My mandatory work lunch is killing my calories

You have mandatory work lunches? The place I worked at before always had lunch brought in for meetings/special occasions/etc. I never ate it. I always brought my own, or went and got something else. I guess most of the time the work lunches were unappealing to me, so that's why I brought something else.

However, if you have to, I'd go for the salad, rice, chicken (without sauce) and a bit of stuffing to satisfy your craving. Just make sure you stop when you are satisfied, and don't go back for seconds

L.

I would eat small portions of the things that I wanted/liked and then do a little extra exercise tonight. A 3 mile run would make up for the extra 300 calories you are eating and plus you could have a light dinner.

The other question would be counting in this lunch are you going over your calories for the day? Because if you aren't then you should be fine just keep it small and do your usual exercise.

can you call ahead and have them prepare you something healthy?

The menu is:

Martha's Vineyard Salad
Chicken pecan with a sherry cream sauce
Cornbread Stuffing
Broccoli
Long grain and wild rice
Dinner rolls with butter
Cheesecake

So my plan is to eat the salad, 1/2 of the chicken breast and stay away from the cream sauce. Eat the broccoli and the rice and maybe the stuffing (a huge love of mine) and skip the rest. Even with doing that it seems that my projected calories for those few items is going to top 675, when I normally eat around 300 for lunch.
Should I just chalk it up to a work lunch and not beat myself up about it or should I try and work out more tonight to compensate?
Thanks!

An extra 300-400 calories ONE day out of the week isn't going to upend you. I think your plan sounds good; eat most of the healthy options, skip the dressing. As for "compensat[ing]", it's probably not too healthy to get in the mindset of having to work it off every time you eat more than you should have. I would suggest instead:

1. Do whatever workout you had planned for the day anyway (keeping in mind that if you truly wanted to burn off 400 calories via cardio that's nearly an additional hour of exercise or more) + maybe 10 extra minutes of a higher intensity exercise (e.g., stair climbing or a row machine).

2. See if you can trim 200 calories off of whatever else you had planned for the day. Without seeing your food diary I don't know if that's even a feasible option but if you're drinking any higher calorie beverages (i.e., soda, fruit juice) those should be the first to go today.

3. Enjoy your meal.

Can you bring a meal replacement?

No one can make you eat that stuff----do not eat that crap. You can eat the broccoli and the chicken, or you can bring your own lunch. Or ask to order something else. That is ridiculous. At the very least, I would eat my own lunch at my desk or in the car (whatever the situation may be). No one can make you eat such unhealthy stuff. That is what is wrong with this society. It makes me mad. Everyone thinks because something comes with french fries we have to eat them. Do not be afraid to tell your server to leave the french fries behind and give me some veggies I do it every time I go out to eat. I tell them to leave sauces off, too--EVERYTIME. Do not be afraid. Stand up for yourself and be proud to tell your server what they must do to make you happy.

Sometimes part of being a grown-up is attending lunches/dinners like this. It's a disruption to our routines, but it's part of life. To refuse to attend to act like it's beneath her to join in the lunch would just alienate her from her coworkers and make her seem like she's not a team player.

The menu actually isn't that bad - I agree that sticking with the salad (dressing on the side), chicken (without sauce, if possible), a small portion of rice and the broccoli is the best bet. There's no reason she has to eat any of the other stuff. That's actually similar to what I have for dinner sometimes! Nut-crusted chicken is much better than the traditional flour-crusted chicken used in fried/battered chicken. I made nut-crusted fish just the other night. Delicious, and healthy. If the chicken is pre-sauced, maybe you can discreetly try to scrape most of it onto your plate - I doubt anyone would notice.

Good luck! Don't stress out - it's just one day and a few hundred extra calories one day won't throw you off track. If you want to try to exercise extra tonight that's one plan - but honestly I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Edited to add: I like the suggestion someone else posted of eating a lighter dinner tonight - swapping your dinner and lunch for today if you can.

Not sure about you, but I usually allow myself one f**** up day a week. This could be yours?

Or, like you are saying, just eat the chicken breast (minus the cream sauce) with the broccoli and wild rice. Make sure portion is key and I would steer clear of the stuffing! If you are really beating yourself up at the end of lunch, make sure to work out tonight!

Hope you stay strong and if you give into temptation, stay on track the rest of the week - I really don't think this lunch will ruin your diet!

Can you say that because of health reasons you can't have the sauce or the cheese cake and ask for extra veggies instead? Half the chicken is a good idea, maybe eat the other half for dinner with a ton of veggies and do a little extra workout so you can enjoy the stuffing. It is not that bad in terms of a work lunch IMO, my work always has things like fancy gourmet pizza or cheesy Mexican food. Try drinking a lot of water before you go and during the meal also to fill you up a bit.

Most of all, enjoy your lunch. I'm sure it was meant to be a fun thing. :flowerforyou:

It's one day...indulge...and work out a bit more later or have a very light dinner. But I say...free food is something you go for!!

That's the way I look at it! :laugh: