Weigh Day and Eating Out

By Mandy

So today was my day to weigh in. I did good with eating, and went to the gym, so I was feeling really successful.

But man does that tiny plastic square feel intimidating when it's time to face the music.

The tension in the air was palpable. Music from the show down scenes in the old western movies was playing in my ear as I stepped up. I squinted my eyes closed, took a breath, and looked down....

Ladies and gentleman I am -1 pound! Naturally part of you wants to see -5 every time you get on the scale...but considering how bad I was eating before last week I know it'll take a week or two for my body to come down off the suger/carb high and get back into motion. So I will take that negative pound and run with it. Literally.

Besides weighing in, I wanted to tell you guys about Sunday. My mother's birthday was last week, and so Saturday night my aunt called and said she wanted to take us out to dinner Sunday night. My aunt is the kind of person who will not take no for an answer. An hour spent in her company...and I'm usually trying to eat everything in sight. I was not a happy camper.

Eating out is scary when you're on a diet. Number one...it's just a whole lot of temptation that you don't feel strong enough to deal with. Number two...even if you have self control...finding something healthy to it is horrible. We began scouring the menus of nearby restaurants and all of them had a supposedly 'healthy section' Oh this stuff is under 500 calories, oh this stuff is part of the thin and fit menu!!! But I could not find a single meal at any restaurant I looked at...that didn't have an atrocious amount of sodium and carbohydrates in it.

Luckily, my aunt ended up postponing and we got saved from dinner out. But no matter how dedicated to your diet you are...you can't avoid eating out at some point without looking socially awkward. So I have prepared this mental preparation for eating out. If at all possible...find a menu ahead of time. Find the meal choice with the least amount of calories, carbs, and sodium. It may not be the healthiest choice...but if its the best one you can make in that situation...then I think that still counts as being successful. If you know you're going to be eating out...be extra healthy with your meals for the rest of the day. Have a healthy snack before you leave so that your stomach isn't empty and you don't eat everything on your plate. And try to fit exercise into your day before and/or after the meal.

So that's all from me for now. I'm off to make some veggie juice. I'm trying out a carrot/celery/spinach/apple/strawberry concoction. We'll see how that goes.