Well, this time my blogging silence meant I took a trip off the deep end.  It all started with a visit to my parents last weekend.  I knew I was going to go off (what else can you do at an Italian buffet??), and then I knew x was coming up, and then y, and you get my drift.  We’ve started eating lunch once a week with DH’s work friends, and that usually presents a bit of an issue.  Most places are difficult to navigate on my diet since it’s so calorie, sodium, and carb restricted.  On WW, I think I could do it without much of a problem, but even when my calories aren’t too bad, I still hold water, my weight spikes, and it takes me a couple of days to get back to where I was.  So, if this happens once a week, then half my time is spent playing catch-up.  I don’t really know what I’m going to do about that, to tell the truth.  If you have any brilliant ideas, I’d love to hear them.

That said, this once a week lunch did not at all force me to eat almost half a gallon of ice cream (in several sittings, at least) or two boxes of eggo bake shop muffin tops (very yummy– too yummy, in fact, for me to ever buy again), or a frozen pizza (single serve, at least), or the huge amount of cookie dough, or any of the other numerous and very bad for me things that I consumed over my brief “vacation.”

I think the biggest problem with a cheat like that is that it makes it so hard to go back on a diet again.  I did it today, and provided I don’t have a relapse this evening, things are fine.  I even have a planned snack coming up.  I also worked out, and I didn’t stop working out this week, even though I was eating incredibly poorly (however, the food DID seriously affect my workouts– I was so full that I felt really icky and cut out some cardio).

It was also tempting to just stay off my diet because this weekend DH and I are going to Ohio to an outlet mall, and there will be eating out.  We will also be at my parents to pick up a new dog (so excited!), and I’m sure there will be eating out there as well.  However, I persevered today and decided that even if I had to go off again, there was nothing to justify not being on plan TODAY.  I could potentially even stay OP tomorrow and then only have Saturday and Sunday affected.  At least I have no holiday cookouts headed my way.

Unfortunately, the sad effects of this little foray into the world of “real” food have left me with an additional SEVEN pounds.  I know a lot of this is actual food weight as well as water weight, but I definitely took in more calories than I burned, so at least a couple pounds of that is real (ugh).  I was doing so well, too.  On Friday I weighed in at my lowest ever– a full pound below where I was before DH got back from Iraq…and then I go and do something like this to myself and have to back track again.  It was like I was in denial the whole time I was off.  What is wrong with me?!?!?

Anyway, I plan to blog the rest of the week until the weekend gets here (when I’ll be away), and I’ll post again on Monday with the results of another weekend away from home.  Here’s the damage for today, and I must say, it’s pretty respectable:

Calories
  Eaten 946
  BMR* 1,895
  Exercise 400
  Total Burned 2,295
  Differential -1,349

weight at home:  167