On Thursday a friend surprised us with (expensive) tickets to a Mardi Gras ball! Costumes, great fun, great music, multiple buffets of food and dessert, open bar...hmmm, not exactly a recipe for a successful dieting weekend. And coming off of the heels of my last post, I was feeling unsure about my resolve in social situations. But I decided two things: 1) That an unplanned social occasion did not need to derail my hard work and 2) I could plan for success.
Here's what I did. First, I told my SO in no uncertain terms that I was not planning on drinking a lot (despite the open bar). To seal the deal, I volunteered to DD rather than taking a cab. So now I'm committed. Second, at the buffet I had small portions of only three items: roast beef, dressing and alfredo pasta with veggies. No need for a roll or dessert just because they were there. Finally, I set the number of drinks I knew I could have responsibly over five hours and spaced them out accordingly, alternating with water and decaf coffee.
I had two small healthy meals earlier in the day, so I knew that I had room in my calorie allotment. And when I put in the numbers I WAS SO PROUD OF MYSELF. Seriously, this kind of occasion used to be a no-holds-barred indulgence fest for me. Friends! Food! Booze! And then I'd pack in 3000+ calories no problem (and be hungover the next day). But not this weekend! I was under my maintenance calories by quite a bit and woke up only a bit dehydrated from all the dancing we did. Bam!