[Michelle98272]

Last night my boyfriend and I were invited to some of his friend's from work house...it was a big party with LOTS of really good things to eat (the hostess is a fabulous cook) and of course cocktails and beer.

I planned on not worrying about it, just having a good time, eating what only looked fabulous and totally worth the calories and drinking in moderation. I ate very lightly before the party to conserve my calories for the good stuff. I did both for the most part but her Chicken Enchiladas were like none I've ever had . She made them with a killer Mole' sauce instead of the traditional red or green enchilada sauce and tons of cheese. They were so fabulous that I had a generous serving, along with the finger foods and 4 beers. Then there was the cupcakes. I ate only one of those.

It was all great food. I don't feel bad at all. I don't feel guilty, not like I should punish myself by going off plan for good. I planned it, I'm owning up to it and to make up for it, I'm eating only fresh fruit, salad and veggies and drinking tons of green tea. I estimate I ate probably 3500-4000 calories yesterday. I plan on eating under 800 today and then for the next two days stick to 1200 instead of my usual 1980. With my fuzzy math that should take care of the extra.

I love that I can eat like this now. I overdid it (actually felt a little ill in bed last night with the rich mole' on my tummy) acknowledge it, planned for it and have a plan going forward.

[mizb1978]

Grats on staying "on plan" while being off it. I know in the past I would have said "Hmmmm, well I screwed up, better make it worth it and restart next week."

Good for you!

[GirlyGirlSebas]

Michelle, did you feel in-control while at the party? I'm concerned that you decided to "not worry about it." For me personally, I know that I will always have to be careful. My lack of self control all of my life has led me to be extremely overweight at 45 and with the beginnings of some serious health concerns. I'm like an alchoholic. If I let myself have a free for all, then the next one will be easier...then easier....then....well, you get my point. This is your journey. I'm not going to tell you what to do as I definitely don't have all of the answers! Just be careful, okay? I want to see you succeed.

[Lori Bell]

Did you only find out about the party the day of? Just a suggestion for the next party that I have found works really well for me. Instead of using my calories like a credit card, (Spend now and worry about paying for it later), this time around I have learned to "save up" for eating events.

For example, all week I knew that today after church we were going to be having a "pot-luck" to celebrate the VBS children's program. I knew there would be all kinds of delicious treats that I rarely get to have, so instead of declaring today a "cheat day" I worked for it all week. I cut calories several days in advance and saved up for some goodies. Of course now I hate myself for eating sugar, because all the rest of the day I've been wanting MOre, more, MORE...but still, the scale should be fine tomorrow and I won't have to eat lettuce and green tea all day. Thank the Lord...

[ubercast]

It is okay to take a break from a strict calorie regimen every once in a while, but as long as you get back to normal every thing will be okay. It sounded like you had fun the party ^_^.

[Caela]

Luv your no guilt, shame, or punishment approach to this party. So much of those emotions have shaped why I struggle with weight.

[Michelle98272]

Originally Posted by GirlyGirlSebas

Michelle, did you feel in-control while at the party? I'm concerned that you decided to "not worry about it." For me personally, I know that I will always have to be careful. My lack of self control all of my life has led me to be extremely overweight at 45 and with the beginnings of some serious health concerns. I'm like an alchoholic. If I let myself have a free for all, then the next one will be easier...then easier....then....well, you get my point. This is your journey. I'm not going to tell you what to do as I definitely don't have all of the answers! Just be careful, okay? I want to see you succeed.

Since I don't follow a super strict plan and allow myself comfort foods from time to time, a day of eating like yesterday isn't a huge deal for me. In the past I was truly out of control with food and felt it often. I felt like a crazy lady with food hidden in the trunk of my car and desk at work just in case. Since I began to get healthier, part of my plan is to remove all judgement when it comes to food. Cake isn't bad and celery isn't good. It is just food. Are there some foods I don't eat because they are triggers for me? Yep, but they are still just food.

I wasn't out of control at all yesterday. It wasn't a free for all. I just wasn't going to go to the party with "diet mode" in the forefront of my mind. I had a plan. My plan was to eat only what was really worth it calorie wise and to make each calorie count. I didn't waste calories on plain old potatoe chips or snack mix, I've had that before. I only ate the really good food. Even though I ate more of the enchilada than I had originally thought was a prudent serving, it was very worth every extra calorie as it was the best food I've even in a long time. My plan was to eat low in calories early in the day, eat what looked really good at the party, drink in moderation and then eat only fruits and veggies today (under 1000 calories), go low cal (1200) 2 additional days to make up for the 2000 extra calories I ate yesterday. I stayed exactly within that plan for yesterday and today. It wasn't scary as it was well planned and well thought out.

My somewhat laid back response to weight loss does have it's downfalls...I'm losing rather slowly...only 25 lbs in 5 1/2 months. But I'm feeling so positive about the changes I've made that I'm okay with it.

I appreciate your concern but I didn't see this as a 'fall off the wagon' or anything that was dangerous but rather a temporary veering off of course while being mindful of all the premutations.

[Michelle98272]

Originally Posted by Lori Bell

Did you only find out about the party the day of? Just a suggestion for the next party that I have found works really well for me. Instead of using my calories like a credit card, (Spend now and worry about paying for it later), this time around I have learned to "save up" for eating events.

I had some advance notice but didn't think it through in advance until the morning of the party. I will keep that in mind for the future though! I am pretty creative with my fruits and veggies to, so I didn't feel at all deprived today. I had a beautiful fruit salad with apples, papaya, peaches, mandarin oranges, banana and ff/sf yogurt as a dressing for breakfast , a huge gorgeous salad for lunch with 6 different veggies in addition to my usual salad mix and spinach base, then for dinner I had a huge head of steamed cauliflower with just a sprinkling of really tasty shredded parm on top. I drank the tea to help get rid of some of the bloating I experience when I drink alcohol or eat food high in sodium. It was all so tasty today that I thought I might do a meatless day 1x a week just for the heck of it.

Thanks for the great tip!