First post because I need motivation

TamMcNULTY
TamMcNULTY Posts: 5 Member
in Motivation and Support
Long time lurker here and that is usually motivation enough, but...

I am down 11 pounds since early May. It is coming off REALLY slowly but it is coming off. I can tell in my clothes and shoes but no one else has noticed. I get why. I am 5'3" and 134 pounds (14 to go) , so I get that it's not so dramatic a loss by sight. I am dreading tonight. It is girl's birthday dinner night AND restaurant week in our town. Girl's birthday dinner is bad enough when I can pick from anything on the menu but what the heck do I do when you HAVE to pick three courses? I am thinking about just getting the appetizer, having them just straight up box the dinner, and telling them not to bring the dessert.

Replies

  • lilylover2012
    lilylover2012 Posts: 39 Member
    If you can, try to go to the restaurant's website before you go and look up the calorie content of their choices. If they don't have them, I'm sure they have the foods themselves listed and you can come back on here and use the database to search and see what the best options are. It's tough but just remember that no matter what you order, you don't have to eat it all and that's what takeout boxes are for! Eat a bit of this and a bit of that and just enjoy being around friends instead of focusing on the food on your plate. Also, try to get in a really good workout before you go to give yourself some extra room to work with tonight.

    I know it's tough because my husband "surprised" me with going out to dinner after work last week and it really threw off my calories for the day because I just HAD to have that crabcake dinner but just remember that eating out is a part of life and you just have to learn how to do it. Even if you go over your calorie limit for the day, it's okay because tomorrow is a new day and we learn from our experiences. Just do the best you can, don't stress, and have FUN!
  • meeksfour
    meeksfour Posts: 59 Member
    I had something similar happen to me about two weeks ago. I was stressing over it, but the restaurant was so accommodating. I did not have the starter since they didn't have clear soup, then for dinner I had a field greens salad with candied walnuts, blackened grilled chicken and dressing on side. During dessert when everyone was eating red velvet or bread pudding I had them bring me a side of fresh fruit. They even charged me the kids prices, so it was halff price compared to my friends and I was just as satisfied.

    Good luck, so If it does not work out just eat clean on your next meal and go from there. You have this.
  • kolraw
    kolraw Posts: 42 Member
    Grilled chicken and rice pilaff is always a safe option in my opinion. You can almost always get a salad as an appetizer, just get the dressing on the side and avoid putting high in fat on it (cheese, croutons, eggs, etc). That is how I keep my calories down at restaurants.
    Yeah, and skip desert.
  • thrld
    thrld Posts: 610 Member
    Long time lurker here and that is usually motivation enough, but...

    I am down 11 pounds since early May. It is coming off REALLY slowly but it is coming off. I can tell in my clothes and shoes but no one else has noticed. I get why. I am 5'3" and 134 pounds (14 to go) , so I get that it's not so dramatic a loss by sight. I am dreading tonight. It is girl's birthday dinner night AND restaurant week in our town. Girl's birthday dinner is bad enough when I can pick from anything on the menu but what the heck do I do when you HAVE to pick three courses? I am thinking about just getting the appetizer, having them just straight up box the dinner, and telling them not to bring the dessert.
    Your plan sounds good -- and nothing wrong with having an appetizer as your entree (you can ask the waiter to bring it with the entrees) -- you can even order 2 appetizers, no entree (i.e. soup for starters, then salad for entree)-- or ask for a half portion entree -- and just remember a few things: (1) No one really cares if you eat 3 courses. Sure someone might comment, but it's not like your food choices have rocked their reality and made them question their existance. 5 minutes after the meal, they will have forgotten all about it. and (2) you can pretty much do anything you want (within the law) -- you have no obligation to do anything other than help celebrate the event. And congrats on your weight loss and on your ongoing commitment for a healthier life!
  • TamMcNULTY
    TamMcNULTY Posts: 5 Member
    Thanks for the support everyone. The problem with Restaurant Week is they force you to chose from what is a very limited version of the menu and then force you to only pick one thing from each category, so there's no mixing (i.e., you cannot order a second appetizer instead of the dessert). I actually avoid RW even when I am not dieting because I hate being forced to pay a fixed price for food I am not ever going to eat (aka dessert). I did go on the website and looked at the regular menu and I know what I "could" eat, but they don't have the restaurant week menu up so I have no idea if any of those items will actually be on the menu tonight. The other problem with girl's night is that while I adore my friends, there are a couple who love to be bad influences (yep, they are the skinny girls). I did go out for a walk at lunch, so at least I have a couple more calories to work with tonight.

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