There is a decision that I have to make. It should be an
easy one, but I’m finding it surprisingly hard. The question is: should I go to
my office holiday party?
I’ve always gone to my office holiday party. In past years,
the custom was that we all went out to lunch at a restaurant. Each of us
ordered our meal from a pre-determined menu and it was a sure bet that one of
the choices would be something salad-y. This year, for reasons too convoluted
to get into here, the plans are different. This year, the party organizers
decided to have the lunch brought in. The way it was explained to me was that
we would have a local restaurant cater the party. I thought this was a good
idea.
Until I saw the menu.
The menu for our holiday party this year is pizza and wings.
This is not what I picture when I hear the words “catered lunch.” Don’t get me
wrong. I like pizza and wings. A lot. And I don’t want to eat pizza and wings.
A lot.
A few have already told me not to make a big deal about it.
After all, it’s just one meal. I can eat one piece of pizza and suck it up for
sake of the group. Even though I love
pizza and will need supreme levels of willpower to eat just one piece.
Sigh.
The holidays are such a minefield for the formerly fat. The
way I’ve been dealing with them is to eat like everyone else on Thanksgiving Day
and Christmas Day, gain the inevitable two to four pounds, and then labor (alone
I might add) with losing those pounds afterwards. It’s not an ideal approach,
but it allows me to enjoy some time with family and friends without feeling like
the big killjoy. On other days, I tow the diet line as much as possible.
Including at the office holiday party. You see, my plan includes two days of diet
debacle, not three. You might say that I’m being awfully rigid. To that I say,
welcome to life after a large weight loss.
Here’s the other thing. I keep wondering why it is that I have to make all of the accommodations?
Why can’t we meet halfway? I eat some of your gooey Christmas creations and you
make a couple less fattening dishes? Would that be so crazy?
So, should I go to the party or not? If I go, I will either
eat too much stuff I shouldn’t or I will spend the entire time struggling to
avoid eating too much stuff I shouldn’t. If I don’t go, maybe some co-workers
will be bothered, but then again, maybe they won’t. Here’s the real question: whose
needs matter the most?
I’ll let you know.