Sorry I've been MIA from the blog for the past few days! I was at a training class for work on Thurs/Fri, which threw off my schedule a bit, and then this weekend I wasn't feeling too great - better now though!
But speaking of being off my schedule/feeling under the weather, I had a slightly disappointing weight in today, probably due to both of those factors:
Monday Weight In
Start of Week: 141.0
End of Week: 140.4
Pounds Lost: 0.6
Total Lost: 29.6 (still not quite to 30!)
I really wanted to a see a number below 140 this week - but at least I can look forward to getting there for sure this week! I've learned not to get too stressed on the off weeks, because I stuck to my calorie goal, and even though I didn't get too much exercising in, I still lost weight and that's something to be excited about! Plus I had a big week last week with 2lbs lost. Hopefully this week will be another big one to balance it out!
So in addition to the weigh-in, I thought I'd give you guys some tips I've learned for being able to eat out while still meeting my daily calorie goal. I will say right up front that it is not easy and can take a lot of self control to eat at a restaurant without busting your calorie goal for the day. In fact, I hardly ate out at all for the first 6 weeks I was counting calories (good-bye social life!). But now, I usually eat out once or twice a week for lunch or dinner - here are some strategies I use to make it work:
1) Plan ahead & pick restaurants that publish nutrition info - This is a huge one, because its the only way you really know what you are getting. This can definitely be a challenge, as lots of places to do not post nutrition facts online, but you can find plenty of places that do. This way, you can look at the menu and calorie counts and have a plan of what to order before you even show up at the restaurant. This takes some prep time, but I've found that if I have a plan, I'm much more likely to stick to it! You can also use some of the databases online (like on MyFitnessPal) to see estimates other people have put in for some restaurants that don't have published nutrition facts. Although you can't really verify the accuracy, it can be a useful tool.
2) Save up calories - If you know you are going out to eat, try to have fewer calories than normal at breakfast/lunch. I'm not saying starve yourself, but 100-200 calories extra for dinner can open up your options and allow you to treat yourself a little bit.
3) Skip the bread/tortilla chips - Enough said. So delicious, but the calories add up quick, even for an innocent tortilla chip or two... or twenty. This takes a LOT of self control if you are a bread lover like me. If you absolutely can't resist the chips & salsa, just avoid Mexican food altogether. Or implement tip #2.
4) Avoid sauces - If you are following tip #1, you will quickly learn that restaurant food can have a shocking amount of calories. So if you can't get the nutrition facts, stick to ordering something where you can identify all of the ingredients so you can add up the calories yourself (like you would at home with a recipe). Great things for this: steak, chicken, naked fish (or any other meat you can order plain), salads (because you can see all the ingredients - but beware, lots of potential calories), and steamed veggies. And even french fries and baked potatoes are predictable in terms of calories, although they may have too much for your daily goal. Basically, avoid anything with an unidentified (although delicious) sauce - you have no idea how much butter, oil, etc. is in the sauce and I guarantee it is a lot!
5) Bring your own dressing - This one might sound a little crazy, but consider bringing your own salad dressing. Most restaurant salads are pretty decent on calories, but the dressing is the killer. And you cannot rely on 'light' dressings to really be that much better than regular. So bring a little tupperware with your own fat-free dressing and you can enjoy your salad guilt free. I have done this, and felt like a crazy person, but whatever, I was glad I knew how many calories I ate!
6) Bring your own food - So this one might sound even crazier, but sometimes you just have to be hardcore. The first time I met Sam's sister Kelly, I'm pretty sure she thought I was crazy (or just really determined!) because the whole weekend we spent in Austin, I had brought food with me for almost every meal. But honestly, there was no way I could have eaten out for all 3 meals a day and stayed on track. I also do this when I go to training classes for work, like last week, because it is impossible to know what they will provide for lunch. My go-to lunch for travel/training is apple + peanut butter. It is high enough calorie to count as lunch, but it is also portable and doesn't require a fridge like most of my lunches do.
7) Splurge once in a while - It won't kill you to go over your calorie goal for one day if it is a special occasion. Allow yourself to have a few extra guilt-free calories - remember it takes 3500 calories to lose a pound, so it you eat 350 extra, its only a difference of 0.1 pounds this week. Just be careful you don't find a reason for a 'special occasion' every other day haha... or eat 3500 calories for dinner (you laugh, but it is totally do-able a most restaurants!)
I hope that is somewhat helpful! Just like the entire calorie counting/weight loss effort, it's really about putting all distractions and temptations aside and just doing it! You might have less options but it will be worth it in the end.
And in other news, my parents started calorie counting a few days ago! They decided to give it a try after my Mom came to visit and she saw I could actually eat 1200 calories without having to totally deprive myself haha. Anyone else feeling motivated?
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