Bad Day...HELP :(

rileya

So I started the day out well and knew I was going to go to the Outback Steakhouse for dinner so I didn't snack all day. I made a poor choice at the resturant and ordered the no rule pasta with chicken and later found out it had 1367 calories and if that wasn't bad enough I was pressured into coldstone creamery afterward and had half a cup of peanut butter perfection. I am now at home logging my calories into MFP and feel horrible about myself. I plan to go to the gym tomorrow for a couple hours but I really regret making these bad choices and I felt like I needed to vent. I do really well all week long and then the weekend comes and it is too hard for me to make good choices when I go out to eat. I don't want to stay home all the time so I really need some advice on how to order healthier. I have been on MFP for 35 days now and love logging my cals everyday I have upped my excersise as a result of this site but still have a hard time making the right eating decisions and so I am not losing the weight like I should be and I am starting to get discouraged .

Holton

First of all, don't beat yourself up. IT has happened and now you just move on and your plan to go workout tomorrow is the best. My suggestion is if you KNOW you are going to a specific restaurant, go online ahead of time and get their menu's nutritional information and PRESELECT what you are going to order. I was meeting a friend at O'Charley's last night (her suggestion) and that is what I did. BOY was I ever shocked at the high caloric counts for most of their menu items! While I was not necessarily happy ordering a soup and a poorly made salad, I went in know what I was going to order and did not even look at the menu.
#2: in regards to being pressured: if you have told your friends you are counting calories and have a goal and they attempt to undermine you by pressuring you, I would not consider them very supportive friends.
But again, you got to enjoy some good food and now you need to let it go and get back on the lifestyle change you adopted! You can do it!

mamacassi

I have that feeling too. Everywhere I go it's like everything has more and more calories in it. So educate yourself. Americans eat poorly for one or two reasons. Lazy or uninformed. Or both. Or think it has to be expensive. Either way. Think about what you're eating. Don't make a huge deal of it but when your friends eat icecream and you feel pressured, get something light. Maybe a yogurt. I have a yogurt that is 160 calories in a serving. And it's good. You don't have to be a natzi or go to the gym for hours a day when you feel guilty. We all screw up and have our bad days. Learn from it. I'm sure there's books and sites all about calories in our food. Your dinner at outback was my whole days calories without my walking.... harsh! It's live and learn, unfortunately. It'll take time but be pateint. You'll feel SOOO much better once you understand what you're eating. My biggest realization is that you can eat small calories and still be insanely full. Good luck!
And don't be hard on yourself.

drvvork

If you know you are going out try to go find the menu onlne and make your choice before you go. I read somewhere... if trying to eat healthy you need to try to order first to minimize temptation and I guess it influences the others that are ordering. I drink a large glass of ice water before my meal to fill myself up so I'm not as tempted. :flowerforyou: I saw someone post the suggestion of asking for a container to take half the meal home. As far as going to the Coldstone Cremery... maybe you could take that home too???

Notenispal

Tomorrows a new day. Pick yourself back up and keep going! It's a journey and there's always going to be bumps on the road. It's great that you logged your food. That's difficult to do! Don't beat yourself up over one day...just don't make it 2,3,4,...etc. days. And weekends are really hard to deal with. I would suggest looking up the restaurants nutrition facts first before you go and know what your getting before you even leave the house. I would also suggest to not go when your really hungry. You should eat normally throughout the day and find something that fits into your caloric goal or make sure you exercise that day so you have extra calories to spare at night.

Hope this helps! Your doing great, don't give up!

lab_goddess

Hey! Don't get discouraged because you had a "bad" day. Just get up tomorrow and start fresh!
Whenever I go out to eat, I always get a salad with my meal, and try to get a side order of whatever steamed vegetables they happen to be serving. I eat those first, and then I can usually eat only half of my entree, which means lunch or dinner the next day. Maybe if you box up half of your entree before you even start eating, that will help (I've been known to do that too!). Maybe you can have a talk with those who "pressured" you into the Coldstone creamery about your goals and maybe they can help you avoid it. We have to live in the real world, with lots of temptations. You didn't gain the weight over night, so it won't disappear immediately either. Just focus on being healthy, and make your choices based on your goals. You'll get there!

MrsVicky

Oh I've been there. Just the other day, I went to a mexican place, ordered a chimichanga. BOY was it good. Wasn't to bad on the calories. But the strawberry daquiri I had was 600 calories! I was shocked.

mustang3

Im in the same boat!! Yesterday i had a BAD day. . . First "cheat" day in 34 days and after i ate those darn doritos and drank those 4 beers i felt like i was going to throw up! I wasted calories on things that werent even that good. I just started fresh today and exercised twice as much! I guess now that i know how crummy i felt afterwards i might not be as tempted to do it again. I also dont feel like im losing much weight but i just keep telling myself what everyone else is saying. . . Be patient, this isnt a "diet" its a lifestyle change!

achromicmoth

Just because you splurged one day doesn't mean its the end of the world. You just need to compensate. I'm reminded of last season's biggest loser with Tara who was all weightloss driven when they went home and Jillian had to take her out drinking to show her it's ok to indulge now and then.... no one's going to die from eating the pasta one time. Just compensate for it in the gym..... you know you ate it... now go work out twice as much to get rid of it. When I do things like that... and then work out twice as much just to burn off those calories I ask myself if it was really worth it and sometimes that helps me make better decisions. I had a similiar situation happen to me when I ate 6 oreo cookies and realized it was over 300 calories for SIX cookies.... I sat back and asked myself if it was REALLY worth 6 cookies when I can eat an entire meal for 300 calories! You'll get there, just don't beat yourself up over it.

queensara2478

First of all it's ok to go out to eat and go over calories once in a while, we're only human! I myself went out to dinner with a couple of good friends this evening who are not so health consious and found myself almost 1000 calories over today! But I have come to realize that it will happen sometimes and I just need to start over again tomorrow. Once in awhile eating over your calorie goal will NOT stop weight loss. If you do tend to go out to dinner every weekend try to find resteraunts in your area that have "healthy" options. The best thing to do is order things grilled or broiled without sauce, like grilled fish/chicken, a plain baked potatoe and vegetables are also a safe bet. You can also ask your waitress for a doggie bag with your meal, that way you can put half your meal away before you even start. Resteraunts make our portions WAY too large and not seeing it on the plate wont make you feel like your missing anything.
After dinner go for a walk with your pals, burn off some of those calories then you wont feel so guilty. Good luck.

rileya

Thanks everyone...I can't wait to hit the gym and start fresh tomorrow