[Shades of Gray]

Originally Posted by sfree13

I think you did a great job preparing for the party in terms of bringing healthy food, but did you prepare mentally? I know it sounds kinda weird, but I think it is about re-training our brains to think of parties as a time to celebrate PEOPLE, not food. Maybe parties don't = food for you, but that is a huge problem for me. For now, I try to avoid parties as much as I can, but when I have to go, or really want to go, I talk to myself before-hand and clearly lay-out my game plan such as: I will have a 2-300 snack before I go to the party, I will NOT drink (lowers resolve and awareness), I will allow myself ONE small/regular sized dessert that I can't live without (I personally don't care about savory things too much).

This is good advice. It's one of WW "Tools for Living" (They don't really talk about these anymore, do they? At least they don't in my meeting.) called Mental Rehearsing. If you have eTools, click on Your Plan and you can find all the Tools for Living under the Plan Essentials section. Anywho, in addition to what sfree said above, also think about how you'll feel after the party when you've made controlled choices (This does not mean crunching on celery the whole time. Make a realistic plan). You'd feel really great about yourself, right? Imagine it and use it to your advantage. You can so do this!!

[Jennifer 3FC]

I have a really hard time with parties. My brain equates food with celebration! I'm a diet soda fanatic - not good, but something I try to control. However, in a party situation I'd go for the diet coke and skip the water, because for me personally I'd more than likely feel deprived. A fizzy drink would feel at least a little special

If you can hone in on a fruit tray, that's good, or try this dip I posted on this thread with some veggie sticks. You can have 1/2 cup for 2 points. That's a lot of dip! I like raw zucchini with dip. It's a free veggie, but a little softer than other vegetables so it tells my brain it's the next best thing to pita!

[TransformingToni]

Wow Jen! That dip sounds amazing! I wish I had seen this post yesterday before the game because I would have made it!

I'm happy to report that I did extremely well last night at the party. I have a lot of Activity Points racked up, and this was meant as a "safety net" for me to fall back on if I needed it. It's hard to give a final tally of my points from the party, but I munched on fresh fruit and veggies dipped in salsa. I did have a few slices of keilbasa (little bite sized slices, three tops) and when the cake was cut and served I passed it up and didn't feel deprived at all! WIN!

I brought dark chocolate covered strawberries and was strong enough to only have one. I did enjoy two Miller Lites last night, and I'm proud of how well I handled it.

I also skipped going out Friday night and Saturday night so the temptations of the weekend would be narrowed down to ONE event, instead of three. I hit the gym on Friday night AND Sunday before the game, and did cardioke at home on Saturday. I would say that Friday taught me a huge lesson, and I came out victorious instead of beaten. And I have all of you to thank for it. Thank you girls!!!! (((HUGS)))

[TransformingToni]

I also need to add that it was a tremendous help that my all time favorite blogger, The Freckled Foodie, was in attendance at this party. She knows I blog about my weight loss journey. Just having her around me was extra support for keeping me on plan. I knew that if her plate was full of veggies and she could have fun that there is no good reason why I couldn't do the same! Thanks Sami!!!!

[LitChick]

Shades of Grey, my leader brings up the tools for living pretty regularly and will refer to them when she's demonstrating how to use whichever one(s) apply to that week's topic or member question.

Jennifer - that dip sounds awesome! I'll have to remember it the next time I am having a party or potluck.

Toni - you did awesome! Way to go! You exercised control, made choices and practiced 'flexible restraint'

As for me, I'm pretty pleased with how I handled myself. Prior to going to the party, I got in a training run - 13.5 miles - so I'd definitely racked up the AP points, but didn't plan to use them. I ate a veggie and turkey sub before we went so I wasn't starving and I packed carrot sticks in case I just got 'munchy' at the party and sparkling water instead of soda or beer.

At the party, over the course of about 6 hours, I had a half dozen turkey meatballs, a few shrimp, a turkey finger sandwich and about a 1/4 cup of pasta tossed with olive oil and peppers - and lots of carrots! It was also a friend's 30th birthday and I had a 1/2 slice of cake. All in all for the day, I had my 29 P+ plus 8 WP, coming in at 1857 calories. I wasn't stuffed and didn't feel out of control or deprived. I'll take it!

Oh and by the way, my leader mentioned at the last meeting that Superbowl Sunday is apparently the highest day for calories consumed for the entire year - it even beats out Thanksgiving!

[Jennifer 3FC]

Originally Posted by LitChick

Oh and by the way, my leader mentioned at the last meeting that Superbowl Sunday is apparently the highest day for calories consumed for the entire year - it even beats out Thanksgiving!

WOW, I consider myself lucky that I'm not a fan of football! And way to go on the eating, LitChick. You did great!

[Spooky]

This is a good thread for me right now -- this weekend we have the DC Food & Wine Festival! My DW is the GM of a sports bar so every year we get 'supertaster tickets' which means we get in and ridiculous amounts of food and wine/liquor are free. It's a vendor event so everyone is there to give out samples of their food and beverages hoping that they will be picked up at various local bars and restaurants.
What it really ends up being is a huge party for restaurant people to reunite with all their buddies and eat and drink for 3 days.
I'm a little worried. I'm going to try and follow my own advice and be moderate but we already have dinner and drinks lined up for Friday, the festival on Saturday, plans for Sunday and Monday is Valentine's Day so it's a long weekend of eating.
Ugh.