We've all done

A huge salad with tuna or chicken as the protein and homemade salad dressing that's lower cal and tastier than bottled.

I don't follow a specific diet, just stick to my calories, so I can eat an appropriate meal anywhere.

If I overdo it, I just get right back on plan tomorrow. It's what you do most of the time that matters. One meal really can't ruin anything unless you use it for an excuse to go off the rails. And you shouldn't let one meal make you miserable :drinker:

I just spent a weekend at distance family's house. I had no control of what they cooked/served. I had control of how much I put on my plate and didn't go back for seconds. I enjoyed the piece of pie they offered (because they were the kind that would have been insulted if I'd turned it down and I know one piece of pie isn't going to derail my weight loss). I made sure I did get my steps in for the day, enjoyed every bite I ate, and relaxed while getting to know family I hadn't seen in 40ish years.

Tomorrow, I continue on as I had been without worrying over what I ate this weekend or that I went over my calories a little yesterday. No biggie.

MovingRumsAss wrote: »

I should add that I have been trying to stay gluten free and this weekend I got sick instantly. So I'm not as worried about the calories as much as that meal where you have eaten the "old way" and regretted it.

If it's because of a genuine gluten intolerance or celiac (which aren't that common), then whatever you need to do to feel physically better. Emotions shouldn't be part of it except perhaps understanding why you ate in a way that you knew would cause physical discomfort, so as to try to learn how not to do it again -- and shaming yourself IMO is not useful for that.

If it's a diet for weight loss or just because, I would just get back to it, as others said, and if you really overdid it and it was a restriction that you imposed only for weight loss reasons, I might think through whether the restriction led to overdoing it -- whether a less restrictive diet that accomplished the same goals (such as weight loss) might lead to less difficulty.

Personally, I usually eat a little lighter leading up to a dinner out when I think I will eat more than usual. If for some reason I didn't -- like it was unplanned -- I do often eat a bit lighter the day after, but I don't feel shame or punish myself, and I don't feel like I have to be really restrictive the next day to make up for it or anything. If I ate differently than I had planned (i.e., I'd intended to do one thing in the situation and did not), I might consider why that was, as that can be helpful going forward.

MovingRumsAss wrote: »

lemurcat2 wrote: »

MovingRumsAss wrote: »

I should add that I have been trying to stay gluten free and this weekend I got sick instantly. So I'm not as worried about the calories as much as that meal where you have eaten the "old way" and regretted it.

If it's because of a genuine gluten intolerance or celiac (which aren't that common), then whatever you need to do to feel physically better. Emotions shouldn't be part of it except perhaps understanding why you ate in a way that you knew would cause physical discomfort, so as to try to learn how not to do it again -- and shaming yourself IMO is not useful for that.

If it's a diet for weight loss or just because, I would just get back to it, as others said, and if you really overdid it and it was a restriction that you imposed only for weight loss reasons, I might think through whether the restriction led to overdoing it -- whether a less restrictive diet that accomplished the same goals (such as weight loss) might lead to less difficulty.

Personally, I usually eat a little lighter leading up to a dinner out when I think I will eat more than usual. If for some reason I didn't -- like it was unplanned -- I do often eat a bit lighter the day after, but I don't feel shame or punish myself, and I don't feel like I have to be really restrictive the next day to make up for it or anything. If I ate differently than I had planned (i.e., I'd intended to do one thing in the situation and did not), I might consider why that was, as that can be helpful going forward.

The short answer is unfortunately yes. The dr suspects gluten intolerance (not celiac) and you are correct it is rare but not as rare with someone with other autoimmune diseases. I have lupus; yes it sucks but it's my reality. Another rare thing that occurred was a vertebral artery dissection while exercising 2 years ago. So all the weight I lost and all the muscle I gained was lost and here I am starting over.
We were out and needed something quick and I just didn't feel like having to go in circles to find a place that I could eat at for breakfast

"Miserable" was my stomach hurting from not eating right. I ended up with some uncured sausage and roasted veggies for my recovery meal and this morning is Greek yogurt while I drink my coffee.

MovingRumsAss, it was not at all clear to me, even on a re-read, that your OP was talking about an actual dietary-related health problem (medically diagnosed disease or condition) rather than a general "eating well for my health" statement (something we often see around here); nor was it clear that "feeling miserable" was feeling physically sick vs. guilty, like a failure, etc. (also something we often see around here).

I think most of us have not "done that", eat in a way that aggravates a medical condition, because I don't think the average person has major, acute, health-relevant dietary restrictions.

I'm sorry that I misunderstood, because my advice would've been different.

I agree, mostly, with the "tough love" recommendations above, that it will be up to you to put your health (not feeling sick) at the priority that seems right to you, and own the consequences of your behavior in that context.

I'd add this: I have a non-standard diet (vegetarian) by preference, but I've had it so long (45 years) that I do tend to experience mild digestive distress if I accidentally eat meat products (sometimes, the distress is what leads me to later discover that, say, a casserole or soup had a good bit of chicken broth in it). The distress isn't why I avoid meat, but I don't ever intentionally eat it.

Sometimes, when dining with groups, I do accede to restaurant choices that will please my companions, but greatly limit my choices. In those cases, I still review the menu in advance if at all possible. Part of what I do is look for the menu choices that are closest to a thing I would eat. Then, at the restaurant, I'll be that annoying person saying "can you leave the chicken off the salad? make the sandwich without the ham? make me a plate of the veggie sides? give me a hard-boiled egg?" etc.

Generally, most wait-staff and restaurants can and will accommodate special diets if asked politely.

If you don't want to have that conversation in front of your family/friends, excuse yourself as if to visit the restroom, and talk to a staff person away from the table. (I have no problem doing it in front of people, even those who don't know me well enough to be kind and accommodating about it because they truly care about my preferences and well-being.)

If you chose to eat food that makes you feel ill, that's a decision. The things you should do afterward to feel better - what you should eat, or other things that might help - are likely to be quite individual. If your OP had been "I slipped and ate gluten, to which I'm sensitive, and that made me feel ill: What can I do to recover?" then you might get replies from others who are gluten sensitive or celiac, who might have more useful ideas.

If the question is how to cope with a special diet in a restaurant, my advice would be to figure out what you can eat that won't aggravate your health condition (asking for modifications if necessary), and order that, even if the things others are eating look really tempting, and lots of the menu choices (maybe all) are unsuitable as written. Or, order a beverage, enjoy the social time, and eat later.

Best wishes!