Buffet barrage

Today won't be a good calorie day. I've known that for several days now. It's my wife Tiffany's thirty-... um, I mean, twenty-something birthday and we're going out to El Torito to celebrate. On Sundays, El Torito makes a fantastic buffet that I've indulged in a few times over the years.

While I could stick with eating the healthier of the options, it doesn't hurt to have one meal every now and then where you know you are eating an excessive amount of calories. The key is to know it ahead of time and plan accordingly. Since I knew this was going to happen, I had a normal calorie day on Saturday (1500-1800 calories) and didn't do anything foolish like go out to a pizza place or something. That may have been fun but places like that put you in a position where it's easy to make bad choices.

This morning, I might have a lighter-than-usual breakfast to compensate for the brunch. I might just have some fruit or something. Pineapple actually sounds pretty tasty right about now. And I'm guessing I'll be so full the rest of the day I won't have an appetite for much, so I'll just stick to fruits and veggies afterward. But I will indulge a bit.

I actually think I won't be able to handle the buffet like before. Back in the 300-plus days, I could have killed the buffet. Now I get to a point where I'm too full pretty quickly. I've been so accustomed to eating smaller portions that when I eat too much I know before the meal is over I've eaten too much. Same goes for alcohol. I used to be able to put down six or eight beers before really feeling a whole lot but now I'm lucky if I get to my third beer without having felt the affects of the alcohol.

Anyway, I'll be at the buffet today and while I won't go overboard I know I won't feel bad about indulging because I will have planned on it. And I know that the next few days I will go back to my routine of staying within the 1500-1800 calorie range and jogging and eating the right things.