I WANT IT NOW!!

I think almost anyone who hears the phrase “I want it now” has an instantaneous flashback to the bratty little girl named Veruca Salt from the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie. Each and every time I hear those words or see her face, I think about those words as they apply to my relationship with food choices.

(My deepest apologies. That lyrical earworm is now firmly planted in your head, isn't it? It's playing in mine too, with little mumbles in the places where I forget the exact words to the song. Am I the only one who appreciated that moment where she fell down the chute?)

As the weeks of FirstLine Therapy nutrition pass,  I reflect on some of my challenges and choices of late. For instance, my friend Emily Woodward just opened a fantabulous bakery in Windsor called Get Baked. (Go ahead, click that link and like the bakery on Facebook.)

Emily is an amazing baker. She pours heart and soul into her creations. Each confection is more drool inspiring than the next - mini whoopie pies, bialy, cheddar and scallion scones, rugelach, baguettes, challah, pizza, garlic ciabatta, cinnamon raisin bread, strawberry lime muffins, pk's chocolate chip muffins, coffee cake, blueberry muffins, orange-cran muffins, chocolate cupcakes - well, you get the idea, right?

*wipes drool*

I am incredibly proud of what this young woman has dared to do and so happy to call her my friend. She enjoyed a successful soft open with a limited menu the weekend before Valentine's Day. Get Baked officially tossed open its doors on the 14th itself with a grand opening day celebration and ribbon cutting. It's been busy, busy, busy ever since.

Did you think I would miss her grand opening just because I am trying to reduce my body fat? Not a snowball's chance. So after a training session at Accelerated Fitness Solutions, I took my sweaty self up to Windsor to wish Em well and see what the place was like. I walked in at 6 pm to a still-packed room. Chatty people sipped coffee and noshed their baked goods at the counter, Emily's mom was running the register and the baked goods were flying off the shelves.

There I stood, wanting to be supportive, but not planning to sabotage myself.

I compromised, purchasing two long baguettes and two pieces of Sicilian style, thick pizza. All were destined to be gifts for my mother.

Here is where Veruca comes in - the old me would have said "I want it now.” I would have enjoyed a taste of just about everything and more than a taste of very specific items. But, I have goals. I cannot give up what I really want for what I want right now.

In general, I don't eat sweets or baked goods. They are a once in a great while treat. That is my choice. But this bakery is special and Em's baked goods are special. Once my 12 weeks of this program are over and as I transition into a maintenance phase, I will stop in the bakery to enjoy a cup of coffee with Emily. She is going to make me something very special. I will enjoy, make that savor, the delicious flavor of exactly one Nutella Triple Chocolate Brownie. I'll let that name sink in for a second.

N-U-T-E-L-L-A

T-R-I-P-L-E  C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E

B-R-O-W-N-I-E

Wipe that drool off your lip.

I'll make sure to plan for it, get in a good workout that day and stop at just the one. Then I will return to my clean eating lifestyle.

This will give us both what we want:

• Emily will have a happy, satisfied customer and a friend who feels loved.
• I will enjoy a treat baked by a dear friend without derailing my path to a very clearly defined goal. 

It's all about planning, compromise and remembering to enjoy life. I won't give up what I want most for a demanding, "I want it now moment,” but I remember that it is healthy to have an occasional deviation. No one is perfect.

Well, except maybe Emily. That lady rocks a kitchen! I mean, just look at that photo of her bialy!

I should point out, as a matter of record, that the two baguettes and the two pizza slices made it safely to my mother's hands. I drove there with a death grip on the wheel and my windows down because it all smelled so delicious. (My mother studiously avoided looking at the drool stains on my shirt.) I'm looking forward to my Nutella Triple Chocolate Brownie and coffee so very much and Emily's company even more. I really do appreciate that Emily cheers me along on my journey as well. She is not a "food pusher" and respects my choices. She is also the very same Emily who took the photographs for my blog, "Choose Your Hard".

Thank you as always, gentle reader, for following along. If you've missed the first six installments in my health and fitness journey, please click over to my blog archives at Merty Writes. In order, the blogs are:

"Do These Nachos Make My Hiney Look Fat?"

"Choose Your Hard"

"Ya Gotta Have Friends"

"The Attack of the Forty Foot Martini Olive"

"Inspiration, Motivation, Determination and A Side of Get It Done"

"5 Weeks Down - Progress & Pizza" 

Oh yes, and meet the Head Baker and Owner of Get Baked, Miss Emily Woodward - she's the woman in the last photo with the engaging smile.