My hubby just showed up at work, surprised me, and wanted to take me to lunch.

Of course, I started coming unglued inside, because I bring my specific salad everyday for lunch, and he wanted to go to eat Chinese. I went ahead and ordered a child's plate of Cashew Chicken....ate every bit of it.

But all I can think of is how that throws me off of my eating plan. How this is more than I ever eat at lunch, plus I usually take my lunch hour to go walk for 20 minutes at the local mall.

Now I've eaten this high calorie, high fat food, AND won't get my exercise.

Why, when we're in this mode, does it feel like all that food goes straight to fat?

During the year I was eating normally, I ate like this all the time, and I never gained any weight to speak of. But today, I can't convince myself that it will work.

YES, you can. the biggest challenge for you is gonna be to not compensate for the rest of the day, so be ready for that. you're gonna feel super tempted to restrict, but you can be stronger than this ed. it's just for today, so be strong for today.

after work, i want you to do something very special for yourself to remind yourself how wonderful you are. go on a drive, take a hot bath, rent a romantic movie, whatever. do something fun and relaxing so you don't focus on food all night. if you want, go on a little walk (to make up for lunch), but don't freak out if you don't feel like it. challenge yourself to have exactly what you had planned for dinner and just eat till you're satisfied. it's just one day and i know you can be strong!

First of all, Joni, that's such good advice! I had an eclair today without my usual run and was feeling like restricting so I think I definitely needed to read that! Thanks!

Flowergail, I feel like this all the time. I feel like I'm going to get fat if I eat something that I usually would not...Chinese food is bound to make you feel like this because it's really high in sodium so you might feel kinda full, even bloated. Just remember that you are feeding your body! Plus cashew chicken doesn't sound all that unhealthy to me. Lots of protein... :)