeleteDay of deliciousness for SURE! Fat Hen was a blast. And you know we'd all love it if you brought a man on a first day to one of our blogger meet ups. We'd give him a true test ;). I have never heard of or been to peach La Pizzeria. I totally want to try it now. Thanks gfriend. I like to indulge selectively. I could never go 100% good. Grilled Cheese at Crave? Chips and salsa at any Mexican restaurant? Yes please!
ReplyDeleteWe had an absolute blast! It was fun as always. After we left, Kevin was like, "so that's what happens when girls go out." Haha! I would love to be a fly on the wall when he is with his buddies.
ReplyDeleteHey, if you are going to bring a guy on a first date to a blogger meet up, then I want to be there! It think it would be a great test. ;)
I think people are afraid to indulge publicly. Thanks for reminding us that breaking the rules once in a while is part of a healthy balance. :) It is all about being honest with yourself.
1. I just ate lunch and reading about all the places you ate and looking at the pictures and I am hungry again.
ReplyDelete2. When Stark said "work hard, play hard" he was not talking about the gym. I forgot to mention to you that Stark is one of my good friends! I noticed on facebook that we had him and T as friends in common!
3. I am the same way, I am good during the week and work out and eat fairly healthy. Then on the weekends, my healthy approah goes out the window and I am eating burgers and pizzas etc. I work out, so I can eat what I want!
I like this post, but if you want to eat that stuff girl, eat and enjoy it! No need to apologize beforehand. It all looks amazing!!
ReplyDeleteI'm starving now that I've read your post and looked at the pics! Sounds like a fun weekend - and pretzel M&M's are THE BOMB!!! I'm working on exercising more and indulging less!
ReplyDeleteAPPLAUSE! You came out and said what so many are too proud to admit. Yes I work out and give in to the good stuff. I don't go on a Blizzard binger daily, and that's why the weekends are so sweet.
ReplyDeleteAnd what's great is that you had FUN doing it. What a lovely weekend with friends:)
We would be the ultimate test for a first date. You should totally do that. ;) I ate at Poes Saturday night. Have you ever had the seared tuna salad. Awesome. I ate HALF of that carrot cake so yes I do eat worse on the weekends. I'm thinking of trying La Pizzaria this weekend with mom and dad. Did you ever try Guiseppes?
ReplyDeleteI tend to balance (I use that word loosely) my eats out day-to-day. Today I ate a small salad for lunch from home, tomorrow I'll eat a grilled cheese and fries from the cafe. (or something! haha) One night I'll drink wine with dinner, the next night a glass of milk. You get the idea. I agree with you it's all about balance and I think you have a great method going on! I don't regret eating any certain way - I named my blog after indulging and imbibing after all. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm salivating at all your weekend eats, especially your friends fried pickles! They are a rarity up North!
I balance it out all the time! I pretty much know what goes in...has to be worked out in some fashion! I get frustrated sometimes because I can't really splurge with the cheese/pizza/ice cream...but I find other ways to do it. I want that ice cream and pizza you had! Dang...that sounds so good! Glad you enjoyed yourself. Everyone needs a good splurge every once in a while! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteYou don't want to have a cake baby!?!? I had one last week and loved her so. When I was up in New England I absolutely loved every second of the food but could not WAIT to get my hands on my oatmeal, peanut butter and blueberry breakfasts every day. I splurge a LOT. But I also work at a gym so I guess it's equal. I wanna have a blogger meet up with youuuu!
ReplyDeleteCan I say every weekend and not look bad? :)
ReplyDeleteI'm like you in that if I don't give myself treats here and there, I'll end up going way overboard and bingeing on them later. A little indulging is good for us! :)
ReplyDeletei love the, "eat clean during the week, eat dirty during the weekend." i think that's a great quote to live by.
ReplyDeletebloggy meet-ups sound like such fun. especially at a fun place called that fat hen.
yummy food, pretty blogging friends, lovely weather-all equals a great weekend!
I have a lot of weekends like that. It's true when people say that we eat a lot unhealthier on the weekends because we've been kind of depriving ourselves of those treats during the week. I sometimes regret my decisions but if it's really good, it's totally worth it because I know it will balance out later!
ReplyDeleteI do the same things on the weekend sometimes. It all looks so good though =)
ReplyDeleteThis post is exactly why I love blogs! I spent last year totally fearing these kinds of foods, and it wasn't until I started reading blogs that I realized that pizza and cake can still be part of a healthy lifestyle. As you said, with all the cardio we do, we absolutely should be able to indulge. :D
ReplyDeleteI do agree that one dayish of bad eating after working hard and eating healthy is not really going to do anything. When you love food as much as us, it's just not worth it to never indulge. I only feel really bad after such indulgences if it wasn't good enough to be worth it!
ReplyDeleteFriday night and Saturday are free-for-alls. Sunday morning I work out, and the good eating starts again.
ReplyDeleteSaturday Faturday hahaha see this is why I love your blog! And I love that you are not afraid to eat REAL yummy food! Honestly I think it all balances out. Like you said, the next morning it's back to oatmeal! Glad you had a great weekend :)
ReplyDeleteI have to commend you for including both POE's AND La Pizzeria in one post- 2 of my favorite places in Charleston! I live within walking distance of La Pizzeria.....at least I can burn a few calories if I want to overindulge in pizza and wine, right? :-)
ReplyDeleteI've been eating shit on weekends all summer, and it's been glorious. Well, until I have a food hangover on Sunday...the thing is, I've never done the "crazy college kid" eating, and it's been kind of liberating to give it a go when I'm out with friends. I'm getting it out of my system, so I'm learning to indulge in moderation, but sometimes that beer/pizza/fries/ice cream/shots routine is just necessary.
ReplyDeleteLooks like such a great meetup!! That French toast sounds amazing :) Hope your week is off to a great start!
That french toast looks delicious! I've had such a weakness for breakfast lately :) And I definitely agree with your theory on healthy eating vs. splurging.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on eating healthy a majority of the time. I don't want to be "that girl" that orders a salad at a pizza place or burger joint, especially since I love those foods. I have to eat chocolate pretty often too or I can eat a cake. Or a pan of brownies!
ReplyDeleteYou ladies are so cute---looked like a fun blogger meet up!
ReplyDeleteAnd theme restaurants rock. I love the names of your dishes!!
I am all about eating whatever I want on the wknd. I try to eat as good as possible during the wk and the wknd morning usually start off with good intentions but then comes bar food and alcohol and I say screw it. All about the balance!
"Then I'll feel cake pregnant. And I don't want any babies, cake or human." That was the funniest quote ever! haha. I'm with you on the eating chocolate and such. I mean man, I've got to enjoy my favorite foods sometime or another.
ReplyDeleteLove it!! Too cute-- I pig out all the time:))) No shame in that game especially when french toast is involved. ;-) http://60-seconds-worth.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteI am ALOT like you! I try to eat healthy 95% of the time but I also dont restrict myself. I actually just had 4 pieces of Hershey's dark chocolate with almonds, in my bad let me add. :) I hate to say it but I sometimes do feel guilt after I eat HORRIBLE like fried or greasy food. even though yes I deserve it. I think that it also makes me feel gross, so it fuels the guilt.
ReplyDeleteYou are beautiful girl!!! just incase no one has told you today! :)
The blogger meetup looked like a lot of fun - such fashionable ladies and the food looks amazing! And banana pudding ice cream? That sounds ridiculously good.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fantastically delicious Saturday Faturday and Sunday Funday to me! I completely agree with your philosophy about eating clean most of the time and "dirty" on weekends. Food should be nourishing AND fun!
ReplyDeleteI am drooling over the pizza and banana pudding ice cream. Gaahh. Glad you were able to enjoy them!
I love the concept of the eating healthy during the week and allowing yourself to splurge a bit more on the weekends. I agree, I would be a mess if I couldn't have the occasional slice of cake or banana split :-)
ReplyDeleteI loved this post bc it really hit home...I am notorious for getting upset and stressing out over eating something "unhealthy", to the point where I will not even want to eat the next day. It's something I'm working on dealing with! But you are exactly right: We deserve to reward ourselves and not always worry about every little bite of food that goes in our mouth!
ReplyDeleteOh and a few nights ago I tried mixing syrup into Greek yogurt..SO good! Now I need to try it with sweet potato fries!
I just looked at the light pink nail polish color you asked me about -- it's called Sweet Memories! I love that color too!!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this post. Where to start?!
ReplyDelete- Love the quotes at the beginning. AGREE. Sunday - Thursday i'm "good" with a little "bad." Friday and Saturday i'm "bad" with a little "good." It's all about moderation for me!
- Great meet up. 14.6 miles. you crack me up. So fun that he joined in on the girly convos! hehe
- love the food pics. Want the pizza. Will be in Mount Pleasant in a couple of weeks - WANT IT.
- Congrats on your now less drinking! I agree - drinking in moderation is nice. It's like wow, i had a glass or two. it was good. But I still woke up feeling great and have all of this energy and am so productive!!!! I was like that this past weekend. Fabulous! (although I couldn't give it up as much as you have!)
K... think I got everything? great post!
How did I miss this post?
ReplyDeleteGirl, your weekend eats is going to look like a DAY of eats for me the day after bikini competition HA! I am going to allow myself a splurge and once I regain consciousness I'll resume my clean, green eating lifestyle:)
Right before I started prepping for this figure comp, I was doing Body-For-Life which is 5-6 clean meals daily plus one CHEAT DAY. Girl, every Sunday I went nuts and ate any and everything I wanted. It was heavenly. Now that I won't have a cheat day until November, I just look forward to resuming BFL-style eating in when the competition is over and allowing myself to take it easy a bit on weekends and have 2-3 indulgent meals, as long as I'm right back on it Monday morning. It's actually good for your metabolism to remind your body you aren't fasting and to give your taste buds something to look forward to:) Put it this way, I sing the Dairy Queen "ice cream and cake and cake..." song on the weekends for a reason:)
Wow, talk about run-on sentences in my above comment. I clearly didn't review before submitting and clearly drank too much caffeine at dinner HA! Why, oh, why does it bug me so much that I have to leave yet ANOTHER comment just to identify and point out my flaws?! HA!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more. Life is too short to always diet! ;)
ReplyDeleteI think it's just eating what you want.
ReplyDeleteYesterday and for the past month - I want carrot cake every day - and I mean carrot CAKE -not a piece - a cake - ...everyday...so yeah, it's disgusting, but i can't control it.
Anyhow "Fat Hen" ?? - LOL - some names are crazy!
Let me know when you get your Pamela's Products!
I must say I thoroughly enjoyed your tales from the weekend and drooling over your "healthy" food choices! I absolutely allow enough balance in my life to where I enjoy splurges, probably on a daily basis! I workout, eat healthy, maintain a good weight, life is worth living! It's no fun to pass up ALL the goods! I used to be really strict and would end up binging later on...now, with everything "allowed" I find I have much much much more self control!
ReplyDeletehahahaha i love the "i only workout so i can eat more" i'm so jealous of people who think like that haha!
ReplyDeletei'm the SAME way with alcohol! just lately i've been having it here and there and realize um it's not setting me back in things i want to get done haha. i think we should both have a brewski tonight in honor of that.
The ONLY way to eat is to eat with balance. We all have to be able to incorporate foods we enjoy - healthy stuff more often than indulgent, but STILL with the indulgent. You rock at that. Finally grasping that made giving up binging so much easier.
ReplyDeleteomg love this POST! I also like to 'eat dirty' on the weekends as well!!! I just love to live a balanced life! I really do eat clean during the week and enjoy on the weekends, its what works for me and my body!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the yummy food you ate this past weekend , especially the french toast! I love french toast!
Love your dress to, where did you get it?!!! U look hot as always!
love u and love that you enjoy life and good food!
I eat dirty some times but only in terms of quality not quantity. I never exceed my standard calories because I feel bloated
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous time! The food looks amazing!!!
ReplyDeletexo
I think my food philosophy is very much, "eat clean during the week and eat dirty on the weekend." (I love that phrase now, thanks!) It is all about balance. Like you said when you don't consume a little chocolate here and some french fries there, you get uber excited to see them and over eat. Not cool. What is cool, banana ice cream with wafers, fried green tomatoes...I mean eggplant, and burgers with fried eggs. Boo yah.
ReplyDelete