January 19th, 2010 - Today I went to lunch with a group of friends. I can't remember the exact name of the restaurant we went to, however I could recite the menu in its entirety. Anyway, it was something called 'xxx Red Hots'. It's menu consisted of hotdogs, hamburgers, polish sausage, Italian beef, etc, etc and oh, yeah, salads. Sounded great. During the short ride there I was debating between polish sausage, grilled on french bread or an Italian beef, with lots of peppers. Or no, maybe I will have a big juicy hamburger, piled with onions and mustard. And to top it off, maybe some onion rings and a shake. I had already rationalized in my head how this would be walked off when I did my afternoon cardio. I mean you can't always watch yourself, and if you are going to induldge, do it at lunch and not at dinner, so you have time to work it off. I was set, couldn't wait, and then, the unthinkable happened...Peer Pressure. Oh my god, I am well past the age of peer pressure, or so I thought.

There were five of us and the ordering started. I will have the medium salad, with lots of vegetables, some pumpkin seeds, and low fat dressing and no thanks, skip the roll. Oh oh, my hands started to sweat, as I mumbled under my breath, "the polish sounds good". Order number two. I would like the medium salad, with artichokes, hearts of palm, garbonzo beans, no cheese, and do you have Ranch Lite? I would love a small roll do you have something whole wheat or all bran. Just water to drink, thanks. I was really nervous. Hey I muttered, to no one in particular, "I bet I could have the hamburger, with no bun and maybe some pickles and a diet coke. That sounds pretty good. No reply. Order number three. I think I would like the medium salad, with a little cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, yes lots of them, and a vinegarette dressing. Do you have any breadsticks, wholewheat, of course. I saw my hamburger slipping away, the Polish was out of the question, but maybe I could rationalize how chicken tenders couldn't be that bad. So what if they are fried, they have been sitting for awhile so I am sure the fat has drained off? Order number four. I will have the baked potato, with two squirts of 'I can't believe it is not butter' and some bean sprouts and parsley for color. Oh and a diet coke. That was it, I was doomed. I don't like potatoes, so that was out, and I was really feeling the pressure. Would I be strong and get what I wanted. I am an adult, I know what I want and what is good for me. I don't need others to judge my choices, shake their heads and give me the smile that says, "do you really think you want to eat that". Hell yes, I do. So I walked up to the counter, held my head high, and order a...medium salad, bla, bla, bla.

I use to think peer pressure was only felt by the young. Now I know that is not true. What is a girl to do. I know what this girl is going to do....Be the first one to order.