Friend of Julie: Conferences

While organizing photos on my new iMac last week, I found photos from a conference I went to this past October. As I looked at the photos, I realized how much more fun this year's conference was vs the one I went to in 2010. For starters, I'm half the size I was in 2010. I'm also far more mobile than I was in 2010. I remember how exhausted I was walking from my hotel room to the conference in 2010. At this year's conference, I went to Niagara Falls twice and walked for hours both times.

2013 vs 2010

Three years ago when I went to this conference, I ate EVERYTHING they served. Everything at the buffet table. Every snack. Every dessert. Let me be clear here: I didn't eat just one snack and one dessert, I ate one of each snack and one of every dessert. Plus I stuffed my purse with snacks and ate them when I was alone in my hotel room each night. Every night I was so full my stomach ached.

Looking back, I'm so embarrassed at how obsessed I was with food, how I had no shame about the quantities of food I ate in public (and alone), or that I was stuffing my purse with treats for later. I thought everyone else was nuts because they weren't indulging this way too.

At this year's conference I had a blast. Mind you, I really enjoyed myself in 2010, but I was exhausted all the time because I was constantly loading up on sugar. This year I walked between the hotel and the conference with great enthusiasm because each step added to my FitBit goals. I went to the gym 3 of the 5 mornings I was there and I walked rather than taking the bus to our nightly excursions.

Before I left for this year's conference I debated about whether to bring food with me. I was going to be there for a full week, so it seemed a bit much to pack my own food. My final decision was not to bring food. I decided this would be a great opportunity for me to continue to learn how to work the program outside my home. Plus, if I needed to, I could leave the conference and buy food nearby.

The conference meals were full of key friendly-foods. There were a lot of foods that were not on program, including snacks and desserts. I focused on foods I can eat. And guess what - there were 2-3 meat dishes served at every meal. When snacks were served, I had coffee or water and spent time talking to others rather than indulging in sugar.

One shortcoming was that I didn't think about the trip home. I joined co-workers in a van and after the morning breakfast stop we didn't stop except for gas all the way back. I was pretty hungry by the time I got home, because I didn't eat breakfast with the others (I wasn't hungry) and I refused to pay $9.99 for a $4.99 bag of beef jerky at the rest stops. Next time, I will pack a bag of jerky for the road.  But I made it home and I did not starve to death.

We always have choices. When you go to your next conference or vacation, think about how you want your life to be: full of sugar and empty on energy, or full of energy and eating on program. You have free will, so you get to choose. I'm happy I chose to stay on program.

What about you? I'd love to hear about your conference experience and how you stayed on program!