Non-Scale Victories on the Road

I had a really good week, most of it in California at my conference.   I intended to concentrate hard on eating differently so I didn’t get sucked into the eat-everything-not-nailed-down mode that usually infects me as soon as I leave the house with a suitcase for an event. But I discovered that I didn’t have to concentrate all that hard.  I just listened to my body and the head went along.

Every morning I bought a big hotel breakfast instead of eating muffins and overpriced coffee at Starbucks.  I figured that a good balanced breakfast would tide me over better and treated myself to things I don’t eat at home, where I always have yogurt with fruit and an English muffin.  Instead I ate egg white omelets or scrambled eggs with bacon and sourdough toast and fruit.  No orange juice either, which they usually pour as soon as you sit down at $3.50 a pop. I love it, but I was happier with Diet Coke 🙂  One morning I ordered blueberry pancakes because I wanted them, ate about 1/3 of the portion, and was finished.  I was kind of astounded to have recognized I was full and stopped.

We had lots of snacks available, including HagenDaz ice cream bars and a lovely dessert reception.  I ate none of it, sticking to an occasional Late July cheddar cheese sandwich cracker pack from my stash or a small Tootsie Roll, also brought from home.   I went to Disneyland after sessions one day, expecting to have dinner there, and didn’t see anything that fit what I was wanting so didn’t eat anything there, either.

Actually, the only things I bought were a pair of dangly earrings with teeeny tiny sparkly mouse ears at the bottom – and a pair of clip on Minnie Mouse ears for my head.  Instead of eating or shopping, I enjoyed watching the wide-eyed delight of little girls dressed in princess costumes, honeymooning couples with wedding mouse ears (with veils for the brides or little tuxes for the grooms), tired parents pushing strollers, and the incredible assortment of costumed Disney character dolls everywhere.  The place is a merchandising mecca.

I also thought of my parents who took my brother and me to Disneyland back in 1964.  I don’t think I ever quite realized what a big deal that was, to fly us all across country, staying at Disney and taking the monorail, riding the rides, watching Tinkerbell fly at night, sprinkling pixie dust on us all.  I remembered it as a magical time and I could see the magic still working in the small faces around me.  I called my parents from a bench on Main Street to tell them I loved them and was thinking about them and everything they’ve done for me.

It was a productive conference and I had the chance to visit with bunches of friends, many of whom I only see once a year.  I found it easy to concentrate on conversation rather than focusing on food, and came home feeling happy with not only what I learned but also how I handled myself.  It showed up on the scale today with a 2.6 lb loss – but the real victory was won before even stepped on it.  Yayyy me!