Day....??? Who's counting?

I feel better today, right now, in this moment, than I have felt for weeks. Weight is coming off and food is leveling out and showing signs of repair. I found a really incredibly tasty organic green tea yesterday. Now, when I say tasty, let me just preface that with the fact that I allowed it to replace my coffee today. I'm not a BIG coffee drinker like I once was...more than a mug or 2 and my stomach doesn't feel so good. But this tea...MAN! I can't describe the flavor. And I sweeten it with the loose granulated Splenda that has fiber added...just a bit. It's so good. I had 2 mugs before I left for a conference today, made a 2 mug sized travel mug to take with me, and then made another travel mug full AT the conference, though that was their version of green tea, and it wasn't as good. Point being, I haven't had or desired coffee today. And though coffee probably does not factor into my weight like a piece of chicken skin would, I like that while I'm making adjustments in my caloric intake, I'm also getting the benefits of an antioxidant. I feel like I have more energy, but it's been so long since I've done anything at all, I'm not sure where to channel it.
I had to attend a conference today. It was the 3rd in a 3 part series spread over the course of 3 months. I knew from past experience that my food choices would be treacherous terrain for me. I am the sort of person that if I screw up early in the day, the whole day is in ruins. I cannot mentally recover from a caloric error in judgement at this stage of the game. I want good results when I meet the scale on Saturday. I don't want to waste any time. The sooner I am successful, the longer I'll have to enjoy it. So while a chicken was baking and squash was steaming for dinner last night, I made mention of my dilema and my insecurities about facing the day. I debated my options. I could carry my own lunch in and eat at the table of 8, but I did that once before and became totally invisible; no one spoke to me and it made me feel awkward and ashamed. My other option was to carry my food and disappear during the choas of several hundred people getting to the restrooms and/or buffet, and go eat in my car. That was the plan that I was most comfortable with, but it's the one that very nearly made my husband mad. His rationale was that I needed to eat at the buffet, take what I could have, eat salad, and stay away from dessert. I'm too obsessive compulsive for that. It's all or nothing. I awoke with a plan. I packed myself a 70 calorie cheese stick, 30 calories worth of orange, and 200 calories of chocolate mini wheats. That was my safety net. If all else failed, I had something to fall back on. I kept it in my purse. Lunch rolled around and to my good fortune it offered salad, roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, rolls/butter, and enormous slices of cake that were clearly left over from Christmas parties this place catered. I positioned myself last in line so I could formulate my attack. I would bypass the salad plates, grab a dinner plate, shift back to the salad bowl and fill my dinner plate, not FULL, but fluffier than a salad plate would permit. I used half or less a ladle of honey mustard dressing, bypassed the mashed potatoes and gravy, took 2 slabs of roast beef, and filled the remaining space with green beans. No roll. No dessert. Having that stash in my purse made all the difference in the world. I had a choice!