With no plan, there's no attack! No attack, no victory!

There's an incredibly awesome 80's movie called "One Crazy Summer" with John Cusack and Demi Moore.  It's hysterical and my hubby and I watch and quote it often.  One of the best quotes from that movie is from a former marine dad who is always trying to get his more sensitive and directionless son to quit dreaming so he says, "With no plan there's no attack! No attack, no victory!"

While funny in the context of the movie's scene, that quote actually holds great truth for any of us.  But it's especially true for those of us who struggle with our weight in a culture where dining out is a favorite pastime.  Since I stay at home with my son now and we are a one income family we don't dine out as often as we used to and eat outs with a toddler typically revolve around the super fast food variety in which we beg him to eat anything other than a french fry.  Needless to say, it's difficult to make good choices sometimes and that's where a plan comes in handy.  Tonight I am going out with some girlfriends for an end of the year celebration dinner for our MOPS leadership team.  I am very excited to wear something other than my Green Eggs and Ham tshirt and not have to clean or scrape ketchup from the walls after dinner.  The fact remains though that I am trying to lose a lot of weight this year and eating out means I need to be on my guard.  So last night I went online to the restaurant we'll be dining at, checked out the entire menu and PLANNED what I will order tonight.  I told my hubby what I plan to eat (2 different healthier options depending on my mood) so he could help hold me accountable and not sway from it once I get to the restaurant and that's my ATTACK.  The VICTORY is knowing that I will have an awesome time hanging with my fellow mommy friends while not compromising my own personal goals.  There's also the other option of splitting a meal with a friend or spouse at the restaurant and I also like to do this (saves money too!).  This probably sounds extremely silly and possibly rigid to some people but I have found in the past when I was maintaining my weight that having a plan ahead of time is the best way to stay on course.  As always, it's really about the celebration and fun times with friends and not the food that we remember most about an evening.  I know tonight will be no different and tomorrow I won't wake up with a guilty feeling of "I shouldn't have eaten that" but rather "I had a blast last night".