Fell so far "off the wagon" should get my walkin' shoes on to get back home.....

...or something like that.  This is a (shirt) saga, so I thought the subject had to have a "country" feel to it.

Today I went to the premier kosher food show in the U.S.  I knew I was going, and I gave myself "permission" to eat things I normally wouldn't - I don't dare tell you my carb count for the day, best I could figure it (ok, 142g).  I had bits and pieces of candy (only the French truffle and halva), fresh baked pastries (only a poppy seed cake, an anise orange spelt biscotti, a quarter sized molasses crisp and a spelt gingersnap.)  But I also had some good cheeses (yum - goat cheese!) and veggie hot dogs. All but the molasses cookies I truly had only a bite of, actually a half a bite of a small sample size then the rest went into the nearest trash can.  Since there is such a huge selection of things to taste, I saw many people doing the same thing - the difference is they kept returning to some of the booths for more.

I knew this day was coming and I gave myself "permission" even though I was scared to do so.  I worked out this morning, we walked for hours besides, and tomorrow it is back to my routine, eating little or no simple carbs, keeping my protein count high, and back to exercise class.

While I saw today as something different, I don't look at it as something necessarily special (in the I'm "deprived" the rest of the time so I can do this once in a while....)  I enjoy my eating plan and the new foods or way I prepare my food now - I get great pleasure from it.  And I'm certainly not planning on doing this very often - don't know that I'd ever go back to the show again (a friend asked me to accompany her). 

How about any of you - have you been through anything similar?

I have twice, I think. Both times I was sicker than a dog. Not that I dump, Only on hf sundaes, but all that sugar that I haven't ate in over a year just made me feel aweful. Wake up tommorrow and eat like you normally do and don't give it a second thought.
shanna

I went to a two-day convention in the nicest convention venue in Phoenix, and the FOODS they had, laying around.... I was mostly good.... but I did have a couple of cookies and some cake and some candy.... and I dumped horribly the first day.... and had MORE of the bad stuff and dumped worse the second day.

Overall, I'm sure my calories didn't exceed my limits, but it was hard to face down the temptation. NOW I just keep this sort of thing in mind and give myself "days off" where I don't worry about straying (the dumping will yank me back on plan if nothing else does)

From the moment I came out of surgery I have wanted chocolate cake. In 12 days I'm gonna HAVE my cake. (You only turn 40 once, right?!?)

I think that planning "deviant days" makes "on-plan days" easier.

I am not saying what I did was the best strategy - sometimes I red posts from people wo want to know if they can or should eat something, and I think, "Why would they even ask this?"  Obviously, I knew that going to this show would lead me to not eating on my normal plan.  But I planned for that, my friend, who has been so good to me asked me to accompany her, and, today, I'm back to the good and strong routine I follow most everyday.  Again, this isn't something I plan to do often at all, but I think with proper planning and mindset, and planning for AFTER the event, so the real plan gets put back into place is the best strategy.

I'm almost 19 months out - there is no way I could have done this with any sterngth, conviction or belief I could limit myself to the one day even 3 months ago.

I sound defensive, I know.  And I am, I guess, but I don't feel guilty.

Nothing that was planned, or so delicious!
What I have found, for me at least, is that little slips seem to lead to more little slips.

I ate pasta the other night, high protien but still pasta, then the next day more pasta! then
a lite beer!

So, for me I think a planned and enjoyed spluge is a good thing,
slippery slope nonsense, a BAD thing!

BTW, don't beat yourself up for good cheese! Protien, probiotics, thses are great!

No reason at all to feel even slightly defensive. Within the first year I couldn't splurge because I would dump so I stuck to the path...I sort of liked the fact that even a slight deviation made me sick..Comfort in getting smacked on the nose with that newspaper..A good dog is a trained dog...LOL.

Now, I've licked my fingers while cooking something heavy in sugar for the family and I didn't dump...Hmmm. Do I dump on sugar now? Probably not so I have to be much more aware of my attraction to that stuff.

This last summer I took two weeks off and didn't journal my foods. I ate burgers when I was presented with them (even ate the bun if I felt like it). It was nerve wrecking to have that much freedom for two solid weeks. I did stay away from cokes or carbonated beverages, although...One afternoon and night I had four (FOUR) beers...I didn't feel deprived after the vacation either. In the proper venue, it's okay. Back to the day to day stuff doesn't make me crave that freedom any more either. I'm not sure what it is..I'm satisfied with that small bit of freedom.

Thanks for sharing guys, you've all made me feel even better that I took the right path and right attitude!