Breaking the rules

30 Day Shred - Day 11

Today was the biggest write-off. For the first time in this shred, I didn't prepare any meals and ate out for all my meals. I blame work.

We had an all-day off-site, which means you gotta stay in one place and eat their food. I could have brought my own meals, but how weird would that be. Everyone is digging in and I bust out my salad and boiled eggs.

So instead of submitting myself to possible ridicule, I decided to eat as sensibly as I could.

For breakfast, I met my colleague at Gowings Bar & Grill. They're known as an after work bar, but my friend swore their breakfasts were to die for.

My breakfast
Black Truffle Scrambled Eggs
Finished with Asiago Cheese, Grilled Asparagus,

Lemon Balm, 11 Seeded Bread gluten free toast

I know - I ate bread and cheese.

I have no regrets. It was absolutely divine and the truffle and cheese combo was outstanding. I could have done away with the gluten free toast.

Our off site was at Bar 100 in The Rocks. Great part of the city. Venue is again great for after work drinks, not so much a 30 Day Shredder.

For lunch, finger sandwiches made of white bread were served. Gasp!

I ate the most sensible one - tomato and brie...just one.

Then paddles of pizzas were strewn along a bench top. Followed by another round of pizzas. And another. I ate two palm sized Margarita pizzas. My thighs hate me.

Then came salads and fries. Finally, something my body wants. Forget the fries, I devoured the salad and my body felt whole again.

The day ended and some of us went to a cafe. There goes my second cup for coffee - and I never drink coffee. It's a Sydney thing. Definitely not a 30 Day Shred thing.

Feeling remorse for all the carbs I had consumed at breakfast and lunch, I decided to walk across the bridge to meet Dave. That afternoon, I was feeling particularly down. I wasn't happy with myself. I fell off - not like one foot on the ground, but completely face down into the dirt. Plus the looming question, "What am I doing with my life" question weighed heavy on me. I needed that walk across the bridge. It was a sunny afternoon and I was on my way to meet my biggest fan - Dave.

He was already at the bottom of the stairs at Kirribilli with his usual grin. I wrapped my arms around him and laid on his chest.

"I'm so happy to see you. I've had a bad day."

He held me close and listened to my unravel the details of fall and my worries about life.

I jumped on the back of his scooter. We had plans to meet our friends Lauren and Jason at Via Napoli Pizzeria - "the best pizza in Sydney", Jason claims.

They laughed at Lauren when she asked if they have gluten free options for me. Oh well. Their babysitter fell through so we decided to get take-out.

It was good to see our old friends. Ever since we moved to Coogee, we hardly see them. We tend to stay in the Coogee bubble always convincing people to come visit us. They came to us last time, so we made the effort this time to visit them in Waverton on the north side of the bridge.

We played with their son Alex who was walking like we'd never seen before! A few girlfriends were also there whom I hadn't seen in months. It was a great catch up session over meter long pizzas.

I have to give them credit for the best pizza title (in 2013). The meter option is three pizzas in one. You get to choose three different styles and the meter is sectioned into thirds. The slices are huge, but piled up on with toppings. The only downside is that the base is so thin, it's quite floppy and the crust is very thick.

Knowing my indulgences of the day, I decided why quit now? I gave Dave the crusts to minimise my carb intake.

Via Napoli Pizzeria

1 Meter Pizza

Eggplant, White pizza and Margarita

I broke the rules. The 30 Day Shred told me it's inevitable you'll be going out here and there. You just need to eat sensibly. The Facebook support forum has many stories of women often falling off like me. The women are so supportive though. They all empathise and tell each other it's okay. It is okay. I just have to get back on the plan tomorrow. What's done is done, but there's still plenty of time to make progress. I'll sleep well tonight with all the carbs I've eaten, but I wonder how my body will take it?