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Ikea and Food Compensation

You might think I get monthly checks from Ikea for all the free advertising I give them. But, no...I just go there every 3 or 4 day to get MORE stuff for our house. Yesterday was yet another trip. The highlights:

1. Frozen yogurt cones that cost $1. Yes please! (P.S. Hubby really loves taking pictures of me at the exit of Ikea posing with frozen yogurt and totally doesn't get embarrassed AT ALL. )


2. Amazing veggie wraps so that I can eat to pretend to be healthy, and then eat with a side of cornbread that is 0% bread, and 100% cake. 



3. Hubby gets a ginormous plate of pasta, meatballs, garlic bread and salad for less than $5.



Of course, it can't all be awesome. The cons:

1. One of those previously mentioned foods made me SICK. Like, race to the bathroom while I was standing in line sick. Gross. 

2. I do not appreciate going to the returns section, then upstairs to kitchens, then back down to refunds...they should just trust me and hand over the cash. I look so innocent, c'mon!

3. Stuff at Ikea costs money. It is just rude to tempt me with amazing looking rooms and creative furniture and then force me to stick to a budget. 

Anyway, minus being sick and sitting in the car for three hours, it was a success. 

Bad news on the house-building front...we thought we were clear and ready to move in, but the house inspector told us one or two things that need to be done first. BOOOO! I am just ready to move in, especially after yesterday's trip where we bought all the kitchen supplies. Cross your fingers that it can happen soon, please!

I read an article yesterday about "food compensation"...as in, eating low-calorie (healthy) meals to allow for treats-candy, wine, etc. Do you think you do this?
Um, yes. I know it's not the best, but I love a lot of healthy foods, and also lots of sweet treats. So it makes sense in my head to have a little of both!

What do you do when you're dealing with a big disappointment?
Right now I feel so let down...I really thought today would be move in day and I'm so bummed. I've already broken into my sugar stash but I hope some exercise will help me feel a little more upbeat too. All else fails, bad reality TV should work!

Comments

  1. I LOVE IKEA!

    I hope you feel better! YUCK!!

    I most certainly make up for my calories with wine and junk!

    YOU'LL BE in before you know it and soon enough you'll be wishing you didn't have a ginormous house to keep clean all the time!! (:

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  2. When I go to ikea, I get a cinnamon bun and call it lunch/dinner/whatever, we don't go to the cafeteria :).

    That stinks that you can't move in yet! Are they big things that take tons of time or will you be able to move in soon?

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  3. Aw I'm sorry you didnt get to move in today. I hate big letdowns, but you will be in and settled soon.

    I spend my days planning healthy foods so I can fit in the sweets. Hey it works. 80/20 right?

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  4. sorry about your house :( I hate waiting for things and then waiting some more AFTER i thought I was done. In the end it will all be worth it.

    I had my FIRST EVER trip to Ikea this years memorial weekend- idea OVERLOAD.

    As far as dealing with disappointment I have a set of things that make me happy or distract me
    1.) running
    2.) favorite music
    3.) zoning out in front of the tv
    4.) organizing / cleaning my place
    5.) cooking
    6.) good old fashioned nap

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  5. oh oh a BIG one- IF i'm currently reading a good book, i'll pick that up. I can't start one if i'm upset, but i can surely pick up in the middle if i am

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  6. Hubs always gives me a hard time about all the silly photos I make him take. But then he teases me more if I do self-portraits...

    Ikea food is so cheap and awesome! Boo to being sick!

    Hope you can move in SOON!

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  7. I've never even been to an Ikea! So it's a furniture store with a cafeteria? Yes, I live in the middle of no where...

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  8. Awww - that sucks that you couldn't move in today(((

    Ugh, I hate when you eat out and almost immediately your stomach goes into reject mode - bleh!

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  9. I'm so sorry you couldn't move in today. I can imagine that has to be super frustrating. Hopefully you can move in soon!

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  10. Food Compensation is me completely! I also do it with beer? I will go to happy hour and drink my dinner with a tiny bit of food. Not at all healthy.

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  11. I am actually not a huge IKEA fan ;) lol Colin and I had $200 gift card and we still haven't used it up. Our dishes are from there and some of our curtains and odd and ends (and actually a few toddler toys) but over all I think it's boring and when you're married to a cabinet maker he can just make anything I request :) lol but their stuff is nice and affordable and I do like their cheap restaurant food.

    PS: sorry about your lack of moving in :( booooo

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  12. I most certainly do "food compensation". I consider it a reasonably healthy balance. . . If I want to indulge in a glass of wine with dinner, I cut out my afternoon snack, etc. :-)

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  13. Tomorrow will be that much better!

    Chin up.

    :)

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  14. I love Ikea as well, in fact you have reminded me I haven't been in a while mmmmmmmmm :-)

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  15. When I'm disappointed, I'll take a bubble bath or watch TV. I sometimes wish I was a stress-eater just so I'd have a way to cope, but I'm not :)

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  16. Frozen yogurt sounds amazing right now! I was actually thinking about food compensation at lunch as I ate a salad, slice of coconut cake, and drank a Wild Cherry Pepsi. Then I went to the gym so hopefully it all evens out!

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  17. ahhhh! dont stress friend!! you are SO close to moving in! it will work out soon i just know it. ummm i like to think i eat healthy to balance everything out but i think my sweets somehow still outweigh everything ;)

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  18. I'm very excited to know there is a name for my diet plan, i.e. tons of veggies followed by tons of chocolate (occasionally wine). But as you said, I love veggies and treats, so why not? Sometimes I feel guilty, but things could be worse, right? Could you send me the link to the article if you still have it?

    I'm so sorry you weren't able to move in :(. That must be such a let down. I usually watch something funny, one of my favorite shows like How I Met Your Mother, so I can zone out and just laugh. Hopefully you can find something to cheer you up! Punching a pillow works too :).

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  19. I love Ikea! Half of the furniture in my house came from there! It's so fun!

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  20. I am always thinking that in my head when it comes to Saturday night..."well I ran this much or worked out this much so why not that extra glass of wine." I am okay with this though, because I try not to use the excuse very often and enjoy my here and there treats.

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  21. Sorry about your house.

    I love IKEA!!! Thankfully, we don't have one near me.

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  22. I'm with you on the food compensation!! I love to eat healthy meals but then that leaves a ton of room for indulging! The best way to go about moderation, for sure!

    Exercise, sleep and reality TV work for me! I don't know why, but I got hooked on Bachelor Pad for the first time ever. It's over now, but if you need something ridiculous to watch, that's the show for you! You can catch all of the episodes online!

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  23. I don't think there's anything wrong with matching some healthy foods with some sweets/treats! I do it too :) It's whatever works for ya, ya know??

    Hope you can move in ASAP lady!

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  24. I'm a big fan of food compensation. I don't do the celery for every meal and then eat an entire cake thing. But if I know I'm going out to a nice dinner, with drinks and desert, I will be more likely eating lighter meals. It reminds of back when I used to do WW Points. You can a certain amount of points for the day that you can use however you want.

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  25. Oh I wish I lived closer to an IKEA! It is new house heaven.

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  26. Sorry to hear about the house!

    Food compensation? Not really... I mean... if I know I am going out later or something then I'm going to not eat something big or desserty or whatever... but not necessarily thinking about it calorie-wise

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  27. I definitely skimp on the calories for other meals when I'm know I'm going to be having wine or eating cake later. I don't think there's anything wrong with that every once in a while.

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  28. sooo sooo jealous.. i only get to go to ikea when we go to atlanta once or twice a year!!!! boo...

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  29. Yikes - I"m sorry you got sick - that kinda sounds like a real day breaker! Boo! Hope you are feeling better.

    I'm so sorry that your house didn't get the inspector's green light - perhaps next time you can offer him up some of the food you ate today and he'll have to hurry through the inspection because he'll have to rush off to the restroom????? Hope it's not a huge issue and you can get it resolved quickly and move in right away.

    I wish I were more disciplined to eat healthier in order to account for unhealthy treats.

    I really try to not let disappointments get me down. I spend some time (not usually more than a half a day) being upset but then I try to look at the bright side or refocus my efforts to make things better.

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  30. yum- that wrap looks delicious! I am most definitely do the 'food compensation' thing. I am trying to be better about eating more of the healthy stuff so that I am full and don't want to eat my body weight in candy. It's a hard transition :).
    I'm so sorry about having to wait to move in! When we had our first house built, we had a couple delays that made me crazy! They only ended up really delaying us a week or 2, but it felt like FOREVER!

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  31. OMG I am completely obsessed with IKEA. I went there almost every week this summer while shopping for my new apartment. $1 ice cream, swedish fish on demand, and delicious cheapie food make an already wondeful place that much better. :) I like to go with a friend and pretend we live in the rooms, especially anything featuring a 2-story closet or library...*sigh* Glad I'm not the only one who's obsessed!

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  32. I've never been to IKEA and I think I'm missing out. Might be worth the hour drive.

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  33. I like to think I eat healthy foods because I like them, but I will admit to working out to make room for a little junk here and there :-) It's allll about balance.

    Sorry to hear about the house! Hope the last task goes quickly!!

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  34. Ugh. I hope you feel better! Stomach issues are the pits. I have never been to an Ikea. I know, it's awful. But I know how you feel about going back all the time for more stuff. That's me and Michaels. It's seriously my favorite store!

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  35. Sorry you got sick, no fun! And sorry for the disappointing news that you can't move in just yet. I know y'all are ready!!!
    Yes! I have a food budget. At this point in my training I'm just shoveling it in trying to keep up with my mileage but I still try to keep it healthy. However, I know EXACTLY how many empty calories are in a coke or some dark chocolate! I budget room for those for sure!

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