Falling off the diet bandwagon?

So....life had been going well.

Really well.

My BMI had dropped another .5.   I was feeling energetic from eating all the whole grains, lean proteins, veggies and fruits recommended by the USDA.  I was really keeping the extras to a minimum.

And then..... I fell off the bandwagon. I don't mean just a little teeny lean off the bandwagon, I mean I catapulted myself off, tumbled down a ditch and kerplopped into a muddy roadside pool. 

Yesterday, I had a muffin. And then I had a brownie.  And then, I had a cookie.  And then I had a croissant and a "teensy" key lime tart.

EEEEPP!!!!

After weeks of relatively good behavior (though I allow myself a 100 calorie 'sin' everyday), I had a very. bad. day.

Why? Lots of things added up.  Lack of sleep + change of routine + lack of willpower + not keeping track of what I was eating.   

First, I was at a full day conference, where these lovely treats were out in spades, and sometimes, were the only food items available.  In the morning, the breakfast choices were literally muffin or scone and coffee.  So, I had a muffin.  Lunch was much better, and offered a good choice of healthy grilled veggies, and lean proteins (I opted for grilled tofu), along with long grain rice.  But..... lunch offered a brownie.  So, I had a brownie. Because, of course, I wasn't logging anything and had TOTALLY forgotten about the muffin.  For mid-afternoon snack, there were cookies.  So I had a cookie. Because, of course, I was hungry and had TOTALLY forgotten about the muffin and the brownie.  And then, on my way out, the reception featured pastries, including croissants and "teensy" key lime tarts, so I had those. Because, of course.....that's right, I had TOTALLY forgotten about the blah and the blah and the blah. 

It was only after I got back to the house and logged everything that I realized what I'd eaten and said....."Eeep!"

The funny thing is, the lecture at my weight loss meeting last week was the effect of lack of sleep on eating-related willpower.  Lack of sleep is particularly damaging because it a) makes you too tired to care and b) increases cortisol, which makes you crave high-calorie salty and fatty foods.  So, if you experience a lack of sleep, the ideal thing to do is follow the same eating routine that you've built.  Except I couldn't.  And when you can't, you should remember that your lack of sleep may lead to overeating high-calorie foods. Except I didn't remember. 

Alas, I was too tired to remember that great lecture yesterday.  Of course, what's ingested has been ingested, and nothing can (or should) be done about that. I've been in the weight loss/maintenance game too long to try and compensate by starving the calories out of me over the next few days.

All that is left to do is learn my lesson and jump right back onto the bandwagon and continue doing what I had been doing.   Fortunately, when it comes to your own body, you are the driver of your own bandwagon.  Even if you fall off, it will wait for you and respond when you drive it again. 

So, I will be attending day 2 of the conference, but I will be looking closely at what I'm eating.  If there is nothing else to eat, and I'm hungry, I'll eat.  But I'll anticipate the times when only cookies or muffins are available and will load up on good foods when those are available.

And I won't regret the muffin, and the brownie and the cookie and the croissant and the (okay...not so "teensy") key lime tart.  'Cuz, darn it--they sure tasted good going down!