Pizza???

I have made good progress this week. Family wants to get pizza tonight. How do you handle that?
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Replies

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I plan to get pizza on days that I also have a higher calorie burn.

    I also have a large salad with my pizza. Bulking up on salad and eating very slowly allows me to have some pizza, but less than before, and not feel deprived.
  • I've been doing homeade pizzas for lunch.
    Great ideas everyone!!! Thank you so much.
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    Pizza night tonight. I make it myself. We haven’t had it since May. It’s cool enough now to have the oven on. No AC. Very thin crust, thin layer sauce, lots of veggies, sprinkling of cheese. Makes a full cookie sheet sized pizza. Two nice sized pieces 300 calories. Every Friday now through late spring.
  • pcopeland28
    pcopeland28 Posts: 2 Member
    Eat the pizza, log it and enjoy! Maybe have a homemade salad beforehand or something else low calorie and filling so you’re not too hungry. Try to avoid high calorie toppings but you deserve a nice treat periodically. Don’t beat yourself up and being too restrictive is setting yourself up for failure. Enjoy the pizza with your family!
  • EyeOTS
    EyeOTS Posts: 362 Member
    Usually, I eat 2 slices and add a light soup, side salad or fruit. Then I log the calories.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited October 2021
    How I handle that usually depends on the day, how much I want pizza, how hungry I am, how much I want some other dish, how many calories I have/willing to spend...etc.

    - Sometimes I skip the pizza and eat something else if something else sounds more appealing.
    - Sometimes I have a slice for a taste plus a salad and a large diet drink if I don't have enough calories.
    - Sometimes I don't have enough calories but I want it enough to warrant spending more calories than I have in my budget for that day. The world won't end if I occasionally go over my budget.
    - Sometimes I save up calories in advance if we're going out and will be ordering appetizers.
    - Most of the time I just eat my regular portion of pizza because my usual portion is usually within the 600-1000 calorie range that I usually eat for my main meal, pizza or otherwise.

    In all cases, I always try to make the choice that leaves me most mentally satisfied.
  • MK2326
    MK2326 Posts: 9 Member
    I give in…80% of the time.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I failed and ate way too much! :( UGH

    Don't expect perfection immediately :)

    (Or ever, really.)

    You will learn and progress.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,270 Member
    MK2326 wrote: »
    I give in…80% of the time.

    What do you mean by ' giving in'?

    I guess if you mean eat many slices and go way over calorie budget ( be that a daily or weekly budget) and this happens often - it will derail your progress

    But if you eat pizza in a moderate way, either by using one of the strategies mentioned or some other way - no reason for that to be problematic or seen as 'giving in' rather than a reasonable part of your WOE.
  • russellholtslander1
    russellholtslander1 Posts: 285 Member
    Diet is what you eat every day of your life.. sometimes that includes pizza. often, this makes us feel cravings, and despite our best intentions, and all the advice in the world, we " eat too much ". You can't FAIL, unless the food misses your mouth, and you smear it on your face. That would be a fail, especially since you had WAY to many calories from alcohol. :D

    All this is, was a meal where you ate too much. You can't avoid that completely. I don't want to ever meet anyone THAT perfect.. I'd hate them. :D

    So, you tried one method.. think about what it was.. for starters, pizzeria pizza is manufactured in a way to make you want more. They aren't reying to make you fat, but the more you buy, the more money THEY make. We know this isn't good food, and we know it causes cravings, so you have a couple choices.

    1) Just know you will eat too much on a pizza night.. maybe eat a smaller lunch, but how often is pizza night? if it's once every 2 weeks, it won't ruin the other 13.5 days worth of healthy eating. Maybe just roll with it. Enjoy it, as long a soverall, you are seeing positive results.

    2) If pizza night is 3 nights a week, and you can't be healthy overeating 3 times a week, maybe try to make home made " pizza ", on product you buy.. maybe lower sodium, and calories, like in pita pizzas, or they do sell pre-made crusts.. you just add sauce, cheese, toppings, and control how " bad " it is.. while still getting the pizza experience. Our family really enjoyed this, versus pizza delivery/pick-up.. we also DID like back when you actually ate in a pizzeria, because they were restaurants, not just a counter.. but that is rare now.. pizza nowadays seems to be at home, in front of the TV, eating until the food is gone. We liked making different pizzas, helping each other do so, and watching htme cook... you might like that, and maybe your family would be okay with these types of " pizza ".. of course, some kids might simply want convenience, so maybe you end up cooking a pizza for each?? If so, would you be OK doing that, to eat healthier " pizza "??

    3) Eat something else, if you can't stop yourself, and your family likes name brand pizza, and it would not be possible to do something else. You might even be able to get something ELSE from a pizzeria. Maybe a chicken or fish dinner, if you can just eat that, or some serve pasta dishes, although that would just make ME hungrier, it depends on what you can eat in proper amounts. Surely, if they had pizza, and you had a fish dinner, it would be kind of normal.

    Ultimately, YOU need to decide what to accept.. slower weight loss, and just enjoy the pizza, or an alternative, or eeven possibly not able to eat from the same place as them.. if necessary, and you feel the need, you might end up just eating something totally different, but still eat WITH them.. the rest of us can give us our opinions, advice, and probably what WE would do.. many would simply enjoy the pizza, and not feel guilty about it.. BUT, can you?

    Do what you think is best, and gets YOU the results you want.. whatever that is. You might not figure it out the first few times, but I think if you experiment some, in the end, you WILL.

    Really, we only fail, if we give up, and just allow ourselves to become more unhealthy.. just think of the other times as attempts to get healthy through experimentation.. and now you know MORE, so you are closer to figuring out what DOES work for you.

    Good Luck, think about it, and try again. :)
  • yayamom3
    yayamom3 Posts: 939 Member
    We order pizza every Friday night. I eat two slices of thin crust, mushroom, light cheese. I fill the rest of my plate with raw veggies. It's delicious, I look forward to it, and it fits within my calorie goals.
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    This should be on a tshirt or something!

    I do eat pizza, and log as best I can. If eating from a small/local place that does not publish nutrition data then I log using Dominos for Handtossed crust. Figure the details should be in the same area.

    Lately I'm hooked on Pizza Hut's cajun dry rub wings. Wish they came in 8-10 count. 6 is not enough and 12 is too many.

    If you want the pizza, eat the pizza

  • russellholtslander1
    russellholtslander1 Posts: 285 Member
    https://afoodloverskitchen.com/cajun-dry-rub-chicken-wings/

    I would suggest making your own wings.. this has the spices needed, and you can season them, and freeze them in bags of 8-10.. and then when you have pizza night, just thaw a bag during the day in the fridge, and cook them the 20-30 minutes needed, while waiting for the pizza to be delivered, and have the amount you want, ready when the pizza arrives.. cheaper too!
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
    I have made good progress this week. Family wants to get pizza tonight. How do you handle that?

    I just eat a pizza , either 1/2 or a whole one to myself. It's not like I have it every night or even every week.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    My solution: eat a big salad before and enjoy the pizza. Do the best you can and don't sweat it.
  • NYPhotographer2021
    NYPhotographer2021 Posts: 510 Member
    Darn...now I want pizza! I knew I shouldn't have read this! I'd just eat a slice or 2 and enjoy, log it and forget it. If you think you might overeat, have a salad before hand so you will be more filled up. Pizza is good food, especially if you load it up with veggies! Just go with it and plan ahead if you can.
  • Bovinity55
    Bovinity55 Posts: 263 Member
    edited October 2021
    Hubby loves his pizza on Fri or Sat nite (he’s the tall skinny type, LOL) so we compromise by getting Dominoes thin crust with mushrooms, peppers and onions and add pepperoni on one half only for him. I make a salad to go with it. I like that Dominoes has their full nutritional info online.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,374 Member
    Homemade crust (I’m using half of this recipe for a thin crust 15”) takes 15 minutes to mix and rise. www.allrecipes.com/recipe/20171/quick-and-easy-pizza-crust/

    Tomato paste from a tube- easily controlled and easily measured. Hit it with pizza seasoning.

    A nice “log” mozarella tastes better and is fewer calories than a shredded mozarella. I cut it in smallish cubes and dot it around the pizza.

    Prosciutto is about half the calories of pepperoni and a diced 28gr serving goes further (or so my eyeballs perceive) than a similar serving of pepperoni.

    Other Italian and Spanish hams make great toppings and are still far less than pepperoni. Coppa made a good topping.

    Lodge makes a fabulous cast iron pizza pan that is also better than a cookie sheet for cookies, biscuits and scones. It’s also got a small lip, perfect for preheating and scorching some socca bread under the broiler.
  • dralicephd
    dralicephd Posts: 402 Member
    Life is not worth living without pizza. (or chocolate) :)

    Just make it work by budgeting for it. If you ate more than you budgeted for, it's ok. Get back on your plan and keep going.
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    edited October 2021
    You are going to have off-meals and off-days and binges now and then. It's what you do the next day that matters.

    If you get right back on plan as soon as you wake up, you're golden.

    If you use yesterday's binge as an excuse to take another day off, you're on the road to regain. It'll only get harder to rein it in and get back on track as the "time-out" continues.

    It's really that simple: get back on plan the next morning. Pizza, chips, chocolate - all the same. One day = ok. More than one day = not ok.
  • marius_paps
    marius_paps Posts: 52 Member
    What's the meaning of life without pizza?
    (as long as you avoid the "Hawaian" kind :wink: )