Dropping pounds and eating pizza don’t typically go together; actually they fit in the same sentence about as well as my waist into my skinny jeans after the holidays (not well). This January, I witnessed the very real hardship that comes along with a little extra yuletide weight.
While normally I remain disciplined and practice a balanced diet, it was apparent that two back to back long weekends filled with frozen pizzas and Christmas cookies had gotten the best of me. In order to get the weight loss pendulum swinging I would have no choice but to limit my pizza intake.
Or would I?
Sure, pizza comes loaded with a lot of unhealthy obstacles: A delicious carb-loaded crust, high saturated fat filled mozzarella and pepperoni, and a sugary tomato sauce. But I knew there had to be a way to get my fix without having to use all my Amazon gift cards on new XXL size clothes.
So, I mulled over my Christmas conundrum and brainstormed several solutions:
Option 1. The cauliflower crust/healthy flatbread route: I could make a healthy-ish homemade pizza on a low carb protein loaded wrap. With all the low-carb rage, products like this are all over the place. I could load it with toppings and I bet that would suffice.
Option 2. A pizza bowl: Skip that crust all together and pile the toppings sky high. It’s pretty easy to trick yourself, or at least wet your whistle with 66% of what makes a pizza great.
Option 3. Portion control: I could always just limit yourself to one slice, but let’s face it this option sucks (booo!!).
While all of those options would be o k…., none of them really get me too excited to go on diet anytime soon.
As I started to stir on my first Friday morning after the New Year the urge for pizza crust began to crescendo in my mind, I thought to myself: Maybe I should just embrace the dad-bod. After all I am 35 years old with two kids, who do I have to impress?
But, I shook the vision of myself raising a slice to “cheers” my two year old and realized it was no time to give in. I wanted to comfortably wear jeans again. I began to tinker with another idea as pizza night was just hours away.
What if I could build a Frankenstein low carb concoction piled high with all of my favorite pieces of the pie?
Though slightly wasteful (unless you’re lucky enough to have a 2 and half year old who loves pizza crust like I do), I decided to simply scrape the toppings off multiple slices and sculpt them into one giant slice. Thus assembling a mega slice that would surely fulfill my fattiest of cravings.
After I ate that jumbo slice I felt pleasantly satisfied, even with just a fraction of the normal crust. Yes, the pizza was delicious, but more importantly I was proud of my self for sticking to my guns.
It was a step in the right direction to get me out of sweatpants dependency. Though I love the food buzz that comes from the doughy shovel, I have to admit that a little momentum in the right direction feels even better.
What I’m eating: Rosa’s in Whitewater,WI; pepperoni, sausage, extra cheese from multiple pieces piled on one slice.
What I’m reading: The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You -Julie Zhuo
The Pie of My Life 