DAY 365 -- From a child's view.

Just when I feel good about slimming down and clearing out the closet, I receive a drawing from my three-year-old granddaughter.  Here's her image of grandma....

I love it!  The only thing "stick figure-ish" on me are my arms and legs.  hahahaha  Of course, my daughter gave this to me with the disclaimer, "Don't be offended.  She draws every body like a blob."  

What a treasure.  It makes me smile!   Since it's the end of the year with My Healthy Eating Challenge, I think I will declare this my "after" picture.  

Here's to good health, accepting our bodies no matter what shape, and to living a long long time to enjoy the grandchildren!  Happy New Year everyone!

DAY 364 -- Reflecting

As the end of the year approaches, I find myself reflecting on this blog and the things I learned with My Healthy Eating Challenge.  When I started the challenge, I was in the mindset that I needed to eat healthier with more natural foods and less packaged, processed foods.  I am convinced that eating like this is the way for me to go, and I plan to continue. However, during the year I came face to face with the realization that overeating is a huge problem for me.  Eating healthy foods is only a small part of my battle; overeating is a major Goliath in my life.

Throughout the year as I struggled with overeating, I sought answers through prayer.  Help and strength came as often as I called out, but answers as to why I overeat came slower and piece by piece until finally a few weeks ago as I brushed my teeth, contemplating, the revelation filled my soul; and I stood there, looking at myself in the mirror, recognizing the truthful knowledge as both exhilaratingly freeing, yet painfully illuminating.

I wish I could report that knowledge was power and that receiving my answer released me from the jaws of food addiction.  Aha!  I know why you are here, dragon, and now you have no power.  Be gone!  But no. The answer opened a path that I must follow and I know it will not be easy.  In fact, it's been an even harder struggle lately to eat within the confines of hunger and fulness.

My apologies that this sounds vague, but what I am experiencing right now is deeply personal and I don't feel ready to share, as of yet.  But I will tell you that it will be a journey of self-discovery...finding out who I really am...what my core personality really is (before life events changed me).  It will be a journey to build my self-worth and to learn to like, or rather, love myself.

So it is, that I stand at the beginning of another year and another journey, and I wonder what to do with this blog.  Here are some ideas I've entertained...

• continue this blog (focusing in healthy eating)
• continue this blog, but with the focus on overeating
• change the direction of this blog to be about different aspects of personal health... healthy eating, healthy attitudes, healthy habits...
• end the blog with the end of the year
• (I considered starting a blog to chronicle my journey in building self-worth, but it feels too personal...yet, I can't help but wonder if it might help others struggling with similar issues.)

I would greatly appreciate input from readers! I will continue blogging in some form or another, but whatever direction I take, it will not be with daily posts since I hope to spend some more time with another blog of mine: Reel Focus.  It's been sorely neglected.

In the meantime, I have a fun post ready for tomorrow to end my count of 365 days, and then I will start a new year and possibly a new direction.  I hope you will give feedback, and stay tuned!

(I recently learned that some readers have had problems trying to comment, for some glitch in blogger or something.  You can contact me through email: sugarholicinrecovery@gmail.com)

DAY 363 -- New Year and old temptations.

We're not over the holiday hurdles yet... New Year's Eve (and even New Year's Day), for many of us, offers traditional food temptations.  Snacking at New Year's Eve parties and feasting on New Year's Day.

New Age (website) suggests resisting temptations by picturing or imagining a pleasant activity that does not involve food, such as lounging at the beach, or recalling a favorite scene from a movie.  Here's the link if you want to read more about that:  Halt Cravings with this Mental Image.

Zen Habits also gives suggestions for fighting the urge to indulge during the holidays.  Read about it: 12 Tips for Beating the Social Overeating Habit.

Maybe with some helpful hints, some planning, and strategies I can say hello to the new year and goodbye to the old temptations.

DAY 362 -- It's closet day!

Today was the day... we cleaned out our closet and got rid of the clothes we won't wear. My husband's selection of donation items was the most dramatic since he's slimmed down so much!  There were piles of nice sweaters that hang on him now, and stacks of shrunk-out-of slacks.  He kept two of his favorite sweaters, which our daughter will tailor for him.  (She's one handy gal when it comes to sewing!)

My pile of donations was not as big as I thought it would be.  Last year at this time, if I had donated stuff that didn't fit (too tight) I would have been left with very little.  But now I can fit into all my clothes again!  Hooray!  (I did weed out a few things that I no longer wanted though.)  And I cleaned out some costume jewelry that I found in a forgotten box. (Wow... I used to wear the gaudiest earrings!)

I feel grateful and amazed.  As my husband's stack of too-large clothes kept growing taller, I thought, "All this from a man who skeptically announced he would try my plan of healthy eating for one month and if he didn't see any results he would stop."

Go figure... a healthy eating plan that didn't require counting calories, portions, carbs, fat grams... yet led to weight loss and a leaner closet.  This really works.

DAY 361 -- Back on track.

Today was much better.  I was productive, and I ate healthy foods, paying attention to hunger and fulness.
It feels good to be back on track.

 

DAY 360 -- Movie marathon.

Spent the day (Monday) swallowed up in movies.  I haven't had such a lazy day in a loooong time.  Unfortunately, sitting on my hind-end all day for a movie marathon, and feeding my face, was not a healthy choice.

DAY 359 -- Christmas Day

I had a wonderful day of family, and food.  Too much food.  Way too much food.

Good thing Santa gave me a new exercise DVD and tennies!

DAY 358 -- Our traditional Christmas foods.

It's Christmas Eve.  All the stockings are hung by the chimney (with care, of course!).  The first Christmas time after I stopped eating sweets, it was difficult to know what to put in my stocking.  I put my family's favorite candy and chocolates in theirs, but for my stocking I resorted to my favorite nuts (almonds) and some fruit leather made of 100% fruit, and told "Santa" to fill it with lots of little gifts since I had been such a good girl!  :)

Thankfully, Christmas meals for our family traditions are somewhat healthy.

On Christmas Eve we have what we call our Nazareth Supper.  We eat a simple meal and reflect on how Mary and Joseph might have lived before leaving Nazareth to travel to Bethlehem.  We eat by candlelight and use wooden bowls.  (This year, at World Market, I found the cutest little wooden bowls for the grandkids!!) The meal consists of smoked salmon, dried beef, cheese, a loaf of bread (that we tear with our hands), fruit, olives, and sometimes nuts. We drink 100% grape juice (I need mine watered down).  After our Nazareth supper, our family used to act out the nativity, and I look forward to grandkids reaching an age to start the tradition again.

My husband usually prepares Christmas breakfast and the menu changes according to what we feel like having.  This year, since our daughter, son-in-law, and little ones are spending the night with us, we plan to make (multigrain) Mickey Mouse pancakes for the grandkids.

On Christmas Day our supper consists of "Roast Beast." I will rub the roast (hormone free, grass fed from a local farm) with horseradish, salt and pepper, and cook it with organic vegetables: carrots, small red potatoes, and pearl onions.  We usually have green beans cooked with slivered almonds, and sometimes fruit gelatin salad made with Knox unflavored gelatin, and sweetened with fruit juice.  This year I plan to prepare some whipped cream topping for the gelatin, using a small amount of pure maple syrup to sweeten the cream (thanks for the suggestion Lynn!).

Merry Christmas!

DAY 357 -- Extra workout.

I did aerobics in the morning, then went for the groceries we need for Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas breakfast, and our traditional Christmas meal.  Plus I had just a couple gifts I still needed to purchase.

Shopping gave me some exercise with walking throughout the store, pushing a shopping cart, and I like to park far away from the store so that gives me extra walking time.  Then when I arrived home, I had the privilege of carrying everything up all the flights of stairs to our condo, which required several trips.  Bonus workout!

DAY 356 -- Sharing an article

One of my nieces shared an interesting article with me... Dopamine: why "just one bite" doesn't work.


The article explains the situation I referenced in my post "Special Occasions" ... how allowing treats on special occasions opens up a can of trouble for an addict.

Food addiction is tough.  One has to eat.  I can avoid sweets, but how can I avoid food?

DAY 355 -- Prescription for long living.

Okay, maybe you've figured out by now that I enjoy the Reader's Digest.   I have some more health tips from the current issue.  [The headings in bold are from the article, followed by my summary, paraphrasing, and personal input.]

How to Live to Be 100


1.  Stop smoking.  This greatly reduces the risk of heart attack four years after stopping.  And the risk of lung cancer falls significantly after ten years of being smoke free.    

2.  Exercise daily.  The article suggest 30 minutes of activity, even if it's broken down into three ten minute segments.

3.  Eat five servings of produce daily.  

4.  Get screened.  Make sure we get the screenings recommended for our age bracket.

5.  Get plenty of sleep.  See?  It's a good thing I chose sleep last night, rather than posting!!  (Whew, I'm off the hook.)

6.  Ask your doctor about low-dose aspirin.  They recommend not starting on your own, since there are risks with aspirin.

7.  Know your blood pressure.  It's recommended to keep blood pressure under 120/80.

8.  Stay connected.  Having connection with friends and family helps us live longer.  So, I extended my life today by going out to dinner and a movie with my husband and close friends!

9.  Cut back on saturated fat.  (It causes bad cholesterol...LDL.)

10.  Get help for depression.  Sometimes we don't realize that ongoing bad moods can effect our physical health and shorten our life span.

11.  Manage stress.  I was surprised to read that "uncontrolled stress is more destructive to your health than being 30 pounds overweight."

12.  Have a higher purpose.  "By giving back, you give to yourself."

That's the Reader's Digest prescription for living to 100.

Here's my 101-year-old uncle's secret to longevity: 

• Keep the bowels moving! 
• Drink plenty of water. 
• Eat lots of vegetables. 
• Eat alfalfa. 
• And lots of watermelon.

DAY 354 -- Sleep!

It's been a long and busy day.  Now I wonder... sleep...or write in my blog...sleep...or write in my blog. Sleep wins!

DAY 353 -- Desire diary

This is from the December 2011 Reader's Digest:

"The next time you get a craving, ask yourself if you're stressed, sad, or bored.  If so, you may be eating to fill an emotional void.  Keep a "desire diary" for a week or more, and note your mood whenever you're hit by an irresistible urge to chow down.  If stress is your trigger, exercise more to relieve the pressure.  If loneliness drives you to the Doritos bag, call someone. Remember that true hunger is easy to satisfy; any food will do.  Emotional hunger, on the other hand often manifests itself in desires for specific things like ice cream and fast food."  


I added italics to the part that I keep "chewing" on.  First of all, "true hunger is easy to satisfy; any food will do."  That's probably true, to a point, for me; however, if I allow true hunger to go too long (what I call "beyond hungry") I become extremely picky because nothing sounds good to me, even though I feel like I'm starving.  A friend of mine experiences similar reactions when she's overly hungry.  We're both hypoglycemic, so I wonder if that has something to do with it.

I've struggled for years with emotional eating, and I've heard of keeping a food or eating diary before, but for some reason reading the suggestion of a "desire diary" struck me: I need to do that.  I'm not sure I will learn anything more about whether I'm stressed, sad, bored, or lonely, but I think the desire diary will at least help me stop before eating and acknowledge what I'm really feeling and hopefully recognize it's not true hunger.  Plus, I think it will be interesting to determine what specific things I crave for various emotions.  I don't think I've ever made that connection before...if I'm craving something specific it might be a manifestation of emotional hunger.

DAY 352 -- Christmas clothing.

At a party, December  2006

December 18, 2011

 I have a few Christmas shirts and sweaters that I like to wear during December.  Last year I could not fit into some of my favorites.  In fact, it helped motivate me to start eating healthier... thus I started My Healthy Eating Challenge.

Now here it is a year later, and I can fit into my favorite Christmas outfit!  I wore it to church today, then had my husband take a picture (shown on the right) to share with you.

DAY 351 -- Spaghetti!

I felt swamped with tasks, so I asked my husband if he had any ideas for supper.  He answered, "Spaghetti!"  And he quickly began fixing the meal.  


Spaghetti has been a favorite of his to prepare, but it's been awhile.  He went to the pantry and returned with a quizzical look on his face.  "Don't we have any cans of spaghetti sauce?"  I reminded him that we got rid of all that earlier in the year, now when we want sauce (rather than olive oil drizzled over the noodles) I make it from scratch.  He assured me he could figure it out.


I stepped into the kitchen later to see him hard at work, with a cookbook open... not to the recipe I use.  Oh well.  I watched him glance at the recipe, grab a bottle of garlic salt and dump a very generous amount into the sauce.  No measuring.  Back to the cookbook, he gets the black pepper and dumps, and dumps, and dumps.  He used enough pepper to choke a horse!  I bit my tongue and retreated out of the kitchen.  I decided it was best not to see my food prepared.  

Later, when dinner was announced, I took a small taste of the sauce before putting it on my pasta.  It was... delicious!  Now, I wonder if he can repeat his magic potion, because I want more!

DAY 350 -- "Special Occasions"

Whenever the holidays roll around, it seems like I'm frequently asked, "You don't have sweets even for special occasions?"  Usually I go into my spiel, "I'm an addict.  You wouldn't want an alcoholic to have a drink for Christmas would you?"

Because of the recurring question, I've been thinking about "special occasions" and how for me, that would be a dangerous determining factor.  First of all, there are lots of typical "special occasions"... birthdays, anniversaries, wedding receptions, funerals.  How would one ever overcome an addiction if they kept imbibing for every "special occasion?"  But the real danger would be this... If I told myself I could have sweets on "special occasions" every day would have a reason to celebrate.  Remembered to use a loofah on those callouses?  I deserve a cookie.  It's Friday? I made it through the week?  Time for a treat.

That, my friends, was a mindset that led me to obesity and ill health.  Trust me, I tried doing the "have dessert only for special occasions" gig.  It didn't work for me.  I even tried the "just have a little piece or a taste."  That didn't work either.  I didn't want a little piece.  I wanted the whole cake.  I didn't want a cookie.  I wanted the whole bag.

I recognized my addiction and drew the line in the sand, which stays ... even during special occasions.  And that works for me.

DAY 349 -- Sushi

You've heard the saying, "The problem with eating Chinese food... after an hour you're hungry again" ... well, the problem with eating sushi is that after a minute you're hungry again.  My husband loves sushi.  My opinion: "meh." Not yucky, but not something that enticed me.  I could not understand the attraction to sushi, and I certainly couldn't understand anyone being able to make a meal out of it!  To me, sushi is an appetizer.


Recently, a friend recommended a great place for sushi, so I told my husband I would give it another try.  This time I actually enjoyed the items I ate, which moved it from the "meh" stage to "pretty tasty." Now I can understand better why people like it.  But I still don't see how you make a meal out of it.  By the time we left the restaurant and walked to the car, I was hungry again.  So I came home and ate some fruit.

DAY 348 -- Baggy bottoms begone!

Last weekend I finally bought new jeans!  YAY!  I have a hard time finding pants that fit my body shape, so whenever I buy jeans, they are the same brand and style and I know exactly which store carries them... I buy them from the VF outlet.  They had a sale on jeans over the weekend which was all the invitation I needed.  I bought two pairs.  Feels great not having my pants cinched around my waist.

(Previous posts regarding my baggy jeans  ... The three stages of my jeans, and My wardrobe.)

DAY 347 -- Thinking outside the box.

My sister told me about a card she sent her daughter.  The picture on the front showed a group of cats sitting around a large conference table -- a business meeting with cats.  On the center of the table was a litter box, but there were a couple "piles" on the table.  The head cat questioned, "Alright... who's been thinking outside the box?"

Ok... sometimes I forget to think outside the box.  I get my routines going and that's the way it is.  For instance, I usually drink filtered water from our fridge, which comes out chilled. That's great in the summer, but in the winter I don't feel like drinking cold water first thing in the morning.  I kept trying to remember to set a glass of filtered water on the counter before going to bed so it would be room temperature when I got up.

Then one morning, when I realized I had once again forgotten to set a glass of water out, I happened to see the faucet at the sink.  DUH.  I filled my glass with tap water, not too hot and not too cold.  Just right.  Sheesh.  Why did it take me so long to think outside the box?

Perhaps because for a long time I avoided drinking tap water, due to the taste.  (We've lived in some areas with nasty tasting water.)  And I also avoided it because I thought tap water was not healthy.  I think my attitude changed when I started reading reports a few years ago about some bottled water actually being water from a tap.  And recently, an article (titled Big Gulp)  in the August 2011 Reader's Digest listed some brands of tap water:

Alaska Premium Glacier

Aquafina

Dasani

Glaceau Smartwater

Nestle Pure Life 

Yosemite

While in Italy, I drank water pouring from beautiful stone fountains, so I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to finally catch on...to finally see the kitchen faucet as a source of drinking water!  Of course filtered water is my preference, but I have no qualms about drinking from our tap, especially since it tastes good.

So, yeah, I've been thinking outside the box, but I promise...I didn't leave a mess!

DAY 346 -- "We need to stop meeting this way."

We traveled to Idaho to attend a funeral for an 86 year old aunt.  This is the third aunt I've lost this year, and the fourth family funeral.  It's wonderful to see family but...we need to stop meeting like this!  

I wish I could report that I ate healthy, and paid attention to when I was full.  But no... I succumbed to the delicious homemade rolls.  And the funeral potatoes seemed extra tasty. And I couldn't stop at the fried chicken drumstick, I had to sample the ham too.  And another homemade roll.  

You get the picture.

Gee... I can't imagine why I feel so tired and bloated...(read dripping with sarcasm).

DAY 345 -- A smarter way?

Lately I've seen ads for a special make-your-own soda contraption.  Yesterday I was in a kitchen-gadget store to purchase a new can opener and they were offering samples of homemade soda (which I declined).  Then this morning I noticed yet another ad for the item.  It made me wonder what the attraction is... does it taste better than store bought or something?  So I took a closer look at the ad, which touted, "A smarter way to enjoy soda."

"No lugging" (with a picture of someone stooped over several large soda bottles) [yet the contraption weighs nearly 7 pounds]
"No storage" (bottles of soda lined up) [no mention of storing the bottles of flavoring - over 50 offered]
"No empties" (empty bottles in a trash can)  [hmmm... this appeals to me]

"No empties to recycle or throw away."  It made me think:  couldn't we say that about most meals made from scratch?  When we eat more fresh natural foods, and consume less packaged, processed junk, it really cuts down on the amount of trash.

I don't know if "turning water into soda in seconds" is "a smarter way to enjoy soda," but I do know it is not a smart (or healthy) way to enjoy water.  Nevertheless, I'm all for the idea of less trash.

DAY 344 -- Warning! Not for weak stomachs.

I checked a book out of the library titled The Secret Lives of Hoarders, written by Matt Paxton, one of the organized cleaning experts on A&E's "Hoarders."  I wanted to read it partly out of sheer curiosity, but also because I know someone suspected to be a hoarder (I'll call her Helga) and I wanted to understand her.

Ugh.  If you ever want to kill your appetite, read this book!  *shudder*  The following excerpt made me gag.  Warning:  do not read if you have a squeamish stomach.

     "... She guessed that her refrigerator hadn't been opened in sixteen years--there was too much clutter stacked up in front of it.  As soon as we cracked it open, two of my workers started vomiting.
     "The bins and drawers were full of dark liquid and two inches of green black muck that had once been lettuce.  We found black eggs, which at first we thought were carved stone eggs.  The food was so moldy that it had all grown together into one gnarly mess"  (p. 26, italics added).

Oh. my. goodness.

Paxton mentions that most hoarders (especially in advanced stages) are obese because they live on junk food due to the inability to access their kitchens for cooking.  Thankfully, that is not the case for Helga... yet.  She still cooks, and actually prepares beautiful, fairly healthy, meals.  (But good luck finding a clean plate or a place to sit.)

And now, after reading the book, I am worried about Helga's future.  The author states that hoarding becomes increasingly worse until the person seeks help.  Helga used to be somewhat meticulous in housekeeping and organization.  I loved visiting her home. But over the past twenty years I've seen her house swell with clutter and stuff she cannot part with. When I travel to her town, I can no longer spend the night at her place since the spare bedrooms are filled to the brim.  If this continues, what will her health and living conditions be like in another twenty years?

At this point Helga doesn't recognize the severity of the problem, and gets angry if anyone broaches the subject.  It's like that for any addiction.  We have to reach a point of wanting change before we can start a path to better health.

DAY 343 -- Big sigh.

I missed a day... again.  Yesterday (Friday) was rough and that's all I've got to say about that.

DAY 342 -- Shopping is no treat.

I dislike shopping.  Every now and then I get in the mood to shop for clothing or shoes, but that is rare.  And as for grocery shopping, I consider it a chore on my to-do list. Lately I've noticed that if I need to get groceries I find myself dreading the task so much that it sours my mood for the entire day.

Yesterday was no exception.  Our fridge and cupboards looked like they belonged to Old Mother Hubbard.  It was my husband's day off and he had some errands to run.  I was very tempted to have him get the groceries while he was out and about (and he would have done it) but I decided not to dump that on him.  Using a trendy phrase which basically means quit whining, I gave a giant sigh and grumbled, "Okay.  I'll put on my big girl panties and get the chore done."

Throughout the morning as I contemplated my distaste for grocery shopping, I wondered why it seems worse over the past years. I couldn't recall having such strong dread of it years ago. Finally I realized... it's because I used to reward myself with a treat at every store!  If I went to three different stores, I got three different goodies (candy bar, donut, giant cookie). If I stopped for gas, I bought a treat there too.

I wondered if I needed to find some type of healthy treat to "reward" myself for my grocery shopping now.  Perhaps some raw nuts, dried fruit, or a Larabar?  But I decided it was best not to use food for rewards.  Just knuckle down and tackle the task.

After getting the groceries, my husband asked, "Well, did you put on your big panties?"

I laughed,  "That's big girl panties.  Not big panties.  There's a difference!"

And thankfully, because I stopped treating myself to sweet rewards years ago, those big girl panties are not as big as they used to be.

DAY 341 -- Coupons

An additional bonus for eating healthy: clipping coupons doesn't take as long.  All I need are the ones for toiletries and cleaning supplies.  I can toss the numerous coupons for packaged foods: cereals, soups, lunch meat, cookies, crackers, chips, candy, ice cream...

DAY 340 -- Salad dressings.

I eat a salad almost every day, but sometimes when I feel chilled and can't seem to get warm, the thought of eating a cold salad does not appeal to me.  However, I noticed that when I do eat a salad, my body wants a creamy dressing, like homemade blue cheese, rather than my usual oil and vinegar.  At first this puzzled me... if I'm cold, wouldn't it make more sense to want the vinegar and oil which is kept at room temperature, rather than blue cheese served cold from the fridge?  Then I realized that with colder weather my body probably needs more fat in the diet.  Since I strive to listen to my body's needs, I oblige. 

DAY 339 -- Tomatoes.

Today as I sliced a tomato to put on my salad, I got hungry for a tomato sandwich... then I took a taste.  Blah.  
I miss garden fresh tomatoes!!

DAY 338 -- Food for the soul.

Tonight I am filled with wonderful thoughts of Christmas.  We went by train to downtown Salt Lake City where we attended a Christmas Devotional listening to wonderful talks about the meaning of Christmas, a short video about the Savior's birth, and uplifting music sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  I feel refreshed and refocused.

It's interesting that on the way to the devotional I thought about some yummy pasta leftovers I was going to eat later when we got back home.  We had the pasta last night from a restaurant and it seems like whenever I get it, I want to eat, eat, eat, way past full. But after the devotional, I no longer felt drawn to eat that pasta.  In fact, I told my husband he can have my share to take in his lunch tomorrow.

Refreshed.  Refocused.  And recommitted to eating healthy.

DAY 337 -- Rewiring the brain.

I keep thinking of what I learned on Biggest Loser several weeks ago... about how we can rewire our brain over a period of weeks or months, but our brain quickly reverts back to its old ways when we stop our healthy habits.  (Post: Obesity and the Brain.)  Maybe that's why Thanksgiving seems to set off a period of overeating that lasts until New Year's.

It's so easy to think, "Overeating this once isn't going to hurt me in the long run."  HA!  I need to wake up to that lie.

I do take courage in the fact that I recognize what's going on and I'm trying to get a grip.  

DAY 336 -- The pothole in the road.

I remember a friend telling a story or analogy about how a person goes down a road and falls in a pothole.  Then the next day she goes down the same road and falls in the same pothole. The next day, the same thing.  Then finally learning from the past she goes down the same road but goes around the pothole.  But how much better to avoid that road in the first place.


I probably messed that story all up, but that's what's on my mind.  It's like the phrase, "You keep doing what you're doing and you'll keep getting what you're getting."  


I'm tired of falling in the same pothole when it comes to overeating.  I wish I could find a consistent way around it.  Better, yet, I wish I could find a completely different road.

DAY 335 -- Thwarted plans.

Today was a Christmas luncheon for my husband's work.  It was held at a steak house where they serve buckets of peanuts and fluffy white flour rolls before the meal comes to the table. We thought the luncheon started at 11:00 with the food being served at 11:30ish.  Because of other commitments, we were not able to arrive until around 11:30, so in my mind I thought it was perfect timing.... we would arrive in time for the food and I would not be tempted to fill up on peanuts (and I told myself to stay away from the white flour rolls).

BUT... we arrived at the restaurant and learned we were early.  Turned out the function didn't start until around 12:00 with the food coming to the tables at 12:30.  So there we were, sitting at a table with peanuts right in front of my face.  Plus I was really hungry.  I thought we would be eating earlier, so I avoided a mid-morning snack.

Peanuts called out to me, and I succumbed... but managed to avoid the rolls.  Nevertheless, I still ate too much by the time the meal was over.

I guess it balanced out though, because I ended up dashing off to a meeting tonight without any supper.  My lunch held me over all this time.  It's nearly midnight and I'm still not hungry.