Buy me some peanuts – yes. Cracker Jacks – no.
Tomorrow I am going to the ballgame. And since I don’t really watch baseball, even at the park where I am just not interested and too distracted by everything around me, the day will be about food and people watching. Food. Hmm. I have never been to the ballgame while on a diet before.
Let me tell you about our tickets. Friends are taking us to a special section. VIP. We start the day with a huge buffet. Last time we went I tried five desserts. Five! Guess which phase of my yo-yo I was on then! And after the buffet we will move to our seats in a special section behind home plate. With staff who wait on us and bring us… drum roll here… more food. Yes they do. All day. Hours and hours of free food served to us in our seats. No calories burned going to a concession stand and waiting in line.
So a smart dieter who doesn’t care a whit about baseball might not go. But our friends invited us and so we will have fun visiting with them. And they will have fun eating. All afternoon. I, on the other hand, will have fun NOT eating all afternoon. Or so I plan. Because I cannot avoid social situations with food for the rest of my life. Gotta learn to live in the world around me.
And I am going to consider dipping my toe into the special-event-moderation-waters. Here is my game plan (bad pun intended): At the buffet I will focus on proteins and vegetables. No potatoes, no pasta, no dessert. And later… No ice cream. No cotton candy. No hot dog. Instead I am hoping that there are peanuts in the shell for me to nosh on and to keep my hands busy. And I will drink water. Lots of water. And if I want, I will treat myself to a soft pretzel. It’s not on my South Beach plan, but I know that if I’m going to make this work for life than I have to … make it work for life. And tomorrow that just might mean treating myself to a soft pretzel. Or not. If I don’t feel like it in the moment, I won’t eat it. And if I eat it, I will stop at one. Here it is in print. ONE. And when I get home I will get back on plan. Period. End of story.
Waisting Time 
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I love baseball, but not so much in the VIP section. Although last time I went, they did serve fresh fruits and veggies, along with grilled burgers and chicken. And yummy desserts in great numbers. 🙂 Maybe you’ll get lucky and have some good options available. If nothing else, I hope you’ll have a good visit with friends on a lovely spring day,
.-= Cammy@TippyToeDiet´s last blog ..For Your Consideration: A Day of Rest =-.
Good game plan! I love peanuts at a ball game!
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I love baseball, too, but quit going (unless someone gave me tickets or the Astros went to the World series) after the strike in 1994. Well, OK, I did always go on my birthday as a family tradition and eating was part of the fun. Most major league parks have so many options today that it should be pretty easy to stay on some sort of plan without having to grind your teeth for 9 innings. Take binocs and people watch; the huge TV screen is “major league” entertainment; stroll around and memorabilia shop for a kiddo (or yourself). Have fun socializing! And the soft pretzel is a great idea if all else fails.
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Good luck with your plan. I know you can do it. Be sure and drink lots of water … it can keep your hands busy and your stomach full.
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I’m just catching up on your blog today, and you’ve had some really great posts the last few days!
The best thing is to have a plan of action before you go, so you’re already part-way there! Then you can have a small guilty-free indulgence if you want. Good luck!
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You’ve got a plan – and I know you will enjoy the game! Have a great time!
.-= Diane Fit to the Finish´s last blog ..What Makes Them Different? =-.
OK, that’s a tough one, but you’ve been there, done that. You know what to expect and you’ve got a solid strategy.
Enjoy that soft pretzel! Easy on the salt.
Sounds like a good plan. I did indulge in a piece of sugar free marionberry pie and skipped most of the crust and otherwise stuck to my plan pretty closely the whole trip.
Have fun at the game!
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whew! that is indeed challenging! it’s great that you are working out your plan, it sounds like a good one. do the best you can, but don’t beat yourself up if some of the stuff is truly too good to pass up. don’t gorge on it, but allow yourself to have some, don’t make it forbidden.
another great trick i use, aside from the peanuts to keep your mouth busy, is chewing gum!!! it’s a sweet, yummy taste in your mouth and nothing tastes quite right after you spit it out.
good luck, can’t wait to hear how it went!
.-= love2eatinpa´s last blog ..Amazing Book – “goodbye ed, hello me” =-.
Thanks for you comments everyone! This is another one of those times where I am torn between living the life of moderation and allowing a PLANNED cheat, and asking myself if I really want it that badly. I don’t know what I will do yet… I’ll see what happens in a few hours.
Here is my report. Admission. Sigh.
I think I did okay at the game. I had a huge snack of green beans with some cheese before I went. At the buffet, I ate a salad first. Then some shrimp and prime rib. But instead of a pretzel, I decided to eat a few bites of dessert. I thought that was okay. And they were fabulous! But maybe I shouldn’t have deviated from my plan. I drank tons of water (and had to pass in front of people to keep getting up to use the restroom). I had peanuts. I kept thinking the sweets made me feel a bit nauseous but maybe it was actually the heat and little guilt I was feeling.
BUT – when I got home I way overate. Carbs. Not unhealthy processed refined carbs. But carbs all the same and not a healthy dinner (although I did NOT eat the pizza that my son and husband ate) and in that shove-in-in spirit. Sigh.
I suspect there will be a whole post later this week about what I learned.
Sounds like a plan to me, and a good one at that! You might also consider bringing a snack in your purse, just to keep you happy and from eating too many of those peanuts.
I think you have a fantastic plan. You are right, we have to learn to eat correctly in social situations because the piont of this is to really LIVE our lives and we aren’t really living if we can never enjoy a meal with friends and family. You have a great plan in place and if you want the pretzel than have it, but if not don’t. Sometimes I’ll act like a food snob and that the reason I would never eat pasta, bread, etc. is because I don’t like it (which isn’t true) but the mind game helps me! 🙂
I try to make sure I eat first. I’ve found that if I don’t I suddenly have this overwhelming need to eat everything at the event and if I don’t want it.
It’s hard to stop associating events with food.
If I go to a wedding I have to have cake. Or if it’s payday then I have to treat myself to fast food. Doesn’t make sense but it kinda does. I’m getting much better.
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I do agree that we have to live our lives in the real world. Whenever I know I’m going to be among massive amounts of temptation, I think about how I’ll feel the next day if I eat it or if I don’t. I remember what it’s like to eat the stuff, because for 25 years I woke up every morning hating myself for the binges from the night before. But when I don’t do that, I wake up and I know that it was just another day. Nothing more, nothing less. A day equal to all the other days. That’s what I love about not indulging – there’s no mental shenanigans required.
.-= Linda at Bar Mitzvahzilla´s last blog ..Purse of Shame =-.
Yikes…buffets really do me in! That is a tough one. You’re right though…you can’t avoid social functions because of food…
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..It’s about time…. =-.
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