<p>Well, do as I say and not as I do! I just got invited to meet a friend at Cheesecake Factory! It figures. Haven’t been in years until the day after I announce that I stay away from the place! It’s a convenient location for us to meet and has some outside seating (nice day today), so here I go! We’ll see if I can be reasonable…</p>
<p>Never been to one.</p>
<p>Remember: every time you lose a pound, someone else finds it.</p>
<p>Frankly, I think nature is telling us we are supposed to have a middle bulge in "middle age’. It protects us against the seven lean years.</p>
<p>I avoid restaurants such as the Cheesecake Factory or Appleby’s because I can never find something I really want to eat - most of the selections are high in salt, sugar and fat - really unappetizing - this stuff doesn’t taste good and it’s not good for you. </p>
<p>My taste buds want fresh, real food. For a casual dinner, I like to go to locally owned restaurants that buy from nearby farms and which offer simply prepared food. A nice piece of grilled fish with a salad is tasty and healthy. </p>
<p>I like swordfish prepared Sicilian style - grilled with a fresh tomatoes, capers, and a drizzle of olive oil on top.</p>
<p>Ugh…I really hate the exercising that is a bunch of repetitions…I get SO bored and really hate it! I’d rather do another half hour of elliptical or whatever…but I do hear what you all are telling me!!! </p>
<p>First step, eat better. Second step (well at the same time), exercise more. Third step, yucky core business…</p>
<p>I love pilates and agree that if you do it regularly, it can really change your shape.</p>
<p>As far as the cheesecake factory goes, they have a new skinnylicious menu. My friend ordered a beautiful salad from it the other night and she said it was delicious. They also have a sugar free low carb cheesecake that is out of this world. I have no idea how many calories are in it, though.</p>
<p>Gourmetmom, if you can’t find something at the Cheesecake factory, with their menu that is an absolute book of selections…you aren’t looking hard enough. They have an entire long list of healthy selections, including very tasty salads. Now with a user name like gourmetmom, you might have higher class tastes than most of us (your name always makes me hungry), but for the regular person, there is more than enough to choose from.</p>
<p>All the times I’ve been to the Cheesecake factory, and never been hungry enough for dessert. You can have a low fat chicken or fish dish with a salad or side of broccoli, but I stand by my greek salad and wild mushroom flatbread.</p>
<p>Core exercises can’t do what people often want. If you, like most people, have a sagging belly, strengthening the abdomen and related muscles - back, obliques, etc. - will help your posture but won’t likely do much to pull in your belly. You likely have fat under the muscle that’s pushing the muscle out. As much as you strengthen, you can’t keep the belly lifted if fat is under the muscle. </p>
<p>The best way to lose fat is high intensity exercise. Within your physical limits of course. While lower intensity burns a higher percentage of fat, you have to exercise longer to burn the same amount of calories (and fat from calories) and the after effects of increased metabolic burn are less. There is some evidence high intensity work decreases visceral fat more but all that kind of stuff is up in the air.</p>
<p>Rumba, kickboxing, rowing, dancing, hiking, stairs, </p>
<p>Posture posture posture</p>
<p>Every once in awhile, when I am alone, a wrap Saran wrap around my tummy. Have no idea if it works, but it motivates me</p>
<p>I walk after dinner, even for just an extra fifteen minutes. Always have music. I love my nano, it as a pedometer built in. Pretty accurate. </p>
<p>I am also one for accepting oneself, but I also love visual motivation. I have a dress I am working my way into.</p>
<p>I would rather work real hard for twenty minutes, then do a sudsy hour workout.</p>
<p>I don’t know if I have high class taste - I grew up eating vegetables from my parent’s garden and from my grandparent’s farm. I don’t like the light options at most chain restaurants because most are very high in salt to compensate for the lower fat content (makes it taste better so you come back for more). The proteins at these restaurants are usually lower quality cuts of meat, chicken, and fish that have been marinated in a sodium rich fluid for tenderization. Unfortunately, the salads often taste as if they’re from a bagged mix - stale and blah. I’ve been to the Cheesecake Factory and other restaurants - I recently attended a fundraiser at Texas Roadhouse, and to be frank, I struggle to find something on the menu that I wanted to eat - regardless of the calories. I just don’t like the food, or drinking the quart of water next to my bed later because I’m so dehydrated from all of the salt.</p>
<p>Where I live on the east coast, we have lots of casual seafood restaurants that serve fresh seafood for the same or less than many of the chains, however, I know that many areas of the country don’t as many choices. If we are talking about eating healthy, the food that we eat should be as close to its natural state as possible.</p>
<p>Okay, I did a search on Google.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cheesecakefactorynutrition.com/restaurant-nutrition-chart.php?[/url]”>http://www.cheesecakefactorynutrition.com/restaurant-nutrition-chart.php?</a></p>
<p>Not certain if that site is official. Anyhow, more sites with info like this came up if you know of one that is for sure authoritative.</p>
<p>Weird, up till age 50, my extra pounds gathered on my hips and upper thighs.
My waist was relatively thin.</p>
<p>I exercise more now, walking and swimming. My legs and hips are smaller and firmer.
But that darn spare tire has appeared at my waist. Very annoying.</p>
<p>It’s been a long day. Apologies for my goof up. :eek:</p>
<p>I think Cheesecake Factory has tons of healthy and good options on the new skinny menu, but the portions are still huge. I had a great pear and blue cheese salad. I don’t eat meat so they gave me extra pear and cheese instead. My friend and I split blueberry cheesecake which was stupidly huge. I ran 8 miles this morning, so I can handle it occasionally. I also had a beer…</p>
<p>If I knew ahead of time I was going to the Cheesecake Factory I’d take a look at their menu and decide ahead of time how many calories I wanted to eat: <a href=“http://www.cheesecakefactorynutrition.com/restaurant-nutrition-chart.php?[/url]”>http://www.cheesecakefactorynutrition.com/restaurant-nutrition-chart.php?</a> (oops just noticed it’s already been posted!)</p>
<p>Often at this sort of restaurant, I divide the plate in half as soon as it arrives and just eat half a serving, but like others I rarely eat in chain restaurants. The only time I was at a Cheesecake factory was for a CC meetup. :)</p>
<p>We’ve only been at the CF a few times. When there, we usually split meals and take stuff home. The portions are truly insane.</p>
<p>Look at the sodium content in many of the CF selections, even the low-cal options. Many of the entrees have more salt than one should eat in an entire day - add an appetizer and a salad, and many people will eat triple the amount of salt that they should have in a day. Talk about a middle bulge! All that salt leads to a bloated, fat feeling - limiting salt to a reasonable amount <2300 mg/day really helps me feel better.</p>
<p>OP - hey, I ate that Cheesecake Factory meal and enjoyed it, but that meal alone didn’t get me the bloated, extra ring around my waist! I will NEVER get to the point that I can’t go to a restaurant ( we don’t eat out much at all) and enjoy a meal. When I go out, I truly don’t overindulge in amount, but I surely get the item on the menu I really want.</p>
<p>(BTW, 4 of us ordered 3 meals, shared that, still left foods on the plate and then later, after more shopping, went and got 2 slices of dessert there which we took home and split between the 4 of us - indulging yes, overindulging, I don’t think so)</p>
<p>This morning I am prepping myself for a work potluck lunch and looking to make good choices and reasonable portions. Made a protein filled smoothie this morning and just ate two eggs to keep me protein filled so hopefully I won’t be overly tempted at noon. :)</p>
<p>^LOL. I enjoyed it too. I think I had a sandwich and took half home. Then I had a piece of cheesecake intending to take half of it home, but I didn’t. And thought afterwards “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!” But I agree if I can’t eat a fun restaurant meal with good company from time to time, life wouldn’t be worth living.</p>
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<p>If you workout a lot, you need a lot of sodium or else you can get cramps.</p>