Manda’s Wine and Queso Diet (Sugar Detox Day Eight)

Monteluce Winery - my kind of party
Monteluce Winery, Dahlonega, Georgia

As I mentioned on Friday, I spent the weekend at a Bachelorette Party in the mountains. At the bride’s request, this was not a frilly limo-tour of bars with fruity cocktails and male dancers, or even an extravagant spa weekend; but two nights in a rustic cabin down a muddy road with a relaxed foray in an SUV to some of North Georgia’s beautiful wineries on Saturday. It was a jeans and sweater kind of affair (though she did sport a veil and pink feather boa — we’re not barbarians). That preference is one of many reasons I love this girl, and I’m so happy she is marrying one of my oldest and best friends.

I was a little concerned about how the sugar detox would go over the weekend. I love wine, I love food in general, and vacations are a time of major weakness for me when it comes to eating. It doesn’t take much social pressure to get me into a celebratory slice of cake or a bag of M&M’s; but it takes a hell of a lot of discipline to pull me OUT of that bag once I’m in. Frosting is like crack to me.

My health coach friend Meghan suggested that I sip on some red wine as my weekend indulgence. And that’s what I did. Well, that’s what I did if you replace the word “sip” with “guzzle,” and “some red” with “a liter of red and a few glasses of white.” To really make it accurate, you have to tack on “and eat your weight in chips and queso.”

This is my kind of luncheon.
This is my kind of ladies’ luncheon…

I opted not to even track my weight watchers points: partly because we were in the middle of nowhere and the WW app on my phone was useless without cell service, and partly because who wants to say “excuse me girls, I just need to go see how unhealthy what we’re eating really is…”? I decided to try to make sensible choices for most of the weekend, and to keep avoiding wheat plus any sugary foods aside from the wine. Other than a few bites of flatbread chips and a citrus vinaigrette on my beet salad, I think I managed both of those restrictions pretty well. As for tortilla chips and dairy, though, all bets were off. Cheese = yes. Pimento cheese, cheddar cheese on toothpicks, melted cheese with jalapenos… ah, the nectar of the gods. Well… the nectar of the cows.

So when I stepped on the scale this morning, I held my breath. Salty chips, queso, a half-pound of guacamole, 10,458 nuts. SO much wine. And no Jazzercise. (We did see a Jazzercise studio while we were up there, but I was in no condition to dance at that moment.) But the scale was kind this morning: I was actually down two pounds since Friday. Woo-friggin-hoo, y’all!

So I’m smiling today and getting ready to write my new book: Wine, Cheese and Lose! by M.J. Pullen. Coming soon to a bookstore near you.

[Read the next installment of the Sugar Detox Saga here.]

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I’m M.J. (Manda) Pullen, an author and mom in the Atlanta, Georgia area. I blog about writing, publishing, parenthood, life and the many lessons I’ve learned the hard way. I once accidentally killed a pet mouse by feeding him too much cheese, and am now trying to avoid giving him his revenge.

If you enjoyed this blog, please follow along or join my Inner Circle monthly email list. At the end of each month I do random drawings with various prizes for list subscribers, the friends who refer them, and everyone who comments on the blogs. Good luck with that!

My current roster of books includes The Marriage Pact series, a trilogy of Contemporary Romance/Women’s Fiction novels. You can find them for all eBook formats and in paperback here.

MJ Pullen

M.J. Pullen is a distracted writer and the mom of two boys in Roswell, Georgia, where she is absolutely late for something important right now. Her books include quirky romantic comedies and playful women's fiction. She blogs erratically with writing advice, random observations, and reflections on raising very loud kids and dogs. Join her Distracted Readers newsletter list for updates, free content, giveaways and more.

3 thoughts on “Manda’s Wine and Queso Diet (Sugar Detox Day Eight)”

  1. LindyLindy

    I’m ready to pre-order that book for my Kindle! I’ve always said–some folks have a water quote they must meet each day, while I have a cheese quota. To each their own!

  2. Meghan ToupsMeghan Toups

    Love it! A future best seller!
    Glad it was a successful and tasty weekend 🙂

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