Count me in on situational overeating as well. Though sometimes I get into the mindset of "do I want people to see me eating all this?" which actually is helpful at keeping my focus on good choices.

Midwife - could you take a small plate of the catered food, and dump most of it before you eat any, then carry the nearly empty plate aound for a bit? Or is it a sit down thing where you have to deal with having the plate in front of you. Hard I know.

Congrats on the medals Becky!!

No apologies needed here either Becky! My weekend ended up crazy as well... Congrats on the medals!

Becky! So fabulous
like, really cool. Super coool. You should be so darned proud of yourself. I am bursting with my own pride for you!!!

Midwife, I will give you some crazy math-
I am about 150% improved in recovery but not quite feeling 100% recovered. Still backache and discomfort in various places. Sneezing and coughing is done with wrapping my arms around my belly. And it is still wow.
In terms of appearance, at worst I look way better and at best, well give me a few more weeks/months and I'll get back to you...

Becky, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Great job!!!

So speaking of situational eating, I had a meeting from 4-5 yesterday afternoon. When I went in, I found out that the admins had bought everyone McFlurries and passed them out one per person. By 4pm I'm already getting hungry for dinner, and I could not pass it up since it was specifically for me and already sitting in front of me. Sigh.

Today, I pledge to NOT eat junk at work.

Tomorrow, meanwhile, we have a company-wide meeting at a local hotel (none of our conference rooms can hold the whole company) which includes continental breakfast. I'm kind of torn -- usually I eat breakfast at home, but then when I get there I end up eating some of their breakfast anyway. I wonder if I end up getting more calories by eating at home AND eating some of the catered food than I would get if I just ate the catered food. I think unless I'm running late I'll plan for breakfast at home and a plate of fruit at the meeting.

Jessica, I used to face these buffets at meetings, also. I compromised slightly by eating most of my breakfast at home, except for fresh fruit. I would take a small plate of sliced strawberries & melon at the buffet. I found they always featured a bowl of this, as a concession to health. The other stuff was always bagels & pastries & etc.

I did better at the salad bar yesterday. The salad was just a tad over $9. I did have some of the vegan curried lentil soup, but I took a small cup, rather than a larger cup. This time, I could taste the salt. And I can press a dent in my ankle this morning. That's a lesson to me: No soup next time, which would be Wednesday, when I next head into the office.

I felt wiped out this morning & didn't get to the gym before office hours. I need to go during lunch or right after work. I have also scribbled down a short Pilates routine to try out on my own, based on what we've been doing in class, and I'm also eager to give that a go. Since I'm going to have a Pilates book open near me, as a prompt, to fresh my memory on the moves, I think I'd rather do that at home on my mat. (I have not yet seen anyone take an exercise book to the gym & prop it open in the studio while they're working.)

Kitty, I'll take that to mean you are improving.

Pat, I think that is a good idea that would work for most people. I still struggle with the dual demons of the clean plate club and free food. I've also noted I have some hoarding tendencies, and it's hard for me to throw stuff away...weird, huh? As it was, when I went in, some people pointed out the food to me and I just said that I ate at home and that was it. So there ya go!

Fruit is a safe choice for sure. Good luck, Jessica!

Saef, I work out with a trainer, but a few months ago I considered going it alone and realized I would need to write out a plan and carry it around the free weights with me. I wasn't sure if that's what other people would do or not, but then I realized I didn't really care what it looked like to other people. It would be more important to make sure I was doing my plan. I doubt there are many regular people who are Pilates experts and wouldn't benefit from having a book or written plan at their fingertips. I'd say, go for it if the opportunity arises.

Water weight! Do I know it well. I dropped 3.5 lbs from yesterday morning to this morning just by eating on plan. And, TMI, I got up to pee at 11 and at 4.

Oh, and I made a good choice when I rolled in the door last night around 8:30. I was hungry and I had a greek yogurt instead of leftover pizza. Yay!

Saef, I have carried my New Rules of Lifting for Women book around the gym with me many times! Nobody has ever said anything about it. I sometimes see other people with notepads or binders that they keep their workouts in.

Thanks for the advice guys, I will plan for breakfast at home and fruit at the meeting tomorrow morning. Now I just have to get through today at work without caving in to any junk food. I did my bike ride this morning, so I'm battling the demon of "you worked out today, so you are hungry, so you should eat more." I guess that's one thing to be said for evening workouts -- there's not enough time after them to eat too much!

Definitely back into the losing game again now that the meet is done. I'm freshly inspired - after spending a few days on deck with the Master's swimmers, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I still have a few pounds to remove. What amazed me is that being surrounded by tight, toned, fit people did not make me feel bad about my own shape - I am simply thrilled that the OPTION of looking that good will be open to me, well into my 70's and beyond!

Saef - I ALWAYS carry around a notebook or clipboard with my current routine exercises, and also to record the weight I use. I simply can't remember all that in my head. I don't see why you couldn't do it with pilates - no one knows it all from memory when they start. Even when I go to zumba classes, the instructor has a sheet listing the moves for each song - she refers to it all the time.

Midwife - glad the catered food meeting turned out to be a non-issue! I have a hard time throwing away food as well. I'm getting better at it.

Yesterday was a so-so day eating. Did well until dinner, and then I didn't. I went to a friend's house to pick up something and we ended up sitting in her yard drinking wine (1 glass for me) for about 90 minutes. It was a gorgeous evening - and we don't have a lot of those.

Off to the gym this morning, and then a yoga class at 4:30. I've not done yoga for about 5 years, and never the class at the gym. We'll see how it goes.

Guys, i have Resentment on one shoulder and Anxiety on the other.
Send me internet goodness and calm.

Kitty, I am sending you good vibes. : I need them too. I said I wouldn't eat any junk at work and so far I haven't, but there's an hour and a half to go and I'm getting really hungry. I just keep telling myself that as soon as I get home I can snack on pita bread and hummus, but my stomach isn't listening!

kittycat - that's an ugly combination! Thoughts of calmness heading your way!

Steady, KC. You are bigger than those blighters.

I'd give 'em a good flick and see where they land, Kitty!