Validation

It's so nice to be rewarded for a good job.

I did everything I could to avoid overeating last night:
1. I took two bottles of seltzer water (and thank goodness I did, because the only cold beverages available were full calorie soda and beer, and I'm not a coffee drinker) and drank them both, with a little help from two friends who were looking for an alternative, too.

2. Before dinner I took a small plate and filled it with fresh veggies, skipping the dip. And guess what? I didn't even miss it.

3. When mealtime was announced everyone jumped in line. Instead of rushing to get our food, my friends and I stood around and talked till the line got smaller, and we wound up being the last ones to be fed.

4. I took my little plate I used for my veggies and used that for my meal. I split a dinner roll with my daughter, skipped the butter, and took the skin off my baked chicken. And no seconds!

5. I did have a fairly big piece of cake, but not supersized. However, I didn't gobble it down and I took the time to really experience all the flavor and texture. In fact, Hubby asked me halfway through if I wasn't going to finish it, because I had set down my fork for a few minutes to take part in a conversation. The best part was, I hadn't even purposely done it -- I just did it naturally!

6. After the cake, that was it -- no chips, no beers, no sneaking into the kitchen to pick at leftovers. Just seltzer water and laughing and joking with my friends.

And guess what? This morning when I woke up I was one pound less! When I saw that it made me SO happy that I didn't say "screw it" last night and pig out on my sister-in-law's macaroni and cheese (which is incredibly good, by the way). The best part was, I ate a little bit of it, savored it, and didn't feel deprived because I didn't allow myself any.

I also chided myself for letting myself get so down about my weigh-in yesterday. I've said it before, I'm very impatient, and I tend to let myself get easily frustrated and discouraged when I don't get my instant gratification.

Again, the fact of the matter is, I have to quit giving myself deadlines to be such-and-such a weight by a certain date. My body is going to lose how and when it wants to, not by some artificially created timetable.

The real validation here, the real goal, is learning how to recreate nights like last night, where I can face down my food demons and not let them drag me into binge eating. The game plan is crucial, and "post-game analysis" after the event is important to reinforce and congratulate myself on what I did right.

It's a lot of busy work. But it's worth it when I can announce I've earned my Anniversary Party patch for my AFG sash. Now comes Thanksgiving weekend...