I'm sure there are a million threads like this... But yesterday I went to a nice restaurant with my boyfriend, intending on having a caesar salad (this place has the BEST ever), split a small app with him, and have a glass or two of wine. I saved enough calories for it.

BUT, then the veal sounded realllllllllly good and he proposed we get salads and split that. Ok, ok... but then the bread comes out, with some kind of mushroom/pepper/oil concoction, and it was SO GOOD.

Anyway I ate about 400 calories over what I was aiming for :-/ I burned 200-300 calories at the gym though, and if my (over)-estimation is right, I still had like 100 more calories out than in.

ANYWAY... When you mess up, how do you stay motivated?! It's so easy to think "why bother even trying today..." I mean, I'm doing fine so far, but I know I'm likely to slip up again when it is not part of my plan. Fridays or Saturdays are my "treat" days where I can have more calories, that is if I go out, etc. Tuesday nights are not part of my treat plan! Ahhh.

That's simple.

I don't ever allow myself to think that one mistake (or even several) has blown me off my path.

Thinking on it, any time I've slipped up I don't even call it a mistake. I say to myself "I could've chosen better. Ah well. I'll choose better next time."

I prefer to say "could've chosen better", because that gives me the opportunity to see how, yes, maybe I should've passed on the bread basket, but hey it could've been a lot worse AND I've got so many more great choices to make today.

Kudos for having a plan before going out, by the way. Imagine what you might've had if you DIDN'T have a plan in place! Work with it, tweak the plan for the next time you go out.

Agreed, chalk it up to experience and move on.

Agreed here too. One bad meal did not get you in the place you are in. Suck it up, shake it off and move on. One bad meal does not give you the license to have a bad week, month or year. Get back on board right at the next meal or snack. Life happens.....deal with it.

I allow myself one meal every now and then. A life without Filet Mignon and baked potatoes and desert doesn't really seem worth living.... but a life with one every 6 weeks or so seems perfectly fine! So long as I get right back on track immediately the next morning it actually seems to shake things up and I lose a lb or so the following week. I refuse to feel guilty about those meals although I do have to psych myself up and remind myself not to feel guilt but to enjoy the food!

I follow this great tumblr blog, and I found these that I think will help you out. They say pretty much everything I would say to you.

^that is so helpful, thanks so much!

Drink water, work out twice as hard the next time, and keep going! We all slip up, as long as you stay focused and don't have a cheat WEEK then you'll be fine!

PLEASE don't think of yourself as bad!! You didn't beat up an old lady, rob a bank or cheat on your boyfriend,did you? That would have been "bad"! You ate some food. Yes, your choices could have been healthier,but you had a wonderful meal and enjoyed it. I found with my own weight loss journey, when I changed how I view food,it got much easier. Everything you eat ranges from "super healthy" to "not in the least healthy". It has no moral super powers to make YOU "bad"!

This exact thing happened to me the other night! I planned to have their special salad that I LOVE, but instead had a pasta dish.

I always eat on plan at home but when I get to a restaurant I forget my intention to have a huge Caesar salad and a glass of wine, and often I make a bad choice.

I don't beat myself up for it as I'm flexible in my eating (calorie counting) but would appreciate some ideas how to stay on track when eating out. I hate it that I don't follow through on my plan in those situations.

I love the sayings posters put on 3FC--anyone have any for restaurants? Thanks for any help!