Ladies Lunch

Before I became a work from homer, I was at my previous job for almost 12 years.  It was a good place to work for the first half of that time and it slowly transformed into a kind of Hell on Earth by the end.  The kind of Hell on Earth that I can directly attribute 60 lbs to.  I didn't have my head on straight back then and ate my frustrations with the tawdry affairs, poor and unfair treatment, new demands they knew couldn't be met and so on.  But in that horrific place, were a core group of ladies that I relied on to keep me sane.  I typically gravitate toward older ladies.  They love me and I love them.  They always felt like my "work moms" and girls my age had a whole different agenda.  We all thought we could change corporate culture, they giggled because they knew better and were counting down the days to retirement.

Even 4 years after my departure (on my own terms which were rather awesome given they thought their smartest, most tech savvy support staffer would take the abuse until they were satisfied and I wasn't involved in the mass firings less than a year later), we still lunch on occasion.  The only problem is they always want to go to Panera.  This was fine back when I didn't care about sticking in a calorie range or more importantly making sure my sodium doesn't skyrocket to stroke inducing proportions.  I tried to get them to go outside of their comfort zone this year and go somewhere else that I knew had healthier options but no go.  So, I'll be eating most of my regular lunch before I leave (veggies, fruit salad and apple) and then I'll have a whole grain bagel and half a serving of reduced fat cream cheese and water there.  It's the lowest sodium thing I could find there, even over salad.  But for me, the point isn't about eating, it's about visiting which I think a lot of people forget when there is a lunch or dinner out to eat somewhere.  For me, if it's falling on a day where I can't be going outside of range, then I need to plan very specifically.  Some people would say "you don't do it often, just relax the reigns a bit."  Well this week is already shaping up with a few extras I don't normally have so I can't be relaxing the reigns at every gathering.  I'm picking and choosing and feeling good about it.

Do you plan your calories ahead before going out for a meal that's out of the ordinary for a typical week or say 'screw it' and get back on track the next meal or day?  If you say 'screw it' for a lunch, does this tend to make your dinner higher cal than normal or do you get right back on track?
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