WEEK 20-2: Celebrations: Not Just for Candy Anymore

Yesterday was a rocky start to controlling my eating this week: I was so excited about my loss that I "celebrated" with a slice of birthday cake for breakfast. Then I was too full of chocolate and remorse to think about food for most of the day. I finally had some dinner, and then later I got hungry... Yep, I had another slice of cake. Such an idiot!

But the disaster did get me thinking that I need to figure out satisfying ways to celebrate accomplishments and good news and fun times. I.e., in ways that don't involve hundreds of calories but still feel like I'm treating myself and having a good time.

So far my list of celebrations that don't involve food is pretty lame:

• dance around the house to my favorite CDs
• get a massage
• buy a new outfit
  

Clearly this is going to take some more thought. Or maybe I should just tattoo this Response Card to my forehead and be done with it!

Meanwhile, today has gone very well. I wrote out my food plan and followed it with no problem. To make sure I wouldn't be tempted by visions of chocolate cake dancing in my head, I had chocolate pudding instead (OK, the chemicals may kill me, but I'll leave a skinny corpse!) and that was just the trick.

And, wonder of wonders, I made it to my gym class tonight! Really, it was a wonder because I had a bunch of errands to run before class. And those errands should have involved traffic jams, lack of parking, long lines, hassles over a returned item, more long lines, more parking challenges, and twice the time I'd estimated for them. Instead? There were open roads, there was parking, there were short lines, there was no hassle, there was more parking, and everything took less time than I'd estimated.

Still I was cutting it close to the wire when I pulled into a parking space at the gym. And that's when I realized I'd left my membership card and my driver's license at home... So I trudged into the gym prepared to bribe them to let me in but sure that I would probably have to go home defeated, but then? They let me in without a problem. I wasn't even late for class!

With so much luck on my side, I thought I should buy a lottery ticket (but, um, I forgot). Still, such good fortune deserves a celebration. High-five myself? (Uh-uh.) Sing a chorus of "For I'm a Jolly Good Fellow"? (Not even.) Enjoy a Celebration? (Trick question!)

But I'd better come up with some viable options, stat!