Being responsible sucks

:laugh: yeah it does! But the end results will be worth it!

True, I just wonder when (if ever) I'll ever be able to go out and just enjoy myself without obsessing about it. :laugh: I just want to be normal like other people and go out and have fun and not either a) hate myself for giving in and enjoying myself or b) deprive myself and not enjoy it. :grumble:

Sounds like you have an idea... if you're going to go out and drink and eat, do it with other people, and save your alone time to take care of yourself!

Just a thought...spend some time thinking about why it is you're going out....is it about crappy bar food and beer, or is it about the social interaction? if its for fun you can drink club soda or iced tea, eat the carrot sticks out of the basket of wings, and leave the icky food....

It does suck at first to have to put so much thought into something that you do for fun, like going out, but a little pre-planning and decision making ahead of time....what am i going to drink?....what am i going to eat there?...if my food choices are going to be limited should I eat before i go?....what healthy snacks can i keep in my desk/purse so that if I get the chance to go out with friends i won't be starving and eat the chicken-fried eggrolls? Can I have one beer, enjoy it, log the calories, and not beat myself up about it?...

Breaking bad habits, especially unconscious ones (for me so many of my bad eating habits are just because I go unconscious and don't think about what I'm doing) takes some practice, but the extra work is worth it if you've considered your motivation and are really committed to looking at things differently...

then it gets easier, and stops sucking so much...and you start having fun without worrying about it because the healthy choices become second nature...

Just keep at it, and remember what you want, and why.

Sometimes, I just don't want to go home, too.
That's when I go shopping - calorie free!

Being responsible is the responsible thing to do. You don't need beer or crappy food to have fun. Pretend you're drunk- no one will know the difference.

True, I just wonder when (if ever) I'll ever be able to go out and just enjoy myself without obsessing about it. :laugh: I just want to be normal like other people and go out and have fun and not either a) hate myself for giving in and enjoying myself or b) deprive myself and not enjoy it. :grumble:

I belong to a neighborhood wine-tasting group and I decided that, during our once a month tasting parties, I wasn't going to obsess about it. I backed of somewhat from previous habits--held back a little on the cheeses, breads, and desserts--and took some modestly smaller tasting pours as well--but I also decided that I was going to enjoy myself on those evenings and not sulk in the corner. I tried to make sure I threw in an extra workout the day of or the day after (or both), and did just fine.

I also find that now that I am 7 mos down the road, have lost 50+ pounds and picked up a little muscle, I can occasionally relax a little at social events. Again, it takes 3500 calories to gain a pound also, so going over by even 1000 on a "bad" night should not wreck your program.

I also find that I don't need to "indulge" as much as before--partly it's a renewed self-confidence and partly it's the idea that I have worked too damn hard to get to this point to throw it all away.

OTOH, the temptations are still there. I was in a real quandry today. It is my birthday, and in the past that meant either a big restaurant meal or a deep-dish pizza at home, followed by a premium-quality (and horrendously non-nutritious) birthday cake. As I went though the day today, my wife kept trying to get me to do something similar to the past (partly out of feelings of guilt because she didn't do anything for me at all). But, as I went over the alternatives, I just couldn't bring myself to load up on a million extra calories--so I ended up doing nothing. That may end up being worse, since it turned out to be a perfectly awful birthday, and the temptation to go out tomorrow will be even stronger. I am really going to have to have my game face on tomorrow.