birthday party

[Guest guest]

I took my son to a birthday party at chuck e cheese. Little did i know there

was going to be food there for the parents. The mom had ordered five huge

pizzas for the parents, plus sodas for everyone. I was the only one

resisting but gave in, and ate a bunch of gross but delicious cheese

pizza....and other varieties...and some coke!! What could I have done

differently? There was another mother there on a weight watcher type of diet

(low fat) who at first resisted but then she chowed down, too. How do you

prepare yourself in advance for this type of situation, I had no idea she

was going to feed us as well.

[Guest guest]

If she hadn't fed you, would you have eaten anything?

I sort of liken it to having an affair - throughout our lives we will

encounter many opportunities to cheat on our spouses - but even if some hot

studmuffin threw himself at you, would you actually give in? Or would some

inner sense of what's right make you behave?

The food doesn't make us do it, the situation doesn't make us do it. But

some little voice in our head seems to pop up and tell us we deserve it just

this once. That it's ok because we don't want to be different.

I think it's all in the mind set. On any other day you might have been able

to resist - you would have had a diet coke or stuck with water, picked the

topping off a piece of pizza, said 'no thanks!' to the pizza and ordered a

salad, pulled your Atkins bar or baggie of almonds out of your purse and

been content to chat... There were lots of options, but that little voice

in your head - the carb demon - won tonight. It would be great if you could

figure out why you chose to cheat - it would help you spot the triggers for

next time and keep you out of a similar situation.

I'm curious, did the ww woman give in before or after you?

Kirstie

[Guest guest]

- but even if some hot

studmuffin threw himself at you, would you actually give in?

It would be hard if this "Muffin" was warm and buttery and sweet...but we must , we must, we must not touch the carbs!!! My montra!

GiniLynne

[Guest guest]

,

You have to assume that in any restaurant, you're going to be faced with

food you shouldn't choose to eat. At a pizza place, you could have had the

toppings from the pizza only, and just left the crust. Also, you could have

asked for a diet soda.

Those two things would have resulted in a pretty good Atkins-safe outing.

Unfortunately for the mom doing low-fat, she had even fewer options than you

did.

Terry

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

My own personal strategy is to eat before I go to an event like this if

I don't expect to eat or don't want to eat. Not necessarily just a

snack... enough legal food to make sure I won't be hungry. This makes

resisting much easier. I also would carry a 2 or 3 oz package of

macademia nuts (my personal favorite) or an Atkins bar. And... I take

my big 32 oz mug of water almost everywhere. The more I make the

decision to stay on this WOE, the easier the decision is to stay on it

next time.

Free food is hard to resist, especially if I'm on a budget. So then the

decision becomes a little different: Can I turn down free food, even if

it is not legal for me? If I think about these decisions when I'm not

faced with the situation, it's a little easier for me. In the years

when cash flow was problematic for whatever reason, this decision was

tougher.

So... what was the twist on this situation? The unexpectedness of it?

Free food? The social aspects? Feeling sorry for myself because I

can't have what everyone else can? More than one of these?

One thing I do to stay on my diet is to have scheduled small legal

treats. Like a small amount of macademia nuts, a diet rite white grape

soda, sugar free jello, or a cup of flavored decaf with cream. I have

found some of these treats are triggers or stalls for me... I can't keep

sugar free chocolate in the house. I lose weight better if I only drink

decaf 3 or 4 times a week and not every day. I consider soda pop to be

a treat because I cannot drink very much if I'm going to be able to

drink enough water.

I like food, I like to eat. I like for food to be interesting, not

boring. I like spicy food. I do better if I do a little extra work to

honor this part of me. Being thin does not require me to eat bland and

boring food for the rest of my life. If I want to have some kind of

taste or texture, I try to find it in a legal food so I don't feel

deprived.

I like cheesecake. Once in a while I make myself one that is Atkins

legal. Then when people are serving cheesecake, I say to myself, I

don't have to have this cheesecake, I can have Atkins cheesecake any

time I want!

Anyway, I think I'm rambling. I need short and long term strategies to

stay on this WOL. This helps me, YMMV.

Lynn

205/173.5/140 minigoal

wrote:

> How do you

> prepare yourself in advance for this type of situation, I had no idea she

> was going to feed us as well.

[Guest guest]

ROTFLMBO!

> In a message dated 3/2/01 8:22:55 PM Pacific Standard Time,

> khawkey@... writes:

>

> - but even if some hot

> studmuffin threw himself at you, would you actually give in?

>

> It would be hard if this " Muffin " was warm and buttery and sweet...but we

> must , we must, we must not touch the carbs!!! My montra!

>

> GiniLynne

[Guest guest]

> resisting but gave in, and ate a bunch of gross but delicious cheese

> pizza....and other varieties...and some coke!! What could I have done

> differently? There was another mother there on a weight watcher type of

diet

> (low fat) who at first resisted but then she chowed down, too. How do you

> prepare yourself in advance for this type of situation, I had no idea she

> was going to feed us as well.

I really liked someone's reply that compared cheating at Atkins to cheating

on your spouse!! It really struck me, that it IS all a decision to either

be true to our commitments, or to dishonour our commitments!! Wow!

But on a more practical note... I ALWAYS make sure I eat before I go to ANY

gathering. I always bring a bottle of water, or if it is a special

occasion, a can of diet pop. And when people offer me food, I say " Oh

thanks! But I ate just before I came!! " Then they don't try to tempt you.

If you just can't stand watching the other people eat bad things, go take a

walk, do some exploring, or if its REALLY hard... sneak off to the restroom

and brush your teeth. That works EVERY time. Even the most tempting treat

is AWFUL after you brush your teeth!

I think the hardest thing, mentally and emotionally, is the idea that we

DESERVE to eat treats. We don't. We deserve to be healthy and trim and

energetic. It is SO hard to recommit after a cheat. The longer you go,

being faithful to our Way of Eating, the easier it is NOT to cheat... The

more time you have in, the stronger your committment, and the more you have

to lose if you cheat.

Keep a pack of sunflower seeds in your purse, or some beef jerky. Or if you

know you have a situation that will tempt you, make some nookie pudding or

SF Jello ahead of time, so that you know it is there waiting for you when

you return home. If you have something to look forward to, it will make the

restraint much easier.

Gee, I've really rambled!! Sorry! And hey! You'll do better next time! It

just takes planning.

love

jinxie in poco, bc (5 millemeters closer to Seattle) (OR, shaken but not

stirred)