Burn, baby, burn...

So, yesterday was just a foodfest... Ugh.

The other half and I had lunch at Sweet Tomatoes (which I love) around noon.

Then, around 5 p.m., I met him, his friend who is doing sound for RENT, our friend Adrienne, and her sister for dinner at Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant. Not only was it a first for me, but it was also spectacular. They serve the vegetarian dishes on a teff pancake, and you use more pieces of teff cakes to eat the food (no utensils).

Then, I went to meet my friends Kathy, Stark, and Margaret at our friend Shirley's house for a gathering. Shirley went out of her way to put a wonderful spread of food. Anyway, I ended up eating more that I really wanted to eat (not gorging myself, though). And, dessert followed.

I decided on the ride home that I wasn't going to feel guilty about it. I ate the food and had an amazing evening with friends. I don't eat that much normally, and I had already decided to go running today, so it wasn't going to weigh on my conscience. If there's one thing I have learned through this whole living better experience is that guilt over the things you do just doesn't help. And -- here's the kicker -- the guilt doesn't erase the calories you've already consumed. So, you just make a better choice the next time. I know people who get so upset about what they've eaten because it was one more cookie than they should have had or one more hamburger.

Does that frustration, anger, resentment, or self-flagellation DO anything other than make you feel worse? No.

You chalk it up to a bad food choice (or day), and move on. As long as you do good things to compensate (i.e. run, go to the gym, etc.), you know the calories can be burned. So, I've just completed my morning run (although my Garmin seemed to stop recording about 42 minutes into the workout), and I'm drinking my protein shake, so life is good. Another 1100 calories: BURNED.