Track 1.

I didn't want to track the calories on the foods I'd eaten yesterday. I assumed I'd eaten far too many, considering what I'd eaten and my ingrained tendency to binge relentlessly when I'm on my period. Now, I'm thankful that I did track this morning. Not only did I not go over calories, I stayed about 112 calories under, and I was all set not to eat anything but dinner today for the slip-up I'd assumed I had, which could have led to an actual binge.

My friends Jennie, Mike, and Corbett, who all live about a half-hour away during semester breaks, arrived in town yesterday evening for the Carousel showing of Labyrinth. I hadn't eaten much that day, just a small bowl of cereal (160 calories) and a sandwich (about 270 calories). I spent most of the day following my workout out with our friend Kate and her boyfriend. They arrived as I was just stepping out of the shower, loitered outside my door as I toweled off and dressed, and after having made them wait I didn't want to ask them to stop so I could throw together a snack.

We bought tickets for "Labyrinth" and went to a local used record store, and we didn't stop to eat anything. By the time the Winstonians arrived, I was quite hungry. We decided on Moe's for dinner, and I made the apparently wise choice to order a Unanimous Decision soft taco (213 calories without sour cream). The complimentary chips (214 calories) helped to sate my hunger.

Later in the evening, we decided to stop at the Harris Teeter to grab some snacks for the film. I opted to purchase a Toblerone (260 calories) to help out with my lady-time chocolate craving, and a Diet Snapple Peach Iced Tea, which is probably one of my favorite "diet" drinks. At the theater, we all bought dollar beers (PBR, 150 calories for one can) and settled in for two excellent hours of David Bowie's crotch.

After everyone went home, I watched a few episodes of Heroes and made an Amy's Southwestern Burrito (300 calories) before bed. I awoke this morning with the fear of food--I just knew I had overeaten the day before, and I prepared myself to make all sorts of ridiculous sacrifices in the name of damage control--only a piece of fruit and a glass of juice until dinner, thirty minutes' extra work on the upright bike. I began to wonder: exactly how many additional calories should I try to restrict myself today in order to make yesterday's mistakes even? I decided to track everything to figure out how much I "owed," and lo and behold--I was actually under calories. I've just saved myself a miserable day of being hungry and guilty and a possible binge as a result of the two, and I did it by tracking my calories.

Moral of the story: track, track, track. If that's what you've decided to do, do it. If you're like me, and you like to have everything add up, don't assume--make sure you know.