I knew this day could be trouble, so I started off being a good doobie.

BREAKFAST:  We were on the road for a two-hour drive and I was packing right up ’til the time we left.  I grabbed a pre-cooked turkey patty and steamed broccoli to eat in the car. So far so good.

LUNCH:  When we arrived we walked around center city looking at artwork on display and stopped for lunch in a Mediterranean grill. I had a small fattoush salad with half an order of gyros meat. The lemony fattoush dressing was delicious, and perfect for my needs.  So far, again, dodged a bullet while eating at a restaurant.

DINNER:  This is when my luck, and my resolve, ran out. We were at a black-tie dinner where the food was pre-plated, no choices offered. The salad was greens and mangoes and blackberries with a good vinaigrette. I’m guessing sugar was an ingredient in the dressing.  There was only one kind of dressing on the table.

The main course was a hunk of beef, gravy on top, on a bed of couscous.  Couldn’t think of a worse selection for my chosen way of eating. It was past 7:30 by the time we were served. I’m used to eating between 6:00-6:30. What did I do?  I ate it. I was hungry, and there was obviously no option to send a server back to the kitchen for something else.

BEVERAGES: All day I had shared a half iced-tea with my husband, and through the reception past the dinner I ordered just club sodas with lime.  Then they brought out a bourbon bar for the afterglow.  I enjoyed sharing three different kinds with hubby. They were delicious.  I’m glad I was so full of beef, bloated actually, that I didn’t get the ravenous sugar reaction I have gotten before when I’ve had alcohol.

LESSON: Sometimes, but rarely, there is no way out, unless you choose to sit, refuse a plate of food, and watch everyone else eat.  This was one of those times.  I decided to give myself a pass.  Obsessing about not eating that food would not serve me, so I just choose to remember it as an enjoyable evening that I am writing off.