Day Twenty!

Eat out, don’t bust out!


I am SO proud of myself today! I was hanging out with my dad and he suggested having Mexican at a restaurant for lunch. At first I was hesitant, “can I stick to my diet? Am I going to just throw away today?” But then I thought, “No. I can enjoy myself AND stick to my new lifestyle!” Dr. Laurie described how it took her a very long time to get how she could eat cheese without a cracker underneath it. But once she got it, and it made sense then she was able to start to really begin to eat differently.
And that is exactly what I did. We got tacos and what I ate was the filling, NOT the actual shell.
Normally I would just say, “I’m spending time with my dad, who cares.” But today I showed self restraint. What a WIN!!!
So it’s not that you can’t eat out, it’s just that when you eat out you have to eat a little differently. For example: when getting a burger, eat the filling and patty with a knife and fork and put the bun aside, use mayo and dijon mustard instead of ketchup or BBQ sauce; avoid items that say fried and deep-fried; with battered or breaded the coating can be scraped off and left at the side of the plate; replace fries and rice with a salad or vegetables; ask for gravies, dips and sauces on the side so you can control how much to add; avoid menu items with cream sauce, cheese sauce or butter sauce; skip the bread and butter even if it is free and bottomless; only eat the topping of your pizza; make sure your drinks are carb free, like dry wine or spirits with diet mixes. You would be surprised with how good a vodka with soda water and lime can taste!
For a really long time it was hard for me to follow this rule.
I used to say “Oh well, the bread is free.” What you don’t realize is, yeah the bread is free but, jeez, you’re about to eat a dinner, it doesn’t matter if it’s free, it’s just fill.
So, I am still working on it, but I am confident my self control is starting to build in muscle because I am starting to see food clearly for what it is and what it is not and I can still eat out!