I allowed myself a "cheat day" and holy cow...

angmarie28

If I have to eat out, I try to pick something on the healthier side. Monday we had all day meetings, part at work, and part at a local church (only because it fits everyone better) so we went out for lunch between meetings, so I stopped at subway, got a veggie delight loaded with veggies, no chips and an iced tea. Sometimes I will take my kids to McDonalds, and have a southwest salad minus the meat, and a diet soda.

stanmann571

fitanastasia1 wrote: »

kimny72 wrote: »

Just move on.

If that sort of a day happens regularly, you can have several options from the places you hit often saved on your phone and order from that list rather than choosing from that bright yummy looking big menu.

This is a great idea for me. That's exactly what gets me: I get to the menu with good intentions and start looking at those things I love that are just not good for me and I'm a total weakling. This would help me out tremendously, not even having to look at those options. Thanks!

Indeed. The CFA Grilled nuggets and Large fruit cup are a great low calorie option.

rheddmobile

One cheat day is nothing, 1000 calories over means you will lose about a third of a pound less if you stay within your calories for the rest of the week. You may see a temporary scale gain due to water retention, but it takes 3,500 calories to make a pound of fat.

The larger issue is that you need a plan for days when life throws you a curve ball. Life is made up of different crises, you have to plan ahead!

I do carry snacks. I'm a diabetic - I always have a bag of low-cal granola and usually an orange with me, in case my blood glucose gets low and I need to eat something. Usually I can tide myself over until I can get home to a proper meal. When I can't, I look up the menu first and pick what I want to eat. Most restaurants will have something that works. If the place has no appropriate meals at all, which does sometimes happen - looking at you, Perkins! - I will ask for substitutions, such as a lettuce wrapped burger or fruit instead of a muffin - and as a last resort, eat half a meal.

Actually I guess half a meal is not just a last resort - many restaurants around here serve huge portions which my husband is happy to split with me. For example, half of a small BBQ rib platter at Corky's, splitting the sides and avoiding bread, is still something like 60g carbs and a ton of calories. I used to be able to eat a whole rack plus extra onion rings plus both sides and ask for extra bread. But funny thing, if you eat normal sized human portions (very few humans should be eating 4K at one meal) for a while, that starts to feel excessive - at least it did for me. Now I'm kind of amazed that I used to eat that much.

rcreynol3090

When my wife and I are out running errands ,and know we'll be out at lunch and/or supper, we'll take a protein shake as a cushion against hunger, or plan ahead of time where to eat out and what to get before we walk in the door. For me it isn't just about the calories, but sodium as well, even more so. Many supposedly "healthy, low cal" menu items have an unacceptably high sodium content, and I have to plan for that in my daily total. We are slowly building up an internal database of what we can eat, from where, in whatever part of town we are in on a given day. Planning is everything.

wizzybeth

I went over yesterday by almost 1,000. I am going to be a little bit more conservative today but I'm not going to stress too much about it.

When I closed out my diary it said if everyday was like today... I gained about 2 lbs in 5 weeks. So that's not so terrible bad. And every day isn't going to be like that day LOL. I might eat a couple hundred calories less today than I normally would probably because I'm still kind of full from eating so much yesterday. But I'm moving on.

The best part is logging it so that you're accountable. I can see how eating like that everyday... Which I did... Before I was tracking. In fact I ate even worse. so it's helpful to have these days every so often just to understand how easy it is to go over and getting in the habit is a bad thing. But once in awhile? just let it go.

drabbits2

I totally agree with log it and move on. I pack snacks when I am going to be running around a bunch. It's also cheaper and I am on a pretty strict budget. That said, even starbucks has some decent meal choices. I will have one of their oatmeals for lunch, who cares?? They have all their food and drinks labeled with calories too which is super helpful. Or, like others have said, have the treat and relish it. One day won't derail your overall progress.

dsboohead

Consider it all a learning experience. Planning can be a big security blanket with a plan in place. There is always a way to figure out good choices and adapt! Your goals should always be in front with everything else spinning around it!