Out of curiosity and for the fact that I am tracking calories to drop the last 10 stubborn pounds I decided to count the calories in one of my boyfriends 'special' dinners.

We have dinner guests tonight, otherwise our dinners are very healthy, clean and within my caloric allowance. Tonight's meal is 1437 CALORIES! That's about my daily allowance; this doesn't include wine, champagne nor the humous, bread and olives h'orderves. I'm frustrated, as I'm trying not to have cheat days because I feel they been counter productive and I've been pretty much the same weight since summer.

I'm planning on having a couple of fiber drinks beforehand and only eat 1/2 of my meal and enjoy a glass of champagne and a glass of wine. I really hope I stick to plan. I know the meal will be delicious but I need to be strong!

How do others deal with these situations? Any tips?

Yes, try to eat a really lean meal before this and don't eat the entire thing. I heard somewhere else on this forum a good piece of advice, she had guests over and served things that were still good, but she wasn't very fond of herself.

Allow this day to be a maintenance day. This doesnt mean eat everything under the sun, but get in a little extra workout if you can - figure out how many calories are about net zero for the day and then enjoy what you do eat. Plan ahead of time leaving maybe a 100 calorie cushion.

Then at the end of the day you can feel happy because while you may not have progressed towards your 10 lbs today, you didnt go backwards.

Then get right back on plan tomorrow. No regrets, no "making up for it"

I'm going to say this part again. Decide what you are going to eat and then allow yourself to enjoy every bite.

Serving dishes I'm not particularly fond of is a great idea. I'll have to remember that for next time.

Next dinner party we'll have pork belly with brussel sprouts and for dessert there will be cheesecake!

I'm so glad I did a calorie count before digging in. I ended up eating half of everything, so my calories were spot on and I was able to enjoy a bit of everything without getting stuff and hating myself for over indulging.

Thanks for the tips ladies!

Good for you !!