Surviving the holiday weekend
 

So I have 2 barbecues and a parade to attend this weekend.

Good: Parade route is 4 miles and I'm walking in it with the cub scouts.
Bad: 2 barbecues and the parade after party!

What's your best advice for getting through an 'eating' holiday?

Everbest,
Carly

Drink lots of water, don't let yourself get too hungry before the event, do your best, log everything no matter how ugly, have fun and get back on plan when the festivities are over.

That's my advice, FWIW.

Regards,
Michael

Carly,
You might think about planning your spluges for the BBQ. Sometimes just trying to "stay good" backfires for me and I rebel against myself. (You should hear the conversation in my head... I sound like a teen-ager again). But if I tell myself that I can have cheeseburger with all the trimmings and even a handful of potato chips (or whatever is your idea of a spluge might be) then I stay true to my diet and don't go too far overboard.

I also resolved this year to spend most of the BBQ with nothing in my hands. Typically I almost always have a bottle of beer or class of soda, a plate of food or an ice cream cone in my hands during these event. This year I am going to see how long I can go without having it. Or once I get something to drink, finish it and put the bottle away without picking up a fresh one.

We'll see...

I find I'm better with a bottle of water in my hands at a party. Whatever is in my hands I will drink it. 5 bottles of water beat 5 of beer! Mary

I agree with Michael!!

I lived!
Actually, it became 3 barbecues!

I ate.
Actually, I don't drink, so the beer part was easy. I drink zero calorie stuff, I brought some fancy Thai iced tea to two of the parties.

So, I had salad first. I got a big plate of salad and sat down to eat it.
Then I went to the grill and had some grub- a burger or a dog, not both.
Then I had dessert. One of the desserts, not "I'll try a little of all of them" like I usually do.

So all and all, I lived.
How did everyone else do?
Everbest,
Carly

Carly, glad to hear you managed the BBQs with aplomb! I probably did not do as well--four days of (at best estimate of portions size) break-even calories. And, that's fine--I know at this point I can deal with it and get right back to "normal".

I've shared before that in past weigh-loss efforts a deviation would tend to derail the whole endeavour. This time around I've planned for the occasional "off" day(s). This takes a lot of pressure off as it's very difficult to be "perfect" for a long period of time.

Regards,
Michael

Oh Michael, for me it's impossible to be good all of the time!

Additionally, I am the cook and baker in my family, so I bring a few signature dishes and desserts to parties. It's hard to not leave a half a dozen mocha cupcakes in my fridge 'for the week' like I used to. I made them and brought every single one to the parties. I made my key lime pies too. That is more than impossible for me to resist. So I made myself two little tarts and I had one over the weekend and the other one is in my fridge right now calling my name!
Along with the horrifyingly bad for me desserts, this year I brought them my Spinach Strawberry Almond Salad. That was a hit too. It's a new frame of mind to love to cook and learn to do it right.
Right now. I'm trying not to over think it.
I'm happy you survived, too! Now all we have to do is make it to The Fourth Of July!
Everbest,
Carly