<p>Maybe you and DH can have a different kind of Sat. night date. When DH was losing weight we stopped going to restaurants. It’s just too hard, we have no idea what we’re really eating at one. All the food tastes so good because it’s sauteed in butter, doused with salt, floating in cream, etc. Portion sizes are often four times what’s appropriate. Then there’s the tempting bread and dessert.</p>
<p>I’m one of those people who drive waiters crazy asking what’s in everything and than for no butter, just a little oil, no cheese, replace the potatoes with steamed veggies. So much easier to just eat at home!</p>
<p>Maybe food treat night could become steaming some lobsters or crab (eat with lemon).</p>
<p>I haven’t noticed any appreciable change in weight. I’ve been counting calories and exercising vigorously (for me) 5 times per week. I want habits I can stick with and I don’t know if I could handle changing everything so drastically all at once. So, will stick with the exercise and calorie counting for now. I’ve decided that I’ll look at my weight once per week and my measurements once per month. I think I can live with that.</p>
<p>Tewitt…most of the fast food places like McDonalds and Wendy’s offer salads. You just have to be careful to get the low cal versions…skip the ones with bacon and other junk. I hate relying on fast food though. Most supermarkets have salad bars and I can make my own custom version (skipping the many junky options) and add a piece of fruit. I don’t mind eating in the car (as long as I’m not driving!). </p>
<p>Hmom…I’m with you on eating out. H and I used to eat out 3/4 times per week. We’re down to one. We both have a weakness for sushi so we do that once per week. </p>
<p>No weight loss here…but I’m a bloated right now for reasons I will not go into! I feel like I’ll be down a couple pounds in a few days. After losing 10 over the last few months, I have hit the dreaded plateau. I think I’m cutting out bread…can’t hurt.</p>
<p>When we eat out it’s usually sushi too where you do know what you’re eating if you order the simple rolls and eat sashimi too. We avoid rolls made with mayo and with sauces and basically just eat fish and rice in moderation. Keep wondering when out local places will come out with brown rice sushi. All of our local Chinese places now have brown rice.</p>
<p>Chinese can be another good choice. We order from the steamed menu, often chicken with vegetables with hot peppers to give it flavor and a little brown rice. </p>
<p>As for salad bars, it’s the dressing that can be killer. I hate the commercial low cal ones so I often carry a bottle of seasoned rice wine vinegar which I love and adds about 50 calories to a big salad.</p>
<p>About stevia and I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter, or whatever it’s called. Based on recent history (sacharrine, margarine, etc), I say it’s better to stick to real sugar and butter than that stuff. I save it for my morning coffee (real sugar and real half and half), and the few times I eat bread and butter. Nothing like fresh, delicious bread and butter. I will not touch butter substitutes. I’d rather dip bread in olive oil.</p>
<p>Interestingly, I find when I read this thread I get hungry. I was not even thinking about food until I just clicked on this thread. And this has happened before. So I guess I shouldn’t read this thread anymore.</p>
<p>However, hmom, I’d love to hear of more snack suggestions. I tried your endive and hummus and endive and smoked salmon/capers. Very tasty, crunchy and low fat.</p>
<p>teriwtt:
Rubios is a Mexican food chain started in San Diego famous for their fish tacos but the furthest east it goes is Colorado. We have a zillion fast food Mexican places around here with pretty good Mexican food so we never (ever) go to Taco Bell. </p>
<p>If one just excludes the following from their order they can tend to cut down the calories at a fast food or regular restaurant -
bread/tortillas
rice
potato (fries, baked, any kind)
pasta
something with too much cheese
butter
sour cream
many salad dressings
chicken skin (sounds gross when put like that but skip fried chicken and go for skinless chicken breast)
dessert</p>
<p>I know - it seems like there’d be no point in eating out if following the above but it’s really not necessarily so bad. Eat around the above prohibited stuff or look for whatever’s on the ‘light menu’ but even then you have to pay attention to what it is because even the light fare can be not so light. Unfortunately it’s hard to eat at an Italian place if trying to follow the above but it’s usually possible to find something that meets the above. The other thing to follow is to not eat it just because it’s there - i.e. skip the bread on the sandwich, skip the fries they include with the meal, etc. Just leave it on the plate and let them take it away.</p>
<p>It’s also helpful to just not go to restaurants too much when trying to lose weight. They want to make the food appealing so that means it generally has what appeals to our basic instincts - fat, salt, sugar. Avoiding the restaurant altogether is the easiest way to deal with it IMO. </p>
<p>Another useful tip is to try to have leftovers of fairly healthy food available for some lunches. Make something like turkey chili and put some lunch sized portions in small bowls or baggies and put them in the fridge or freezer. Ditto with something like chicken and broccoli, etc. Make enough for several lunches. It makes it very quick and easy to prepare (30 seconds in a microwave), keeps one from eating larger portions or unhealthy food, and is inexpensive as well. </p>
<p>On top of all that I think it’s a good idea to eat what one wants every now and then including going to one’s favorite restaurant and eating their favorite meal. As long as it’s done infrequently it’ll have negligible impact on weight but will satisfy one’s gastronomical desires. Instead of having pizza once a week have it once every 2 or 3 months, etc.</p>
<p>Morrismm, with DH away this weekend it’s a boring Sat night. So I’m eating what I eat when I want something like looks huge, is filling, takes a low time to eat and has few calories. I chop lots of red cabbage, add bay spinach and arugula, a little red onion and sometimes a small amount of chicken. I dress it lightly with rice wine vinegar and have a satisfying snack that keeps me munching for at least a half hour. Lots of fiber which I consider as important as lots of water.</p>
<p>My DD makes all kinds of sweet snacks using canned pumpkin which the NYT is calling a super food. You can take a look at the Hungry Girl cookbook and website for those recipes. Though DD loves it, it doesn’t go with my clean food preference.</p>
<p>Mousegray, I really agree with you on the fake foods. I’d rather eat a little of the real thing. One thing I have observed over the years is that my friends whose refrigerators are filled with the I can’t believe it’s not butter, low cal mayo and all the other replacement foods seem the heaviest and least healthy.</p>
<p>I Ban’t Believe and fake mayo - yuck! I much prefer to have a little of the real thing. But there is a vegan, gluten-free mayo subtitute that is pretty good. I discovered it when by mistake I bought vegan potato salad at PCC. It is called Vegenaise: “Ingredients: Canola Oil, Filtered Water, Apple Cider Vinegar, Brown Rice Syrup, Soy Protein, Sea Salt, Lemon Juice, and Mustard Flour.”</p>
<p>Fake foods whose ingredients you can pronounce are OK. That looks good, I’ll look for it. I’m trying to figure out these products made with brown rice. Syrup? Trader Joe’s sells brown rice pasta that seems to have no advantage over regular pasta when you read the labels. Are manufactures exploiting brown rice?</p>
<p>I’m coming in late to this thread but here’s a couple of tips I picked up from the book The Instinct Diet:
Water or a calorie-free beverage (like herbal tea) with every meal. Always drink water. (I think it helps fill you up, plus it’s a big help with #2 below).
Lots and lots of fiber. Fiber with everything. Make your desserts or snacks be something that is high fiber.<br>
My favorite: It is OK to have a little bit of fat with your fiber – in fact it is GOOD to have that because it helps you feel more satiated. So if you eat a big salad with a little bit of fat in the dressing or a dash of feta cheese, you’ve done well. (You just don’t want to eat the fat without the fiber, and “little” does not mean “lots” - so measure out your salad dressing with a spoon if you have to). Also, despite the guilt relief I got from reading that part of the book… I still try for “good” fats rather than bad. Olive oil before butter, etc.</p>
<p>Has anyone mentioned eating in a restaurant, but before you even pick up your fork, asking for a take-out box? Then, when they bring it, cut your meal in half (or whatever) and put half in the take-out box. Bingo: You’ll eat less, and have dinner for two nights later.</p>
<p>I also don’t think anyone has mentioned Kate Moss’s comment a few months back – for which she got a lot of flack, but with which I happen to agree:</p>
<p>VeryHappy - Yes, I have heard of the take-out box idea. If I order a steak, I usually cut it in half before I even begin. Just take the other half home.</p>
<p>Another hint - When you order your salad with the dressing on the side, just dip your fork in the dressing and then in the salad. You will have some dressing with every bite, but probably not at much as you would have had if you pour the dressing on your salad.</p>
<p>These are old Weight Watchers hints.</p>
<p>I am branching out at the YMCA. Have now tried an exercise bike and an eliptical. Mainly stick to the treadmill. On Tuesday I am scheduled to be trained on the weight equipment. Just found out that I have 2 herniated disks, so need to find out from doctor what is good for me and what will hurt me.</p>
<p>Eddie, I’d definitely consult an MD before starting with weights and make sure the trainer is experienced with those with disc problems. You may want to start with a physical therapist in deciding what exercises are safe for you. Weights, used incorrectly, can cause a lot of harm</p>
<p>I have 4 herniated discs. One is in my neck, and there are certainly things to consider before starting a weight program. For example, my doctor doesn’t want me lifiting weights above my head, so my trainer works around that. I still work the muscles which would be worked with shoulder presses, for example, but we modify so that I am not going against the recommendations of my doctor and physical therapist.</p>
<p>hmom5, back around post #131 or so we talked a bit about Pollan’s 64 Rules. I have found it to be invaluable and am glad to have picked up a copy. Really a useful almost “Cliff Notes” for healthy eating, particularly if you don’t want to get into reading an entire book. Definitely good to have another reminder!</p>
<p>So true. I like to order two or three appetizers or an appetizer, soup and salad because I get bored with entrees. I love any kind of tapas place for the same reason. </p>
<p>As for “fake foods”, I really don’t understand tofu bacon, tofurkey, fake meat and all that other stuff. If you’re going to be a vegetarian, why eat fake meat? You can get protein from non-meat sources. Or tofu cheese-- why would a vegan eat fake cheese, after making a decision not to eat cheese?</p>