I've been doing really well, I think, eating balanced meals and watching my calories. Today started off just fine. I had a Slim Fast shake for breakfast (usually I have cereal, but I had an early appointment and was running late), a hummus and veggie wrap with a cup of cherries for lunch, a FF yogurt for an afternoon snack - all of which totaled about 600 calories. I'm aiming for 1400/day, so that left me with about 800 calories for dinner and a night-time snack.

I was planning to make grilled chicken salad for dinner, but I was really tired and didn't feel like cooking, so the BF and I went out. We went to this great mom-and-pop Japanese place where I had grilled teriyaki chicken, too much white rice, a meager serving of vegetables, and some little chicken dumplings (fried, of course - I ate two). Then we went out for ice cream (which I allow myself once a week), where I had a "kid size" scoop (probably 3/4 cup). Not a GREAT night calorie-wise, but it could have been worse.

It got worse. We came home to cake, ice cream, fudge, and cookies. Turns out today is the birthday of one of our housemates (we live with 11 other people in a co-op). I ate two bites of cake and a piece of fudge. Again, it could have been worse, but I'm kicking myself anyway. I wasn't hungry but felt like I had to "sample" the goodies, and now I feel sick from all the sugar. And dumb, because that's just more calories I'll have to work off. Why didn't I just say, "No thanks, I'm trying to lose weight?"

Guess who's going straight to the gym tomorrow morning? Yeah, that's right. Me.

Funny, I had a similar day. Everything was going well until I had a disaster dinner. I didn't read the label on the bread until after I ate it. Who knew an Ecce Panis Ciabata Roll had 310 calories? And the avacado in my salad was downright shocking. All in all, a salad and sandwich at home ended up at around 900 calories. Oops. Guess I'm still learning, but to be honest, I'm mad at myself. Luckily, tomorrow is another day for both of us.

Well, the truth is that you can only kick yourself for this kind of night so much - it's gonna happen once in a while! All you can do is move right along, hop right back on the wagon, and get to the gym like you said. Don't worry too much about it - This can't slow you down!

You're learning! Lots of good lessons in that day... about eating enough throughout the day, planning ahead, making better choices. Don't worry--you'll undo any damage if you stay on track.

One comment, though: All you have to say when turning food down is "No thanks." No need to say anything about losing weight. (Sometimes that leads to unwanted attention on your eating. )

Jay

Bread products are so sneaky, aren't they? I really had no idea how many calories I was eating in bread until I started down this path.

Today is a new day. Here we go!

I think you did EXCELLENT! All that great food ALL day and you kept making great decisions!!! Guess what--- there WILL be birthdays in the future and there WILL be parties with food--- you need to learn how to enjoy yourself and still eat and socialize---

I think you did great given the circumstances. I know *I* wouldn't have only eaten one piece of fudge or only two dumplings!

It's ok, it happens! Just remember how you feel about it now for next time you are faced with tons of goodies! This will happen again, so don't beat yourself up about it. Accept it, say "yep, I had a bad day, BUT tomorrow I WILL do good".

I agree with BrandNewJen 100%- awesome job at just eating a few bites!!! I think I would have had my FULL share of everything!! Great job on that!!

Thanks ladies. I felt like poo last night (physically and emotionally), but I've dealt with the negative self-talk and feel better today.

Oh my god Jen, I love your chlamydia quote!

Ya know what ...
That's AWESOME. Think about what you would have done 6 months ago. I know that a year ago a party like that would have seen me eat a whole piece of cake (or two) and at least 3 or 4 pieces of fudge. Not even binging or with intent - just mindlessly eating because it was there.

2 bites of cake? 1 piece of fudge? Go you!!!!

You did great.

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Hahaha--- yeah, I loved it too, that's why I stole it from Midwife! I've got a sick sense of humor like that!