Everyday Systems

New Friends Birthdays + Old Friends Birthdays + Summer Holidays = TOO MANY S-DAYS!

All these S-days have definitely thrown me out of my rhythm. The difficulty I have in sticking with a diet is magnified when I can't keep my routine. As a consequence, my S-days are turning into Triple S days and my No S days are turning into S's!

I have decided I'll participate in the Daily Check In, starting tomorrow. I would have done it today, but alas, I have another birthday party to attend.

Man, I know what you mean! Often for me it's stuff at work... doughnuts, etc. So when I can't ensure that the birthday celebration is on the weekend, I make two exceptions (sparingly) to help keep things under control:

A piece homemade birthday cake or snack is OK. (Hey, don't want to offend anyone, right?)
A promotion donut is OK. (It's a tradition here that when somebody gets promoted, they bring in doughnuts for the rest of the group.)

Sometimes if I see something I really want, but does not meet the criteria above, I'll save it and eat it on the weekend.

I've done this before: bring a plastic knife to that donut celebration. Cut one in half. Eat half. Leave the knife so it's obvious you cut the donut in a sanitary way. You'll be suprised how fast that other half gets eaten. There are others out there that are just looking for an exuse to celebrate, but to less excess.

In fact, the next time I host a donut celebration I think I'll cut all the donuts in half... let people take as many halfs as they want. I won't bring less, I'll just allow for smaller portions.

If there are so many promotion doughnut days that your diet is at risk of being thrown off track, I'd say it must be a pretty good place to work!

Unless these are the kinds of promotions where the employee gets a new title, more responsibilities, and no salary increase ... maybe the donut is a kind of lousy corporate consolation prize?

Hey Samurai:

I can relate to the S days getting out of hand. I have had to start back to square one. I told my husband about this plan and his response was "Nearly every day has the letter S in it". LOL

I could make every day a food celebration so I am being strict for the next few weeks.

Kevin's idea of carrying a knife around is good as long as it is plastic.

Good luck and remember that it's okay to say "No thank you" the next time someone tries to pass you a Krispy Kreme.
CVmom

I've found that it's astonishingly easy to pass on work party treats. Grab a cup of coffee, talk and smile, and people just don't notice. Just giving it a shot. Social pressure does exist, naturally, but it's also easy and convenient to imagine. Unless you receive a direct ultimatum, I'd recommend don't even consider it potentially valid excuse material (and even then, there's always "You know, I just ate" and "Thanks, I'll have some later." -- not lies, "just" and "later" are sufficiently vague to always be true).