Coping With Special Events

I attended a friend’s birthday party today; there’s always a risk of overeating at those types of functions. I think I did pretty well though. I ate pretzels instead of chips (and slowly, at that) and took half the skin off the single piece of fried chicken that I had. I made sure to put ice in the glass of pop I had and I drank it really slowly so that it lasted pretty much the whole time we were there. I even turned down a slice of cake and just had a few bites from my husband’s piece.

My real issue came as a surprise later in the day. I went to a different friend’s for dinner and a movie and had no plan for when the snack foods came out. She rarely serves anything totally unhealthy, but there are often a lot of munchy, snacky type products put out when I am over there. They are those types of things that are difficult to keep track of how many you’re cramming into your mouth. And they taste good… double whammy! Anyhow, I did my best to eat slowly and thoughtfully, but I wonder now if I would have eaten anything at all if it wasn’t put right in front of me.

I think I’m actually more disappointed in how I was this evening rather than at the party earlier this afternoon. I’m not beating myself up or anything; I actually still think I had a pretty good day over all. It’s just that I was prepared for the party food but didn’t even think about the movie munchies. I really struggled with not slipping into my usual comfortable eating pattern tonight. On the plus side, this particular friend that I was watching the movie with is really easy to talk to about my weight issues, and will likely be very accommodating if I talk to her about providing healthier alternatives to snack on the next time I’m over.

Tomorrow my husband and I are going on a day trip to a fair, so I probably won’t be posting until later in the evening. I am hoping that I will be able to find healthy options to eat on the road and at the festival (we are crossing the border, otherwise I’d pack fruits and vegetables). I am fairly confident that my exercise quota for the day will be easily met and exceeded with all the walking I'm anticipating, and then it will be back to regularly scheduled programming by Monday.

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 6 glasses of water throughout the day
- 2 bananas
- 1 glass of gingerale
- 1 teaspoon sized taste of whiskey
- 20 pretzels
- 1 chicken breast from KFC with 1/2 the skin removed
- 4 bites of chocolate cake
- 2 cups of Seven Day Salad with low fat blueberry and pomegranate dressing
- 1 beef dip sandwich on a hot dog bun with butter, roast beef, and broth
- 1 cup of a blueberry, raspberry, and cherry platter
- 1 pita bread round with hummus
- 10 cheddar rice thin crackers

EXERCISE:
- 55 minutes of walking completed in 3 outings (30 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes long)