Give Up? I Don't Think So!

We have a GiGi's cupcakes nearby, and my family are always BEGGING to go. GiGi's doesn't publish nutrition information, but if you look at their cupcakes, it's a regular-size cupcake with about 1/2 c frosting piled on top. Estimating the calories based on Betty Crocker cake mix and frosting, that's 270 cal for the cupcake and 130 cal/2 tbsp of frosting, or 520 cal for 1/2 c frosting -- 790 calories for the whole cupcake. This is consistent with a figure I found online for similar fancy cupcakes from another bakery that were actually measured, so I think it must be pretty close.

Well, Valentine's day is coming up, yes? And not too long ago, just before I joined MFP, I bought a LivingSocial coupon for GiGi's that my family has been bugging me about. So today, as a Valentine treat, I stopped and used my coupon to bring home GiGi's cupcakes.

I was discussing the calorie count with my husband, and whether I could *ever* eat a cupcake that's half my daily calories by itself (or about three hours' worth of strenuous workout), and my ten-year-old said "Mom, if you're going to bring home GiGi's, I think you might as well just give it up!"

Especially since she and my husband were planning to make southern fried chicken for supper, with mashed potatoes and milk gravy!

Well!

Nothing like a challenge, right? I did fine with breakfast today (under 200 calories, my usual -- a Zone bar and coffee, which gets me going without messing up my kitchen); and lunch today was light (homemade chicken noodle soup with crackers, under 300 calories total) and I hadn't snacked, since I knew supper was going to be fried chicken, so I was in pretty good shape. For supper I put in all the recipes, measured all my servings (even my salad calories -- not many, since I discovered Bolthouse dressings thanks to this site!), and ate just one fried chicken leg (normally I'll have a thigh), which isn't too bad on calories. I kept my supper calories right around 700 (btw they make GOOD fried chicken. I have eaten VERY well today, nom nom nom).

And then I cut one of those salted caramel chocolate cupcakes in half, which makes it 390 calories (still more than Snickers bar, yowzah!). And guess what? It only put me 200 calories and change over for the day, which I will work off easily in my 50-minute evening workout.

I have eaten GiGi's cupcakes and not totally blown my calories for today! I will make 1360 net calories with ease! And I can have the other half for breakfast tomorrow, and be careful the rest of the day.

Before MFP, I would have just said "You know what? You are SO right. I might as well just hang it up today." And I probably would have had a couple of servings of mashed potatoes and extra gravy and a whole 800-calorie cupcake on top of it. And then hated myself when I weighed in in the morning. Not anymore! If the scale is up in the morning, I'll know it's fluid because I didn't blow my calories, and I won't sweat it.

And let me just say this: GiGi's salted caramel chocolate cupcakes are TOTALLY worth it. TOTALLY!

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all! And never give up!