Opportunity Knocks..The Conclusion

And now the conclusion to our dinner with two “Biggest Winners”….

Our nerves were still jumpy as we pulled up to Harbour Sixty but excitement was taking over. We were early (which is a rarity for us) so we relaxed and waited in the main lobby. About 10 minutes later Antoine and Alexandra arrived. It was really comfortable right off the bat as we chatted and were walked to our table. Of course, being the kind of restaurant it is, we received a grand tour of the kitchen, past the display cases of meat, seafood and other delicious looking food. Just getting to the table was an experience.

We sat at our table for a good hour just talking and getting to know each other. We covered everything from our upbringing to work and everything in-between. The conversation flowed; it was almost like we had always been friends and were just catching up over a few glasses of water.

One of our topics of discussion was how Antoine and Alexandra were able to help family, be around family or participate in holiday gatherings without the usual bad food and weight implications. We listened very closely to this advice as this is always one of the areas we struggle with. Antoine and Alexandra gave us some great advice on how they did their first thanksgiving together for their family and cooked nothing but healthy food. It was a compromise for their family, but it was the idea and follow through of actually doing it that mattered.

Our poor server must have come back four or five times over the hour we sat there before we even opened up our menus. When we finally did, we got our first lesson on how Antoine and Alexandra have been so successful in their journey so far. While looking through the options for an appetizer, we all gravitated towards the shrimp cocktail. Rather than each of us ordering our own, Antoine made a great suggestion: Let’s split one! The server was very accommodating and split them up into four plates and we were able to each have a taste without over-indulging.

Moving on to dinner: we said it before, we had no idea what to expect – what would Antoine and Alexandra order? Once we started discussing it we realized that we had nothing to worry about, they eat like normal people, not like they did while they were on the BL ranch. Antoine was pretty settled on getting the Dover Sole that was flown in from France that morning, (there were only three in the entire restaurant), and then Lisa, Alexandra and I all settled on a nice steak. Alexandra had always wanted to try lobster and asked the server to add a lobster tail to her order, but we then found out the tail was 16oz! So we used one of the tips that Antoine had shared with us and we split it between the four of us. To cap off our superbly delicious meal, we split a lovely fruit and crepe platter.

Now I know by this point you must be thinking where are the great pearls of wisdom? How are we going to learn from these two successful, interesting and outgoing people? (Antoine and Alexandra – not us). I think our key take away from this dinner is the fact that losing weight and keeping it off is an ongoing thing. You constantly have the option to make choices and it’s up to you to make the right ones. You can still go out, still enjoy yourself and have a great lifestyle, but it’s what you choose to eat, what activity you choose to do that makes the difference in how you feel, how you look. I think this dinner highlighted that small adjustments (like sharing an appetizer for example) can help with the bigger picture. Another thing that really stood out for us, and that is becoming more and more apparent is that talking with other people that are going through a similar journey really helps us re-energize and focus on our goals. Talking about our struggles and listening to other people’s struggles and triumphs helps us grow and continue what we are doing.

This was a great experience and once in a life time thing. We have made some great new friends in a few hours together and we want to thank Antoine and Alexandra for selecting us, and the WeightWise Expo for running the contest.

Dinner With Antoine + Alexandra from Biggest Loser

 

Take care
~ira