Diet Wars: An inspiring compliment

In Search of..... Fun Foods to Eat Under 300 Calories

Pizza - Who would have thought that you could still eat pizza on a diet? A normal slice of pizza (1/8 of the whole pizza) is roughly 140 to 196 calories, depending on the size of the pizza and what other stuff will on there. I would stick to the thin crust cheese pizza, with maybe one additional topping of mushrooms, chicken, veggies, maybe pepperoni. A slice of pizza and a small tossed salad with fat free dressing can make a great meal.

Grilled Chicken Salads - The BK Garden Salad with Tendergrilled Chicken is your best bet. The whole salad along with the packet of Fat Free Ranch Dressing is exactly 300 calories. A perfect lunch. I never add the croutons to the salad and they probably add a little more. Shoney's has a similar salad along with a side of fruit. A cursory look at several regular restaurants and fast food restaurants shows that in many places you have to be REALLY careful with the salads. You can easily be fooled into thinking you're eating healthfully (which in theory you are) but especially the restaurant salads like you get at O'Charleys, Logans, etc., are going to be anywhere from 500 to 1,000 calories! Yikes! (Thanks to Hungry Girl for that tip)

A Filling Breakfast - I've never been a good breakfast eater and tend to wait until late in the morning, and then stop off at McDonald's for a sausage and biscuit. I've discovered a very filling breakfast for just below 300 calories is a toasted English Muffin with a tbsp. of jam (preferably sugar free), and two boiled eggs. That's more that I would ordinarily eat, but since I'm having to make do until lunch, I figure I should get that protein from the eggs. You could also make your own Egg McMuffins and stay well within range.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

An inspiring compliment

While I know that 9 pounds is a great weight loss in one month - I'm still having a hard time telling it, although my jeans fit a little more loosely. I've been trying to "visualize" being thinner and when I walk, I carry myself like a thin person - so perhaps the psychological benefits of the visualization will help as well - we'll see.

However, nothing works like when friends and family tell you they notice. I was shocked yesterday when my son said, "Hey mom, you're losing weight!" Now you have to understand that my son is not one to just give out compliments to me - and more often than not he gives "backhanded" compliments in which you're never really sure if he's serious or not. So I'm saying "Really? You think so?" - and he continued to affirm that I looked as though I had lost weight.

This morning however, still not really believing him, I asked Jennifer, my daughter-in-law, "Did you put him up to saying that, or did that come from him?" - figuring that she, like most wives, has to clue him in to things or prompt him. She insisted that it was his own comment.

So, that went a long way in inspiring me to keep going. The WW food plan is not difficult and I'm getting comfortable in keeping track of points values and knowing what foods have fewer points and choosing to eat more healthfully. And I even allow myself the occasional small piece of chocolate or something like mashed potatoes so that I don't totally freak out at some point and binge on large quantities of all the things that I shouldn't eat.

The support of family and friends has been crucial. When planning on going out to dinner with a friend last night, I was more cautious with my eating earlier in the day so I could "splurge" a little bit if need be. My friend was so cute when he picked me up and said "How many points do you have left for dinner?" That meant a lot to me because it means my friends and family are also being conscientious about my food plan as well. Quite unlike the early years of my first marriage when my ex-husband would deliberately try to sabotage my diets by placing unhealthy things in front of me.

But that's the past, and for now....it's all good.