Went to a St. Patrick's Day party today at a great bar on one of New York's Finger Lakes - and what a beautiful day for it. Warm enough to be outside and they had an Irish band playing - the guys were great - talented and funny. And the beer was pouring!! Pitchers and pitchers of every flavor and of course there was green beer, too. The sun was shining, the music was great and it would have been easy to drink several beers. Instead I used my colorful green plastic mug (free with the cover charge!) to drink water. No one either knew or cared that I was not indulging. I had a great time talking with friends I hadn't seen in a while, enjoying the sun and the music - and even enjoying my ice cold water that was both free of charge and free of calories. I went home feeling great - no lingering headache from alcohol and no lingering guilt from calories. And the best part is that I didn't miss having the beer.
217 today. I'm supposed to be at 214 by the 24th - I'm pretty sure I won't make it but I'll be close to that number and binge free. I always try to remind myself of a Dr. Phil-ism: "You can't control how fast you lose the weight, but you can control what you put in your mouth." And I'm definitely in charge of that. One more pound till my half way goal - I need to think of a great reward for that.
I love to write and I love the feel of a heavy pen in my hand so maybe I'll go looking for a pretty pen - something with a good heft to it and a gorgeous color. Or maybe a pretty pair of earrings. Something silver and free form to represent how great I feel. Or -- maybe both!!!