Slip-Up

I knew it wouldn't be easy to stick exclusively to Atkins, and last night proved my first big mess-up. We had overnight guests coming, and because one is a vegetarian, I had a hard time finding a restaurant that would suit all of us. We went to a really delicious Indian place in Manhattan.

Now the food was incomparably wonderful, including the best samosas I've ever had, but everything was carb-laden and starchy - curry sauces, potatoes, lentils, rice, and tons of garlic nan. My boyfriend and I had avoided carbs all day in anticipation of keeping them all within an hour, trying the Carbohydrate Addicts' method (which I still don't fully believe really works). Our meal was much longer than an hour, but I thought it was probably okay since it was just one (admittedly very large) meal.

Where we really blew it was later on, as we were on our way home from the subway, when we bought full-fat, full-sugar Ben & Jerry's ice cream in two flavors (mint chocolate cookie and cinnamon bun). On the subway, my boyfriend and I had spoken privately and agreed we would have the low-carb ice cream bars in our fridge and just give our guests the sugary stuff... but as I was scooping out bowls, he gave me a look and we both knew we were just flagrantly disregarding Atkins so we could enjoy the same dessert as our friends.

I'm definitely disappointed with myself for making such a foolish decision. The ice cream tasted great, but I felt guilty the whole time I was eating it and if I really thought about it, I couldn't even say I enjoyed it. I'm so frustrated that I can't stay on any diet, even one as easy as Atkins, for more than like two weeks.

This morning I resolved to get right back on track and not dwell on last night's mistakes, but I screwed up first thing in the morning. I'd found an awesome recipe for citrus ade, which I made fresh this morning substituting Splenda for sugar. The reason I'd planned to make this is because the same vegetarian friend doesn't drink carbonated or caffeinated beverages and often balks at anything with added sugar in it (as most fruit juices available in our grocery have). For some reason it hadn't occurred to me that grapefruits have carbs in them because lemons and limes are allowed on Atkins. Even though I didn't drink much of it, I think I've already had my day's carbs. Bummer.

I hope I can keep it together before I wreck all the progress I've made so far. I will also try to remember to weigh-in tomorrow, seeing as I've been really unaccountable lately.