Last night, I went to the local Chinese Buffet with some neighbors.  Certainly not the best choice (buffets are just way too much temptation).  Of course, that sent the scale up a pound this morning, even though I tried to not overeat.  I did however, eat the things I like, but tried to keep the portions down.  Sadly, the dumplings got me!!

Had I planned for this outing, I probably would have also planned my strategy, and figured some points out in advance, but it was a last minute decision to go. 

So, what's YOUR strategy for eating out, or even for eating when your plans change suddenly, or you don't have a plan at all?

I know that I certainly could have made better choices.  In some cases, I think I did, such as limiting the Lo Mein to one small portion, and only having one spare rib.  I could have eaten mostly seafood (peel and eat shrimp, crab legs, etc.), but didn't touch any of that.  And I sure didn't need to eat two cream puffs for dessert, along with the sugar free ice cream (talk about rationalizing...  sugar free = less calories and points?). 

Now, eating out (and/or eating wrong) presents more than an immediate challenge if you're like me.  If you are like me, it means that you have trouble getting back on that wagon again.   Not this time though.  Am I disappointed with myself?  Maybe just a little, but I can't go back and undo last night.  What I can and will do today is to get myself back in control, drink lots of water (to offset the sodium content that Chinese food is laden with), do some extra walking (to walk off those extra calories and points), and eat right and count my points for today.

One meal, or even one day off program will not make a huge difference in the overall picture, unless we allow that one meal (or one day) to overwhelm us to the point we don't get back OP, and with the holidays rapidly approaching (hey, Halloween is just a couple of weeks away), we are going to be facing huge challenges. 

 Do you have a plan?  If not, I suggest now is the time to make a contingency plan for when your plans go astray.  Are YOU prepared?

Anne

Boy, I couldn't agree more with your post Dude!!

I used to go to Red Lobster often, and I would bring my own salad dressing, and if having lobster, I would bring my ICBINB (I Can't Believe It's Not Butter) spray with me.  The restaurant never objected, and it put me in control of those extras.

Applebee's WWs menu is really good........  just one caveat.......   if you're too nice to the waiter/waitress, they might bring you more than a portion.   No, stop laughing.... I actually had this happen.   Went there for lunch (skewered shrimp, and that yummy cake they had at the time), and got a takeout order of the same to have for dinner.  Well, the little darling put two pieces of cake in the box, because I was so nice to him.  LOL  I forgave him his trespass though, because he was young and just a nice kid who thought he was doing something nice for me.  It just never dawned on him that the cake slice was really thin for a reason (like me wanting to be thin too, not just the cake). 

Once again, I'm going to post the link to Dottie's Weight Loss Zone.   On that site (scroll way down to find the links), you will find food lists with points, as well as restaurant points for many of the restaurants we tend to frequent.   Use those lists in advance of going to eat, and you'll be just fine!!   In fact, check them out now and write down some of that stuff and keep it in your purse, or wallet, and refer to it when you do go out to eat.   If you have a PDA, you can probably even download the lists to that (I used to do that with the menu at Sweet Tomatoes (Soup Plantation on the West Coast). 

Dotti's site is at:  
http://www.dwlz.com/  

and her restaurant listings can also be found at: 
http://www.dwlz.com/restaurants.html

Old Ranger Dude is absolutely right.  "Once the pattern of counting points is well established, it really becomes easy to do, and becomes a true lifestyle, rather than a tortuous diet."   And yes, eating out, is a big part of that lifestyle change, and not something we need fear, if we just have a plan in place. 

Looks like the strategy for yesterday worked, because that pesky pound has once again run away from home.........  and believe me, no Amber alert is going to be issued from this place.

I may take a walk over to Subway today, and if I do, I will stick with the low fat (6g or less) options.

Anne

I am quite pleased with the new kitchen scale.  So far, I haven't really used the codes and the nutritional breakdowns, but have used it more to just weigh and measure.

I almost bought a more expensive model, but there were complaints about being able to read the numbers.  I've had no problem reading mine at all, and the scale itself looks really great on my counter.

I decided to pass on the Subway today.  I'm being a slug!! 

Anne

Sorry to jump in late...I was in Italy.  Anyway, what kind of scale did you get?

Hope you had a good time in Italy!!

I got the Salter Digital Nutritional Scale with LED Display.

http://tinyurl.com/53os45

So far, I'm very pleased with it, except for the book needing more codes.

Anne

Another thing i'll have to get used to is the decimal. My old one did it in 1/8's of an ounce. I'm going to make an Excel sheet for the codes. That way I can sort them the way I like.

Getting back to the topic of eating out, I'm now adding "prepared" foods to my list of "gee, this might not be a great idea."

This week, I've been eating a lot of pre-made, rotisserie, barbecued chicken.  Well, I don't know what they added to it, but the scale is up, and my feet are swollen.  Can anyone here say "sodium?"

Thankfully, it's almost gone, and from now on, I'll do what I always do, which is to make my own chicken (skinless and boneless).

And now, I need to make sure I'm drinking a lot of water and flush out that salt.  I'm betting once the sodium leaves this old bod, the number on the scale takes a nose dive.

Anne

Oh the joys of sodium! I've had to deal with Thanksgiving. Our Thanksgiving is the 2nd Monday in October (October 13). The family didn't get together but I had my own Thanksgiving dinner. I didn't want to cook a whole turkey for myself so I wanted to get a turkey breast. I couldn't find any so ended up buying a turkey leg. I've never made just a leg before. I deboned, stuffed and roasted it. It turned out great although a little too great. I had a portion of stuffed turkey leg, extra stuffing, cranberries, mashed potatoes/rutabaga with real butter and milk, yellow beans, asparagus and peas. I didn't make gravy or dessert. I became the stuffed turkey! Then of course there were plenty of leftovers for both Tuesday and Wednesday. It's all gone now except for more stuffing.  

Hey dreamer!!  A very happy (belated) Thanksgiving to you.

Anne