I hope that all the pre-planning that I am doing this week will minimize the impact of my vacation on my waistline. I had never return from a trip lighter, but hopefully this time I will at least be able to maintain the status quo.
These are going to be my rules for dining out next week:
Pick foods that are grilled, baked, steamed or broiled.
Good thing I do that now when I eat out so it should not be too much effort for me.
Choose marinara sauce instead of a white cream sauce with pasta.
I love seafood pasta and that rarely comes in a marinara sauce in restaurants. I am going to have to watch out for the cream sauce.
Avoid buffets.
I am not going let my husband talked me into a buffet again. It is so hard to try to loose weight when other people in your household still eat junk food.
Order everything on the side with salads and baked potatoes.
Doggie bag half my meal.
Normally this would not be an option. Since we are staying at a condo this time, I can refrigerate and reheat the other half of my meal for breakfast. Yeah!
Beware of the beverage.
Rarely do we go on a vacation without paying for at least two beverages a day (coffee drinks, milk shakes, smoothies, etc). And these sugar concoctions are usually 300-600 calories each. You can see how much we love them when you look at our vacation photos – they show up in almost every photo! Sometimes I try to hide them by placing them on the ground or behind a tree, but somehow it always manages to show up in the photos. I really need to make sure I have bottled water with me at all times to at least make me think twice before buying a beverage.
My friends offer advice from ordering from the kids menu to splitting the meal with someone. Neither will work for me. I hate the kids menu. It is usually filled with junk – chicken nuggets, mini pepperoni pizza, or mini hamburgers. Sometimes the kids menu is unhealthier than the adult menu! And there is no way I can convince my husband to split a meal with me. Besides, we brought an Orlando entertainment coupon book so we will be going to restaurants in the book that offer BOGO free meals.
I hate giving myself rules to follow, but sometimes I need the structure for eating situations that I cannot control. Hopefully with these rules and my dining out tips, I will have a good time during the trip and afterwards. And no more beverages in the photos.
Until next time and thanks for stopping by Small Steps to Health.
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