[MaggieShines]

Hi, all.... I'm back from my business trip/visit with my daughter. The business part of it was the usual diet wrecker -- the cocktail parties, banquets, business dinners, wine-and-cheese receptions. Ugh. I won't even go there. But good did come of it. I learned a couple of things

1. Though I might not be able to avoid the above eating scenarios, I can control what I eat on my own time. Everything doesn't have to go to **** just because I'm on a business trip. The orgiastic eating I've allowed myself to do on these things is the equivalent of people going on business trips and "hooking up" with strangers or co-workers for no good reason. Sort of. LOL.

This time around, I discovered the joy of ordering a pot of herbal tea in my room in the evening, as opposed to ordering a second full meal just because I could

2. I also clearly defined a really bad habit that I had fallen in to as a result of my frequent trips. I have always loved being alone in hotels, partly because I could hole up in the room at night and pig out. Somewhere along the way, I discovered the joy of curling up in a hotel bed with the TV on, eating a $40 hambuger on an expense account and then following that up with various goodies from the gift shop

When I checked in in Atlanta, I had no sooner unpacked when I headed to the gift shop. I bought sugar wafers, two candy bars, a bag of Mike N Ikes, cheese curls and two bottles of soda

Once I was "in" for the night, I ordered my dinner and ate it. Then afterwards, I ate many of the snacks. A little later, I ordered the tea and had it with the sugar wafers. God, I felt awful after all that

The next day, I stocked up again. But that evening, I had a special dinner with members of our advisory board. It was lovely. Lasted hours and was very relaxed. I had a reasonable meal -- a points-buster of course, but not obscene. Had a few glasses of wine, and shared a small plate of mini fruit tarts with the entire table. It was nice. But when it was over, I went back to my room and, of course, started eating the snacks! Why? I certainly wasn't hungry.... [I]but they were there[/I

I was actaully stuffing myself, knowing I was making myself sick, simply because they were there. That's when the light bulb went off. I didn't have to eat them. I could leave them there. I could throw them away. ****, I didn't even have to buy them in the first place. The gift shop is open late, so I could go get something if I was actually hungry. Plus, there's room service if I really wanted it. I didn't have to follow through on a stupid habit that probably arose from boredom on a trip years ago.

The next night, dinner was less elaborate and there was no wine or dessert. Plus I hadn't gone to the gift shop. A few hours later, I was feeling a bit hungry -- actually, just craving something sweet, so I got a small pack of cookies from the gift shop, went back to my room and ordered a pot of herbal tea, which I drank with two small cookies. I was more than satisfied and I went to sleep feeling normal, not like a bloated piece of sausage stuffed into a casing three sizes to small

3. I was reminded of the importance of presentation, eating mindfully and enjoying the ritual of eating. The hot water in the lovely tea pot, the dainty tea cup, served on a platter with a fresh flower, a small container with sugar packets, a small container with fresh cinnamon sticks, a small jar of honey... it was satisfying in and of itself. I'm going to try to remember that when I have my meals or snacks. It about more than just what goes into my mouth

4. I also was reminded of the importance of exercise. Even though my hotel was connected to the convention center, it was roughly a mile walk from my room to the trade show floor. And I walked back and forth at least 3-4 times a day. So even with all that eating, I didn't gain anything during my trip. I think I actually lost a pound!

Sorry to have rambled, but I found these things to be quite a revelation. Maybe my insights can help someone else?

[MistySeptember]

Maggie! I am so proud of you. I think your insights have given you some new rituals to treat yourself after a long day of conventions. It's great that you've created a new way relax. I think your insights can reflect on how many of us react to the stress of work, travel, but really any stress. Yesterday we did the zoo and my kids were tired, my family was tired, I was tired and DH called me and told me he was remodeling my office while I am gone. WHich is soooooooo great, but I spent weeks measuring and planning and drawing changing stuff according to what he told me, then now he tells me he is going back to my orignal plan. I don't like that he is doing this while I am not here, I can imagine the mess I am going to come home to the paper work he is going to trash. I know he means well, but it's bad timing for us financially, it makes no sense. Anyway, we ran to target and my instinct was to buy a big pack of oreos and pig out. The stress of being away from home, ect. My sister wouldn't let me buy them. So in seeing how you handled a much more stressful situation I feel inspired. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MeRam2]

Hi Maggie! Welcome back! It sounds like you had a pretty good trip.....professional and personally! Yeaaa! I mean a loss on a trip like that deserves many applause"s"!!

I have not been around too much! I think I fell off the wagon a little bit! I have had no desire to exercise, eat healthy, stay focused....nothing....zip! I got on here today and was reading everyones posts and I'm hoping that does it for me!

Well, glad you are back and had a safe and somewhat healthy trip! Have a great day!

[MaggieShines]

Thanks for the kind words, girls. Misty... on not buying the Oreos. I know you had some help, but I know that when I want Oreos NO ONE can really stop me unless I want them to. You let your sister stop you. And I say to that! Try to stay positive about the office, too. It might turn out to be wonderful.

Jeanne.. try not to think about jumping back on the wagon all at once. Just think about doing for today. Not even today.. just do it for the next bite of food you put in your mouth, then the next and so on. I think if you get one part of your healthy lifestyle back in control -- eating might actually be easiest -- then the rest will start to fall back in place.

And sometimes, the very best thing we can do it come here and just feel the love! Anyone else have some huggies for Jeanne? (Oops... I guess that sounds wrong, but at least I didn't use a capital H )

I had four very simple goals today:

1. Drink no soda and drink *some* water.
(Done! I had no soda at all; I drank a 20-ounce bottle of water at lunch; and I bought a 24-ounce bottle for dinner. Not a gallon, but 44 ounces that I wouldn't have had otherwise.)

2. Incorporate even just a few extra footsteps into my daily routine.
(Done! I left my desk at lunch and walked just a half a block to the fruit truck and then back again. No great feat, but it was a block that I wouldn't normally would have walked.)

3. Do five reps of hand and leg weights at home.
(Not done yet, but I plan on it.)

4. Don't be an *** about what I put in my mouth.
(Done so far! Every morsel I thought about eating, I asked myself.... does eating this make me an ***? If the answer was no, I ate it joyfully. If it was yes, I didn't eat it. Here is my criteria for what would make me as ***:
1. I'm not hungry, but I eat anyway.
2. I'm not hungry anymore, but I keep eating.
3. It doesn't taste good but I eat it anyway.
4. I don't even actually want it, but I eat it anyway.
5. It's just plain bad for my body, but I eat it anyway.
6. I'm know I'm eating out of boredom or stress or some other emotion, but I eat anyway.
7. I know it will make me feel like crap after I eat it (either physically, mentally or emotionally), but I eat it anyway.

I wasn't ready to re-commit to Points again or to vow to work out 7 days a week or drinks 6 gallons of water. I was just ready commit to baby steps. Not even baby steps... fetus steps. And I did, and I'm happy about that. I'm going to try to do the same time tomorrow .