Passed the test - Banquet Dinner with clients

middleagedmeh

Hello All,
Just kind of posting a little motivation for all.

To be clear i am overweight (M34 85kg now with mostly fat) and even though on MFD for less than 1 month i have been on a better health diet for about a year now (started in the neighborhood of 98kg). Have lost quite a bit so far but hit a "plateau" until i joined here.
I am very sedentary working way too much (i love my job) and with 2 kids and a wife at home. My workouts are few and far between. Therefore diet is the primary means of weight loss.

Yesterday i had a dinner with clients. This happens about once a month and it is an occasion when my boss has a tendency to go overboard with a buffet style banquet at the top of an terrace overlooking the city. This is usually when i break my diet, feel bad for a few weeks, gain a few pounds and then get back on the bandwagon. I am sure some of you have a similar "thing".

I ate very few calories throughout the day to prepare, tried motivating myself.... no dessert...no dessert... as i usually do.

I got there in my best suit and hungry. saw the entire menu which was exactly as usual. Lots of potatoes cooked different delicious ways (ohhhh the smell of garlic on potatoes) , cakes, meats and cheeses platters, seafood section.
A funny thing happened though... I decided to enter quantity and food type in the app before making my plates. I had never realized the amount of healthy choices available to me before. I ate as much as i wanted, even left some on the plate. I was full with calories left. I was even able to get some evil desert in a relatively healthy way. I was amazed at how easy it was to do this when you take the time to analyze the food instead of just putting it on your plate.

Just wanted to share. I was pretty happy with that!

Full disclosure:
The desert put me 28 calories over my goal but the 3min jumping jack, 20 push ups, 3 sets of 40 sit ups and 3*30s mountain climbers should have covered that. :-)

5stringjeff

Way to go! Buffets can be hard to get through without overindulging.

dopeysmelly

That is great!!! Doesn't the empowerment and self-control feel absolutely wonderful?

I have to do this as well with business meetings/conferences. I don't log but I walk around with the mantra of "moderation, moderation, moderation" in my head, and after inspecting the food options, generally come to the conclusion that a coupla glasses of wine are usually all I'm genuinely interested in using my precious calories on (they are sooo precious to me). I'm not really interested in eating most of the food after I think about it - I like the food I prepare or my fave restaurants rather than some ham that's been laying around for a coupla hours, but that's just me. Plus, I find that I can focus much more on the company and the location when I'm not interested in stuffing my face..

BTW it becomes MUCH easier with practice, so by this time next year you'll be an expert!

middleagedmeh

Thanks guys!
I was really surprised by the amount I ate. I was really full.
It can be done!

middleagedmeh

You are on to something with the idea of focusing on clients. You interact better without the full plate of food and the trip to get seconds and so on.

Savlona

Wow - that is the kind of situation I don't deal well with at all, so hats off to you!