I went to a campaign kick-off party tonight and it is so hard to follow the band rules with snacky/finger food. I ended up eating 1 stuffed mushroom, 1 cookie, 1 mini piece of pizza, 1 chicken on a stick thingee, 1 potsticker, 1 slice of a rollup thing, 1 artichoke thingee, 1 carrot stick w/ dip, 1 bite of hummus, and I came home and ate 2 mini candy bars b/c I never got satisfied and full like I would have if I had just sat down and ate a regular meal. That is SO much more than I could eat at one meal but b/c I was just mingling and nibbling for 3 hours of this party I ended up eating way too much and never feeling full. How do you handle it when you are at something like this where there is no "real" food, just a bunch of snacks and nowhere to sit down and eat. I obviously need to get a grip on this situation before going into the holiday season!

Laura, don't be so hard on yourself.

I would argue that you were not prepared for the presence of such food items, therefore using the reasonable man standard, your actions would be consistant with the actions of someone in the same or similar circumstance.

Further, the was no forseeability on your part. There was no expectation or anticipation, that food of that quality would be present. Even if there was an expectation of food in general, it was likely to be common and of little interest.

Further, if it was clear and without question that food would not be served, then clearly a situation of detrimental reliance exists.

Bad Laura! No, just kidding!! We all have slip ups, so forgive yourself and move on. That kind of finger food is one of my biggest downfalls. I've consumed my body weight in pizza rolls over the years...

Next time I would drink Water or ice tea and hold off as long as you can. Then, make a plate in the quantity that you would eat at a normal meal. Eat a full meal and avoid drinking and you should be good to go for a few hours. Sure, it's not health food, but it's okay to eat that stuff once in a while. Once you're full you'll stop obsessing about the buffet table. Also, try to make healthier choices during the day so that you can keep your overall calories in check.

Perhaps I'm naive and will get a big shock when I'm banded, but heck, that's just part of life. Big deal, the best thing about the band is that next day you cant really go "oh well, I blew it for this week, may as well pig out for the rest of the week and start again on Monday". One night out and a few more calories is neither here nor there in the whole grand scheme of things unless you're trying to madly please the lady on the scale at the next weight watchers meeting.

You didnt eat all that and then order a 1 am pizza!

Thanks for the comments - especially the legal analysis from Ira - that made me laugh out loud! Basically I know not to beat myself up too bad for one slip up but I know that the holidays are right around the corner and there will be alot of these parties and I need a plan to avoid snacking all through the party. I am going to try to just get one plate and eat it all at once instead of snacking all night. Then I will likely stay full and act as a "reasonable prudent" bandster!