Exactly! Just remember to cut back on calories, if you go over for today, look at your overall average for the week and it may balance out too. I have lots of friends that eat chocolate, as long as you stay on target with your calorie deficit, it's ok. Heck, I'm thinking of chocolate tonight.

Oh shoot. I totally ate some Easter candy and didn't feel a bit guilty. It tasted good and I enjoyed it. I've been able to stay out of it since then. That being said, the rest of the Easter candy temptation is going over to my father-in-law's house tonight to share at a family get-together. I didn't want to throw it away and I know it will get eaten by the masses of teenagers.

We have to enjoy our lives and if that means eating a bit of chocolate or ice cream here and there, so what? This is a lifelong endeavor, not a short-term fix.

RaeBeeBaby wrote: »

We have to enjoy our lives and if that means eating a bit of chocolate or ice cream here and there, so what? This is a lifelong endeavor, not a short-term fix.

Those are some mighty powerful words!!

I have an even naughtier confession. My home care nurse told me to go out with my friend last night and have a good time, not focusing on calories. Well, I'm very good at following orders, so I went and didn't focus on calories. When I came home (Texas Roadhouse) and logged in everything I ate, it was a 4,554-calorie meal, and I brought part of my steak home! Needless to say, I gained two pounds over night and my blood sugar is high.

Tonight, my friend wants to go out for dessert: Coldstone Creamery. We were too full to go last night, and I have a BOGO coupon. I don't want to go, but she's so focused on it, and I had planned for it last night. Well, may as well spread out the naughtiness. That's the end of it, I swear! I've gained back all but 3 of the pounds I lost this week. I had a wonderful time, but I could have eaten in more moderation; in other words, one appetizer instead of two; not so many of their wonderful rolls and butter (I think I had 4); no butter on the sweet potato; a smaller than 20-ounce bone-in ribeye steak, and it was cooked to perfection; no Margarita (my first in many, many years!); no smothered mushrooms; and the house salad with dressing on the side instead of a Caesar salad. I'll always remember the wonderful time we had and the laughs, and at least the memory will last longer than the new fat and sugar in my bod, but amazingly, I have no regrets. I don't know why, but maybe it's because I'm determined this is not the end of my new lifestyle; it's something I knew was coming up and I had planned for it, knowing I'd have to get back to it right away. I hadn't planned on waiting until today, though, for the ice cream.

I figure I can do this once a year and be okay, but my body didn't like it and sweated all night; miserable! I stayed up later than usual so I wouldn't go to bed on a full stomach. I'm shocked I didn't feel sickeningly full as I should have. That's probably because I've been at this for less than a week; takes longer than that for a stomach to start to shrink.

Well, I'll be good all day, as I had groceries delivered yesterday and got some good stuff to replace some of the high-fat, full-sugar, high-carb stuff. I have some yummy produce. And, to make sure I'm good, I cut the 1-lb. steak in three pieces before freezing it; cut the pork chops in half before freezing them; and bought turkey bacon, wrapping it in two-piece packets and freezing those. I know the sugar-free foods are higher in fat, so I'll be sure to watch out for that.

Today is my husband's birthday; the first since he passed away, and it's going to be a rough one for me. I will NOT give in to emotional eating.

I eat really light, all day, so that I can have more calories at dinner. Plus, I'm not usually that hungry throughout the day. I don't always know what I'm going to have for dinner, but make sure I have 500-700 calories for it. I hardly ever eat something I don't make, so I don't even think about going over when I'm not at home. Anyways, I LOVE the days that my dinner surprisingly ends up at 200-300 calories; that means I get chocolate! I eat fiber one brownies all the time, usually for a morning snack or desert, or both if I have calories left. I never feel guilty about eating sweets, I just moderate my serving sizes so I can still have it.