Okay ladies –

I have a conference for work at Disney World Oct 22-25th. The 22nd is my last day of Phase 1. I don’t know if you ever have to go to these kind of events, but the food is usually out of control. Any thoughts on foods that I could pack in my suitcase. As I said it will be the first week of Phase 2, so I figure I will add in a piece of fruit each day and maybe some oatmeal if I can find it for breakfast. Nuts are a no no for me by the way, I can’t control myself! Oh I’m so nervous! I am the type of person who is very disciplined in my own little bubble, but then go out of control in social food settings. I am hoping that this will be the first time in my life that I can walk away from such an event and feel proud of myself.

I am *exactly* the same way. If you go down a page or so in these forums there's a post I did about going on a camping trip and asking what kinds of things I could bring with me. Check it out -- some people had some good ideas (have you tried the roasted chickpeas?).

I was at a conference this past weekend for work and it was really, really hard. Like you, I'm fine if I'm at home and I control what I eat -- but if you're surrounded by so much unhealthy stuff, it's hard not to go wild. I definitely ate a lot of non SBD foods this past weekend. But I'm trying to just move on, get back on track this week and not blame myself too much. Taking fruit with you is a good idea. If they have salads or a salad bar, go for that.

In retrospect, what I think would have worked for me is to have made a list beforehand of what foods I would allow myself to eat, and not go off that list. Does your hotel room have a refridgerator? If you have time, I'd even make a few meals beforehand that you could bring with you and store in your fridge just in case.

Good luck!

I'm the same way too! When I go on business trips I bring a cooler w/ me and go by the nearest grocery store to pick up some fresh veggies, deli meat, and FF cheese to keep on hand and change the ice in the cooler every AM. I have a snack before I go to any events and when at the events before I help myself to one thing I survey the room to see all the choices before making the fatal mistakes. I think the key is not to let yourself get too hungry! The healthy stuff is there, you just have to find it!