Cheesecake Factory, Anyone?
Melis25Fit
Posts: 811 Member
It's my birthday next Tuesday, and my hubby asked me where I wanted to go. I decided on Cheesecake Factory. Now, before you all condemn me for that choice, lemme tell you why I chose it. My favorite dessert of all is chocolate cheesecake. Now instead of having a big ol cheesecake made and brought home or sitting on my counter all week, I figured I could go there, and eat a sensible dinner, and then share a piece of cheesecake w/ my hubby and not bring leftovers home, where I would be further tempted.
Keep in mind I have lost 113 lbs so far, and have eaten at the cheesecake factory twice during this process. It's just all about choices.
My issue is that I don't wanna eat lettuce for my birthday dinner, but I feel like the "healthy" option salad is the only thing that will let me enjoy my birthday cheesecake within my exercise calorie limits.
Ugh, and I struggle w/ this because I am OBSESSED (in a healthy way) with calorie counting and what goes past my lips.
I found a decent site that has calorie counts for CKF, b/c the actual restaurant site doesn't have anything listed.
Can I justify that it's my birthday, so it's ok to have half a entree that is 1150 cals, with a part of a cheesecake that has 800 cals? Is it worth it, just because it's my birthday? I need to make a plan and stick with it. So. this is where I'm reaching out asking you what you would do.... hey thanks friends, I appreciate any feedback you can give. Maybe it will help me decide what I'm going to do. ;o)
Keep in mind I have lost 113 lbs so far, and have eaten at the cheesecake factory twice during this process. It's just all about choices.
My issue is that I don't wanna eat lettuce for my birthday dinner, but I feel like the "healthy" option salad is the only thing that will let me enjoy my birthday cheesecake within my exercise calorie limits.
Ugh, and I struggle w/ this because I am OBSESSED (in a healthy way) with calorie counting and what goes past my lips.
I found a decent site that has calorie counts for CKF, b/c the actual restaurant site doesn't have anything listed.
Can I justify that it's my birthday, so it's ok to have half a entree that is 1150 cals, with a part of a cheesecake that has 800 cals? Is it worth it, just because it's my birthday? I need to make a plan and stick with it. So. this is where I'm reaching out asking you what you would do.... hey thanks friends, I appreciate any feedback you can give. Maybe it will help me decide what I'm going to do. ;o)
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Replies
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I'd say if you exercise and eat sensibly during the rest of the day you can indulge. It's also one day and that won't ruin too much. Keep the rest of that week sensible and be active!0
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Could you eat half of it on the day you go and save the rest for the next day? That way you enjoy all of it but split the difference and spread it out. I may be able to find time and come down to eat the other half if that helps.
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I say if you workout, go for it.
Don't go in there saying " Imma' eat everything in site", but have yourself a wonderful dinner and some cheesecake!
On my birthday I wanted drinks. blah and the kind I like are loaded with calories. I had one big one and a good dinner, but I made sure that morning I worked out.
&& 113 lbs lost, sweeite you deserve this! Enjoy your day
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It's all about portion control! ...and it it IS your birthday!....so why don't you eat low calorie/filling things during the day so you have more calories at night, and then share a dish and dessert with hubbie ? You'll be having a nice dinner, you will be having your favorite dessert and you won't be eating an excesive amount of calories... If you could go for a walk or excercise for 30 minutes you'll have some extra so you won't need to worry too much!
You have already lost a lot so you know how to keep it under control! Happy birthday in advance10 -
Good for you! It's your birthday and you know what your game plan is ...I don't think I could ever 'share' a cheesecake with my Husband or anyone LOL...But awesome idea...Happy soon to be Birthday - you deserve this :flowerforyou: 0
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their portions are huge so I don't see you having a problem with only eating half of an entree and half (or less) of a slice of cheesecake. if i were you, i'd eat super clean and low calorie for all of my other meals and snacks that day.
eating like that once in a blue moon can actually help your metabolism (confuses it and revs it up) so once a year on your birthday, don't even sweat it!! just be smart and watch your portions!! what is all of this hard work and calorie counting for if you can never just enjoy yourself? it only becomes a problem if you are constantly finding special occasion excuses. once every 6 months on a special day... let loose girl!! and happy birthday 0 -
I would you have earned it. What I would suggest, is maybe you and your hubby can share an actual meal and still share the cheese cake. That way the calories in the meal, he helps you eat and you don't eat all 1150! But indulging for your b-day is a treat and you will never get that b-day back!0
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It's your birthday, it's one day: you'll be fine. If you want to know that you'll be consuming around 1500 calories with an entree and splitting a dessert and you're not comfortable with that, then work out extra hard that morning.
One day will not derail your complete success.
HAVE FUN. Happy Birthday!! And congrats on your loss!0 -
First off, congrats on the weight loss! You have done excellent up to this point.
Personally, I love salads because they are healthy and filling to me.. But I do understand what you mean about not wanting one for your bday dinner. If you like fish I would go with one of their grilled fish entrees (the grilled salmon is great), and make sure your sides aren't rich mashed potatoes(try to sub for a baked potato if possible) or buttery sauteed veggies (try to sub for fresh steamed greens). If you have your heart set on a super unhealthy entree then eat half of it, don't take home the leftovers, and add an extra workout either the day of your bday, the day after, or both. 0 -
It's you birthday enjoy. Eat the cheesecake, like you said your splitting with your husband. One day isn't going ruin everything.
Happy Birthday by the way!!!0 -
Happy Birthday! I know it would be extra driving... but what if you went somewhere else for dinner... Cheesecake factory is known to be pretty caloric, and then to cheesecake factory for dessert?0
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Well Happy Early Birthday!!!
Like everyone else has said, it is your birthday, you have had a tremendous weight loss already.
Order the entree, and the cheesecake. You don't have to eat the entire entree, and like you said, you are splitting the cheesecake with your hubby.
Just go & enjoy a wonderful evening with your hubby!!!!0 -
I think you have tons of options at the Cheesecake Factory that are not half bad. So are you going to condemn yourself if you get your birthday cheesecake slice? If so, then don't. But if you are going to enjoy your taste, share it with your husband, and not take it home, I don't see where you should have a problem. If you like sushi, they have awesome seared tuna. You can get some edamame, steamed shrimp.
Okay I need to stop because this is one of my favorite restaurants and now I want to go.0 -
I went out on my birthday last December and decided I was going to enjoy! It was my 40th so it was special. I had appetizer, bread, meal, dessert and I didn't worry one bit. It was more than a thousand calories and I didn't gain any weight at all. Once in a while is okay. I think your metabolism like the shock, too.
Enjoy your birthday! We only get one per year!
Haven't eaten there but I have a gift card that will be used soon. I heard about the portions - probably why they won't post the nutritional content.
But remember that sodium causes water retention. Don't weigh yourself the next morning.0 -
First of all, congratulations on losing 113 pounds. That is awesome!!
I say go to the restaurant, enjoy a great meal and don't feel gulity! Since you are doing so well, this one meal will not cause you to backslide, and I think that's what most of us worry about. I know I do. However, based on your comments and the amount of weight you have lost, you can stop at that one meal. Go for it!!
Also, keep in mind that we all want to eat healthy but moderation is the key. We shouldn't have to go through life without ever treating ourselves from time to time. That isn't realistic and I think a great meal for special occassions keeps us motivated!!
You are doing great!!!0 -
Good for you! It's your birthday and you know what your game plan is ...I don't think I could ever 'share' a cheesecake with my Husband or anyone LOL...But awesome idea...Happy soon to be Birthday - you deserve this :flowerforyou:
Haha! That made me laugh out loud! I don't think I'm capable of that kind of generosity! :laugh:
I say, go for it! You have come SO far, and part of being successful overall is allowing yourself to "indulge" once in awhile: in a controlled and reasonable way, which is exactly what you are proposing. Go,enjoy your day, enjoy your cheesecake! Happy birthday! 0 -
For those of you that don't know the nutritional information of the cheesecake factory, this is a good site as well:
http://calorielab.com/news/2007/07/28/calorie-pusher-comes-to-town-the-cheesecake-factory-hits-rochester/
In regards to your question, the key here is sensible. I'm not going to condemn anyone's meal choices on here because I feel that you should enjoy what you are putting in your mouth. So that being said, if you want to treat yourself to the Cheesecake Factory on your birthday, I'd say go out and do it, but be very careful. You can easily eat a week's worth of calories there and not even realize it.
Other than the cheesecakes, I never realized just how bad their food was, both in calories and in sodium content because to this day, they still keep if fairly secretive from their patrons (hence why you couldn't find anything on their website). When they made the list of the 40 worst foods in America, I decided to look them up. Considering that over 5 of their meals have close to 3,000 calories and many others are over 1,500, I can see why they made that list.0 -
I'd say keep the rest of your day full of low cal filling options (lots of veggies, fiber, protein) so that maybe you won't be as hungry when you go and therefore not want to eat as much but also keeping your cals low for the rest of the day. Also try to get a good workout in that day or at least several times that week and eat really well the rest of the week. Then you can splurge on your b-day and enjoy it instead of feeling guilty about it. I think sharing with your hubby is a great idea...I would do that with mine but we don't like the same kind of cheese cake and he doesn't have to worry about his weight so he probably wouldn't share his meal with me either - lol! You have done an amazing job and obviously know what you're doing so enjoy your birthday and if the scale were to go up just a bit don't worry...you've got this figured out and know what to do to get it back down. It's just one day, one meal...enjoy yourself!0
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One day is not a diet killer. Nor will you gain 10 pounds from eating there. Their serving sizes are huge so it's easy to split entrees. Then enjoy your cheesecake. You can always shave some calories off days surrounding your birthday to kind of "bank" some calories for the big day.
Also, I dont know if this is the site you use or not but here's a LOT of cheesecake factory nutrition. http://calorielab.com/news/2007/07/28/calorie-pusher-comes-to-town-the-cheesecake-factory-hits-rochester/
See, if you are looking for info on a chain restaurant that has franchises in New York, well, New York requires them to have nutrition information so you just have to search for the information coming out of New York 0 -
good job and go for it but instead of dinner for your birthday have him take you during lunch.
this way you can have a great time and still get in a good work out later that day after you eat0 -
I love that cheesecake has a whole factory! I am happy that I do not live within driving distance to said factory!
Happy Birthday and please eat some cheesecake for me!0 -
It your Birthday!!!!!!! Just eat the cheesecake do not have dinner........ Why do you need both? If you eat both you will feel stuffed and crappy.0
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Congrats on the weight loss!!!
It's your birthday so enjoy yourself you have a couple of different options:
1. Split a meal and cheesecake with your hubbie like everyone else has said
2. Have a low calorie intake all day split an appetizer and cheesecake with hubbie
3. If you still don't feel comfortable you can burn 1000-1300 calories on the elliptical in an hour to account for the delicious cheesecake, prior to your birthday meal!!
4. Eat at home and go to the "factory" for cheesecake only
At the end of the day you want to be able to enjoy your cheesecake, so whatever makes you feel comfortable go for it. We have to remember to not be so rigid that we become robots or overly obsessed with counting calories.0 -
I agree I would not, should not, could not share a cheesecake with my husband because it's MINE LOL! Seriously, I would exercise and eat half of everything. Before the food comes out I will ask for half to be put in a box for me. You are sharing with your husband so you will only eat half the cheesecake....0
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Justify that it's your birthday and eat what you want. If you've been working hard all this t ime and tend to watch what you eat on a regular basis, one day is not going to hurt you. I have the same philosophy as it relates to Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's one day out of the year. If you're stringent on most other days, enjoy your birthday free of calorie counting and worries about fat.
Shawn0 -
First Congratulations on an amazing job so far! I am with everybody else it's one day your day so go and enjoy yourself. I do it twice a year my birthday and our anniversary because they are about 6 months apart and it has never hurt me. I hope you have a wonderul guilty free birthday because you deserve it 0
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Hi mhanson18, the restaurant has actual menu with calories listed, which you really don't wanna see. Also, they have 1 diet item in the menu (grilled chicken which is 500 cal). The cakes are more the 1000 cal per slise. I was there for my bday a week a go. I had half on my dinner (grilled fish and doggie back home) and no desert. Congrats for your weight lost and Happy Bday to you. Frisco.:drinker:0
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Wow -- that's a challenge. I looked at a Cheesecake Factory menu once when I was in a location where the law required they place the calorie content on the menu and I almost fell out of my chair. I don't know of a restaurant that can pack more calories into a meal than this place. That said, it's delicious so your day out will probably amount to a non-counting "cheat day."
I can tell you that each bite of their delicious cheesecake (a real bite not a mouse-bite) is about a hundred calories (and worth it occasionally).
Remember that when you're looking at nutritional info online, to multiply the calorie count by the number of servings. When they note that something is 600 calories they mean PER SERVING and most of their choices have between two and four servings (from what I looked at). When I was there, looking at a menu (not online where they provide the information "per serving" and not per entree) the lowest calorie salad they had was 1,860 calories for a lighter portion. Holy Cow -- I don't know how I'd build a salad with that many calories!!! Some of their entrees (on the menu, not online) were over 4,000 calories.
So whatever you do, enjoy every bite. And Happy Birthday!!!
Congrats on your great job!!!0 -
It's my birthday next Tuesday, and my hubby asked me where I wanted to go. I decided on Cheesecake Factory. Now, before you all condemn me for that choice, lemme tell you why I chose it. My favorite dessert of all is chocolate cheesecake. Now instead of having a big ol cheesecake made and brought home or sitting on my counter all week, I figured I could go there, and eat a sensible dinner, and then share a piece of cheesecake w/ my hubby and not bring leftovers home, where I would be further tempted.
Keep in mind I have lost 113 lbs so far, and have eaten at the cheesecake factory twice during this process. It's just all about choices.
My issue is that I don't wanna eat lettuce for my birthday dinner, but I feel like the "healthy" option salad is the only thing that will let me enjoy my birthday cheesecake within my exercise calorie limits.
Ugh, and I struggle w/ this because I am OBSESSED (in a healthy way) with calorie counting and what goes past my lips.
I found a decent site that has calorie counts for CKF, b/c the actual restaurant site doesn't have anything listed.
Can I justify that it's my birthday, so it's ok to have half a entree that is 1150 cals, with a part of a cheesecake that has 800 cals? Is it worth it, just because it's my birthday? I need to make a plan and stick with it. So. this is where I'm reaching out asking you what you would do.... hey thanks friends, I appreciate any feedback you can give. Maybe it will help me decide what I'm going to do. ;o)
I went there for my Christmas present to myself and my boyfriend. I had just started this diet...and it was hard for me to eat an 1150 calorie dessert...But it was SO GOOD. And I don't regret it. I had the 30th anniversary one and it is a mix of chocolate and regular and its so amazing. THe nutrition is scary but its your birthday! Celebrate...my birthday was also last week...I went out and ate for that too so don't feel bad. You know that you have done great and that the next day you will be right back on track! Happy Birthday0
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