Did something I've never done and it's a bit crazy

and I know it!

I left Thursday morning for a conference.  It was about 5-6 hours to drive here (car pooled), so we arrived Thursday evening.  My eventual plan was to try to stay on plan for the trip as much as possible. I knew it would be harder and it wouldn't be perfect, but I wasn't going to take a diet free weekend.

To ensure I would stay on plan and stay accountable, I decided to pack my scale.  Something that is completely crazy. Something I've advised against when other people ask if they should bring their scale, but in the end, when I saw I had tons of room in my little carry on suitcase, I decided to pack it.  It was a last minute decision and not well thought out, but in the suitcase it went.

When we got here Thursday night, I had only had my normal foods for the day, so the evening appetizers were my dinner. I was afraid that would be horrible, but there was hummus, cheeses, cold meats, grilled vegetables and crusty breads and crackers.  I have no way to track those calories, but it was probably petty close to being on target.

Yesterday, the first full day of the conference, I started the day about as I do usually with coffee and half and half, but had two cups throughout the day versus my usual one.  For lunch, it was a stir fry buffet, but they had nice salad options, so I had a light salad with sesame ginger dressing and 4 tiny vegetable spring rolls (about the size of my pinky from the middle knuckle up).  For dinner it was a "taste of Italy". For that meal, I had a small Caesar salad (no croutons) and two fillets of chicken, some grilled vegetables and a half slice of garlic bread. 

My carb count is up, for sure, but not in a way to trigger me, but my decisions have been intentional and controlled and I haven't felt deprived (so far).

The first day I put the scale on the industrial carpeted floor next to my bed.  Well, even that carpet interfered with an accurate reading - as much as I would love to believe the 132 pounds it said, that, of course, is impossibly too low. So, I moved it to the bathroom tile and used that this morning.

Scale is ticked up about 1.5 pounds, but that could be carb (glycogen) water weight or, my monthly gain as I near ovulation.  Time will tell, but I am trying to stay on plan and craziness or not, I have the scale to document it.

Going to a conference Thursday through Sunday

And... that conference has meals included in the fees. Sigh... What to do about that?

When I first signed up for this (recently, not LONG ago), I thought, "Ok I will not do intermittent fasting during that conference as everyone will be eating around me and that is a good time to mingle and chat with various people. NOT eating would be weird and rude." Plus, I was thinking of taking it as a mini diet vacation as I have no other plans for a trip this summer, so it would be a minor bump in the long haul of things.

I wasn't planning on going crazy or anything, but I wouldn't be calorie restricting as much as I am now - for certain. I would still avoid big meals and probably most desserts, but even normal meals out of the home are usually highly caloric and would lead to gain territory versus losses territory.

Now that it's here - I'm leaving tomorrow, I'm not so certain I want to take a mini break. The meals are a sunk cost. They are part of the package. I can eat them - or not. I didn't pay extra for them and on top of that, it's a work expense, so it's not even money out of my pocket. I have no obligation to EAT.

And, I am on such a role. And it feels so good. I have bins and bins of clothing that are too small for me. Beautiful clothes I would love to wear again and getting there faster rather than later would be GREAT!

Also, I feel great doing what I'm doing. I don't feel starved and I don't feel like I'm having to give up anything (so I don't feel like I'm missing out). Though, it might feel that way if I'm hanging out with people who are eating!!!

Lastly, I'm going alone - not with my family. It's not going to feel much like a vacation. And the food may not even be that great! I would rather go over on calories and blow the calorie budget on trying new foods at new places and so on. Not while at a conference for work eating hotel food. This is on top of me being in my monthly stall out too. I'm already seeing little to no movement on the scale. I'm not looking forward to adding to the scale upward tick trend!

So, I'm torn about what to do. Skipping breakfast should be easy. It's the other two meals I'll have to think about! I guess I'll find out!