Weekend away

This weekend we left the kids with my Mum and went away to a hotel. I knew this would be a big test of my reformed eating, and I failed with flying colours. In the end I decided to not worry about it as I had the sense I was just going to ruin the weekend without achieving anything if I did. So I decided to settle for using it as a learning experience.

What have I learned? A few things.

1. Hotel breakfast buffets and newspapers are a dangerous combination. The buffet encourages too much food on the plate, the paper stops me eating conciously. Reading the paper is part of the pleasure of being away – with young children and a busy work life I never get to do it at home. So my lesson is that I have to recognise I probably won’t eat as conciously as I should, and therefore concentrate on what goes on the plate in the first place. This is the reverse to my usual aim, which is not to worry about what goes on the plate as I try to eat conciously and stop when no longer hungry.

2. Drinking makes me eat more. Hardly a revelation I guess, but worth reminding myself of this one.

3. I’m not sure I really enjoy drinking all that much any more, beyond a glass or two of wine with a meal. Maybe I should knock it on the head, I don’t think I’d miss it much.

4. Set menus in chinese restaurants – probably most restaurants – result in a ridiculously large amount of food being served. I was full enough to stop after the starters, but ploughed on through two more courses because I didn’t want to ruin the night by being a misery.

5. Despite anticipating it and telling myself not to in advance, I still grazed the danish pastries while at the breakfast  buffet filling my plate. Pathetic. Must do much better.

6. England may actually be worse at cricket than I am at eating sensibly.

Tags: comfort eating, concious eating, diets, healthy breakfast