So, I was a very, very good girl on my Weight Watchers diet last week. Or, at least, I was a good girl all the way up until Friday night when, having been productive as well as steadfast on my diet, I accepted a friend’s invitation to go out for cocktails. And, as often happens, one turned into two which were soon followed by a third and… that’s when I stopped counting.
Except my scale didn’t.
Sundays are my weigh-in day, and I was furious with myself when I saw a 0.5 pound gain. This, of course, prompted me to pick the scale up, dust it off, move it across the bathroom, and weigh myself again. Yep, still a 1/2 pound gain. So I moved it to another part of the bathroom, stood on the thing again and saw the exact same gain. Lather, rinse, repeat across various hard surfaces in my house until I had to accept — however grudgingly — that going out for cocktails was a stupid, stupid thing.
It’s not that I don’t have a few extra Points Plus to play with. It’s that my body reacts to alcohol by first dehydrating (it’s a diuretic, after all) and then holding onto water like a sponge for several days no matter how much liquid I drink to reset my system. I know this, and yet every time I go out with friends I hope this time it’ll be different. You know that saying about repeating the exact same thing and hoping the results will change? Yeah, insane. I know.
So, although I’m not willing to come right out and say I’m not going to drink anymore, because that would pretty much guarantee I’d be drinking wine straight from the bottle by dinnertime tonight, I’ve decided that for now I’m just going to decline such invitations. Out to dinner? I’m in. There are plenty of WW-friendly foods I can order. Out to a bar? Sorry, but spending the night drinking club soda while my friends pound shots of Patron really isn’t that fun. When they’re in their cups, they’re only tolerable if I am, too. (And vice versa, I’m certain.)
And while it may sound pissy to turn down such opportunities to socialize, I’d turn down invites to meet at Dunkin’ Donuts or tour a candy factory offering free samples for the very same reason. Testing my willpower is a dangerous thing; you never know when I’ll snap.
Anyway, that week’s in the past and a new one’s underway. I spent the first two days of it sick as a dog with a stomach bug. Wouldn’t it be nice if that paid off at my next weigh-in?