Restaurants- What Are They THINKING?

 I was inspired to write this post from a post from Back To The Fridge.   He talked about ordering a "plain jane" backed potato and was served a Frankensized potato that was anything BUT plain jane. 


There is a restaurant near us called Space Aliens.  It sounded intriguing and fun so we took the kids there.  They have a mini arcade so of course the kids were thrilled. Plus there are tons of cool lights and aliens decorated all over the place so there is plenty to look at.  I like restaurants where you don't have to keep 3 kids quiet and not moving around for the entire meal.  That is not enjoyable at all so this was good. 

So while the kids got pizza and fries and smoothies and completely unhealthy items, I thought I would attempt at a "decent" meal.  I got the small steak, 6 oz, not huge. They had much bigger.  I got it with a baked potato and veggies. They asked if I wanted cheese, bacon, sour cream, butter, onions and a dozen other things on my potato.

"HECK YES!!". 

But alas, no.  I asked for no butter on the veggies and potato and just some sour cream on the side. Very sensible.

Then, for like $2.99 you can get these pork thingys, I forget what they are called, it's their feature.  We'd never had them so I decided we'd get them for us to share.  It was cheaper to get them as an addition to MY meal which is why I ordered them.  I believe it was the husband who really wanted them. 

I get my food. 

My steak and veggies that had all these extra greasy, delicious, onion thingys, sauces galores and all of a sudden my healthy steak and veggies didn't look quite so healthy anymore.

Then.  They put down my potato. This baby needed it's own zip code.  It was SO BIG. I'd never in my entire life seen such a enormous potato.  We're talking mutant here.  This seriously was as big as a dinner plate.  HUGE.  Even plain it looked quite intimidating.

Oh, and remember those $2.99 pork thingys.  Another plate, a gargantuan platter sized plate heaped galore, overflowing with fried pork things that looked positively scrumptious/disgusting. (there is a fine line here, people). 

I can't imagine the look on my face but even the waitress looked embarrassed for me.  My husband and kids are just in stitches laughing at me as they KNEW my goal was not to over eat and have a "simple" meal.  They all had their one plate of pizza and fries and here I am with 2 overflowing dinner plates and a platter in front of me. 

I so wish I had a picture. 

The entire potato came home with us. I don't think I ate a bite.  We ate more than enough pork thingys which were good but not THAT good.  At least 1/2 of those came home with us.  I'm not sure they ever got eaten, they weren't the kind of thing that you reheated. I know it wasn't ME who at them.

Ok, there has to be a lesson in here somewhere. Oh yea, WHAT THE HECK ARE RESTAURANTS DOING??  Is this really the portions that people expect at restaurants??   We just don't go to restaurants often anymore for just this reason. 

I told you that this post was inspired from Charlies post on his blog.  He talked about going to a salad bar and having it resemble nothing salad like at all.  That is how my salads USED to be. I'd heap on the cheese, egg, bacon bits, sunflower seeds, croutons, and. oh, maybe a few veggies. (it had to have the illusion of actually being a salad, you know). 

I still love the salad bar but I choose ONE semi unhealthy thing.  I LOVE croutons so I often will pile on the veggies and some garbanzo beans if they have them and add a few croutons. I skip all the other stuff and still enjoy the salad. I put at least 1/2 the dressing I used to and it is still HUGELY enjoyable. I don't believe in eating things that aren't enjoyable.  My measure of standard has changed though so I don't NEED all the gunk to enjoy it anymore. Yea! 

Moral of the story:  Stay away from restaurants? Ask before ordering?  Think before you eat?  Beware of frankensized potatoes?  You choose.

Weigh in Wednesday & Hot 100 Update

Well, if there was an award for maintaining, that would be me.  I'm up .1 lbs.  So obviously nothing significant. 

Goals for the Hot 100:

Posting: I want to post regularly on the dieting blog here. My original goal was to post daily but that just isn't happening. Way too busy and half the time I don't have much inspirational stuff to say. I will continue to weigh in on Wednesdays and try to post other days as well.


I have been posting more, of course, my GOAL is to be posting my meals, that is what really helps, however, just being accountable to the blog helps a lot.  While I didn't lose weight this week, I did make better choices than I would have.

Food Tracking: This is super essential for me to lose weight and maintain control. If I leave it to change, I stop caring. I lost 100 lbs. from tracking daily. It worked. Then I stopped. Now, 20 lbs. later, I NEED to get back into it. I've been whining about it forever but I just need to stick with it. I'm very hit or miss about it. It needs to become a priority again.

Nope to the food tracking.  I would start in the morning and then by the afternoon, I'd be eating random things for lunch and then trying to scramble to figure out roughly how many calories I ate.  Yes, I'm busy but this HAS to be a priority for me. It is the only way I have been successful in the past!

Get moving: I hate exercise. I've made that clear on other posts. Plus I have ankle issues to prevent me from hopping around and running, BUT, there are still plenty I can do. I need to start doing it. Regularly.

Nope to the moving.  At least not anything extra. I do daycare so I AM moving throughout the day but I want to be doing a regular exercise routine. I've actually never had a regular exercise routine. I have a WII fit that I need to get on daily.  I used to, now I "claim" not to have the time.

So while I may not have fulfilled my goals, I still feel pumped and motivated.  I wouldn't be even writing post after post if I didn't.  I've been blogging this blog for the entire summer without weight loss success but yet I still do it.  Somethings got to change.

I Ate Too Much...

Ok, I think I ate too much today.  Not a ton but I really don't know because I didn't track.  #1 goal.  TRACK YOUR FOOD. I'm not doing it. 

So anyways, I ate just "okay" today. 

BUT ...

I would have ate more if it wasn't for the awesome reminders all day. 

I am home all day with the kids. I homeschool my 3 kids and I do daycare.  So there are MANY kids around all day long. Kids are always hungry.  I give them breakfast, snacks, lunch, more snacks, and drinks. So I am always in the kitchen.  It is so easy for me to grab a handful of cereal before putting it away, have a few pretzels while I'm handing them out to the kids, have a fingerful of peanut butter...  That kind of stuff.  I'm surrounded by it all day. 

I also leave my email open and I get a ding when a new email pops up. My computer desk is sorta in the middle of everything so I am able to quickly read emails throughout the day. 

I LOVE when I am thinking about grabbing a granola bar and I get this email that tells me to "stop snacking and get my head in gear" or something like that.  These came today at the best times. 

So, while I probably snacked a bit too much. I feel victorious that it wasn't worse. I still need to get in a better place but for now I'm holding my own. 

A bit scared about tomorrows weigh in though...

Sloppy, Sloppy!

I've been eating junkie all weekend.  It got a BIT better today but not that good. I'm not tracking, I'm only vaguely calculating in my mind. *sigh* 

I've been even getting behind on my recipe blog. I used to carefully calculate all the calories and post them but now, I'm writing recipes up a week after I make them and I'm not remembering the changes I've made so I can't calculate calories all the time.

In a nutshell. I'm getting sloppy.  Time to kick it into gear.  I know, I know. I've been saying that for months. 

It really needs to happen though.  Soon.

Tired. Off to bed.  :-)

One Pound

Here is a post at Roni's Weigh about losing only "one pound". It's awesome! It's where I got the inspiration for this post.

http://ronisweigh.com/2010/09/weekend-quote-only-one-pound.html

Whenever we start a "day one" of dieting, we think big.

"I want to lose 40 lbs. by the end of the year!"

"I want to lose 2 - 3 lbs a week!"

We never just think,

"I want to lose one pound."

We've all been guilty of complaining how LONG it takes to lose weight! 

We all also remark about how "time flies".  We can't believe how fast time goes as we see our kids grow up. 

So my goal is to lose one pound. 

One pound at a time. 

Awesome Quote

Here's a quote from a Kim Bensen newsletter that I get. I thought this was awesome:

“Any ecstasy lasting less than 5 minutes which gives negative, body altering results lasting longer than a month, just isn’t worth it!”

Isn't this SO TRUE??  We want the piece of cake, we want to taste it and enjoy it. But how long does it last?  A couple of minutes? Maybe.  Then what.  Are we satisfied.  Maybe. Or maybe I could have just One. More. Piece. 

It just isn't worth it. 

Weigh in Wednesday

Weigh in went well!!  Down 1 pound.  Now, if I can just follow with a couple more weeks of progress like this rather than continuing the yoyoing.  That's a weird word. 

I have been staying more focused.  That's something. For me.

Just in case you missed it, did you hear about the Hot 100??  Starts Thursday morning, you still have a week to join. 

Off to bed.

Hot 100

I am starting another weight loss challenge. It's kinda fun to be held accountable by "someone" or a blog.  I haven't lost a lot of weight this summer.  BUT. I consider it a success that I didn't gain weight. I truly believe without these weight loss blogs and motivation contests, that I would have gained. A lot.  While I still overate, they kept me balanced and motivated. 

That being said, I am NOT interested in maintaining. Which is what I've been doing.  I NEED to lose weight.  A LOT. 

Enter, The Hot 100.

  Here's what he has to say about the Hot 100:

What is the Hot 100?  The Hot 100 is a challenge focused on the last 100 days of 2010.  September 23, 2010 starts the clock.  From that day forward there are exactly 100 days left in 2010.  One hundred days to make this your year.  One hundred days to achieve your goals.  One hundred days, each and every one of which can be a great day!

There are prizes but more important, there is motivation!!  The prize that I really want is to lose weight!!  Really, really!! 

Goals!!  We all need goals!  So here are my 3 goals that I oh-so hope to achieve by the end of the year.

Posting:  I want to post regularly on the dieting blog here.  My original goal was to post daily but that just isn't happening.  Way too busy and half the time I don't have much inspirational stuff to say. I will continue to weigh in on Wednesdays and try to post other days as well.

Food Tracking:  This is super essential for me to lose weight and maintain control.  If I leave it to change, I stop caring.  I lost 100 lbs. from tracking daily. It worked. Then I stopped.  Now, 20 lbs. later, I NEED to get back into it. I've been whining about it forever but I just need to stick with it. I'm very hit or miss about it.  It needs to become a priority again.

Get moving:  I hate exercise.  I've made that clear on other posts.  Plus I have ankle issues to prevent me from hopping around and running, BUT, there are still plenty I can do. I need to start doing it. Regularly. 

Notice how I didn't put lose weight as one of my goals?  Well, if I post regularly, track my food and exercise, I WILL lose weight. So yes, of course, that is my ultimate goal.  But just saying "lose weight" doesn't say much. It's what you DO to lose weight.  SO - by meeting these 3 goals, weight loss will happen. 

I'm excited about this challenge.  I hope that many can get involved.  Check the rules for the Hot 100, you can start anytime before October 1st but DON'T WAIT.  Today's the day. 

This is linked with Works for me Wednesday over at We are THAT Family! Also linked with Weight Loss Wednesday from Angie's Healthy LIving Blog.

Still hanging...

It's been a good week.  I've been hanging in there pretty good. The numbers have been good the last couple of days and I've been in control.  Until the stinking husband brought home oreos!!  I only had a few but still very annoying. 

I made a veggie sandwich tonight that completely rocks!  It's a copy cat of the Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich from Panera.  I had 1/2 of one last Saturday and was determined that I was going to re-create it.  Not to toot my own horn but I think I did a fantastic job!!  I ate way too much but they weren't TOO high in calories. Very healthy!  I'll hopefully be posting the recipe for the bread and the sandwich on Monday or Tuesday.

Tomorrow we have an all day assembly. I'm looking forward to that!  I get to eat more of my veggie sandwich too.  So we are planning to eat out tomorrow night.  No idea where we're going but hopefully it will be cheap and I will stay in control!!

Weigh In Wednesday

I've been eating like crap. Seriously.  Same old thing. Snacking when I'm not hungry and eating just because it's there and I want it.  I'm busy, I'm stressed...blah, blah, blah.

WHO ISN'T??!!

It's no excuse.  One day I'm ON and ready to go and then the next, I could just care less.  Not happy. at. all.

I gained .2.  So basically the same.  I would have rather seen a LOSS of .2.  That would have been basically the same too but on the slightly more positive side.  Grrrr. 

Funny, I love to cheer fellow bloggers on and try to help.  When it's ME that needs to listen to the words I'm saying!!  Maybe tomorrow??

Lack of Posting...OOPS!

Boy do I stink at posting!!  As predicted, life got WAY busier when school started.  I am glad I had a bunch of recipes written up for my recipe blog otherwise I wouldn't have had anything posted there either!!

I have been eating well, sorta.  I'm not setting any records but I haven't been out to eat, no binges, and no desserts.  I have not been tracking calories though. I've been mentally calculating and it's been decent.  I need to actually write it down to succeed in losing weight though. I KNOW THIS. 

I had a good workout today, we went to Minnehaha Falls, a local waterfall and park. We rented some cool chopper bikes and rode those around for an hour and then we went down the 130 steps down to the bottom of the waterfall.  We hiked downstream and the kids played in the river while I relaxed for awhile. It was fun.  Of course, then there are always the 130 stairs back UP.  WHEW!  That's tough, not too bad though.  We've been there several times this year so I'm used to it and the kids LOVE it.

I'm hoping to calculate calories tomorrow.  Hopefully.

Wednesday Weigh In

So this morning pretty much went as expected.  Not much of a change, I didn't expect to lose. Not with the fair, 2 desserts and 1 night out to dinner. 

I've been eating well the last couple of days.  Cutting out desserts.  That HAS to go!

I haven't been tracking on paper.  I'm keeping track in my head but that's not the same.  It's too easy to forget or go into denial when you do that.  At least it is for me. 

So I'm have my notebook here and ready to go for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll use it!!

Day One

So in the book Why Your Last Diet Failed You by Charlie Hills, he talks about his Day One.  He's had MANY Day One's in his life.

You know.  When you eat a ton over the weekend and then feel disgusted so you wake up saying,

"This is it! I'm going to do it!"

Then often in a few week, old habits return and pretty soon it's time for a new "Day One". 

I am so sick of Day One's.  I keep saying the same things over and over. I KNOW how to succeed. I've DONE it before.  Yet, I JUST DON'T DO IT!  It's driving me crazy. 

Here it is 11 pm and I am STILL full from the enormous dinner I ate today.  I so didn't want to eat out. I can't afford it and I KNEW I would eat way too many calories. 

It's depressing and disheartening.

Tomorrow starts school for my kids. I homeschool all 3 kids so between that, and daycare, it will be busy.  Incredibly busy.  I can only hope I'm so busy that I don't have time to eat junk that I shouldn't have.

I have a plan. I just need to stick to the plan. 

Tomorrow is yet again, Day One.

Desserts

I need to stop making desserts. If they are here. I will eat them. If they aren't here. I won't eat them. It's simple as that. 

Simple?  Maybe. Easy? No way!!

I'm not making tons of them but enough to completely blow days worth of calories and make it so there is no way I am going to lose weight.  It's not like I don't KNOW that I shouldn't eat it (or make it in the first place).  But it's not enough to stop me. 

I rationalize.  I'll only eat a piece. I'll give it mostly away. I'll let the kids eat it.  And so on. 

The reality?

I eat way more than one piece. I give some away but not as much as originally intended. I don't let my kids have more than one piece because I am trying to give them healthy eating habits.  So who eats it?  ME. 

Yet the cycle continues. 

I need to stop making desserts. Period.

Operation Rehydration!

So, yesterday we went to the Minnesota State Fair day! I didn't do TOO bad.  If it wasn't for the chocolate chip cookies and the ginormous bucket of fries my husband got, I would have been fine. We got a lot of stuff but I basically just took a bite of everything. Or two.  But then I ate like 8 cookies.  That was dinner!!

We went to the Weird Al concert at the fair! You can read about our Weird Al day here on my other blog.   I think I will do a food recap with pictures on my other blog this weekend.  It was fun to take pictures of everything we ate!

I am super dehydrated though!  I didn't drink NEAT enough at the fair so it's operation rehydration today and tomorrow!!

I weighed myself before the fair and wasn't pleased. I didn't think I did THAT bad but there was a gain. 2 lbs.  Huh??  Well, I'm the same AFTER the fair which is good!!

Today's eats:

Pizza egg bagel = 200 calories
Cheese pizza = 550 calorie
Smiley Fries = 150 calories
Vitatop = 100 calories
2 Turkey wraps = 430 calories
2 Tootsie rolls = 60 calories

Total = 1490 calories

I shouldn't have been munching on fries!!  Really, after the fair fries, I didn't even enjoy these!  I had 12 kids here yesterday and pizza and fries was the quickest and easiest thing to make and I ended up eating leftovers. Grrr.