Fun, Family, and all sorts of things to eat

Im sure we have all been there. We are in the process of loosing weight when a very special event comes up. There will be food. That is a given. How do I handle it?

First and foremost is my attitude. How do I see myself in relation to this event. The event is really about the family being together. The food is there, but it shouldnt be the center of my attention. I will instead enjoy everyone's company and take lots of pictures. I cant stuff my face when there is a camera in my hand. Thus, I took 300 pictures. You gotta love digital photography!

I decided not to drink alcohol for two reasons, 1) CALORIES 2) Loosens inhibitions.

Turns out, I didnt miss it. It helped me enjoy every minute of the day not to imbibe.

Food- Dont sit beside the chips and dip. The further away I am, the easier it is to ignore it.

Move around. The kids were in the pool, so I jumped in too and swam around. It felt wonderful!

When the main course comes after hours of fun, look for lower fat foods. My sister made all the food and it had some easy choices for me. Chicken cacciatore. In a nice tomato based sauce, caesar salad, bread and butter ( skipped that) The piece de la resistance was my sister's fabulous blackberry pie. Did I skip it? No I did not. Did I take a huge piece? No I did not. I took a sliver Did I have a small scoop of ice cream with it? Yes I did. How do I feel about those decisions? I feel just fine. I made deliberate decisions about everything I ate. It wasnt as hard as you might think.

The next day my daughter made some guacamole from some avocados we brought from S. California. Did I sit right by the dip and chips? No I did not. Did I taste the dip with a couple of chips? Yes I did. Then I moved away and sat down with another branch of the family.

How did I do? At my weigh in, the Tuesday after the weekend event, I had LOST a pound!

Needless to say I am extremely happy about that. I learned that I could go to an event and make my way through a minefield of food, eat some of the very special things that were there and skip a lot of the grazing that usually happens at events like this.