Alright, let's get on with the show.
I ate at T.G.I. Friday's last night. I know, I know. Dangerous territory. Did you know they have deep fried green beans? Gross. Who would do that to a vegetable? A look at the appetizer menu nearly gave me a panic attack. After some careful planning, I ordered the a santa fe salad. I only ate half of it and had a piece of peanut butter cup pie for dessert. I felt like I was going to explode with regret (a feeling I'm sure you're familiar with if you've ever slipped up when trying to eat well).
Edit: Just to reiterate, the pie was a mistake. If I could take it back I would. It was not a reward for ordering a salad. It was a stupid, delicious mistake.
Here's the victory. I've never been able to bring myself to order a salad at a restaurant before. There was a voice in my head telling me that I'd be wasting my eating out experience on a salad and needed to get a burger and fries or a steak and potatoes. Probably a beer too. So even though I indulged, I still managed to do something I haven't done before.
I exercised when I got home and went for a run tonight. After all, it's day two of my May push. I've also been fighting my grazing instinct fiercely tonight. I'm going to stay strong and drink water instead of eating. Hopefully, getting some sleep will make me less hungry. Then again, I may dream of eating a giant marshmallow and wake up missing a pillow. Does anyone know the
I'm hoping my efforts are going to pay off for my weekly weigh-in tomorrow. I'm not sure they will, but I always get nervous around weigh-in time. I'll also be taking measurements again and seeing if I've moved at all.
Hi Andrew! I found your blog through 344 Pounds. Tyler's blog is awesome and it's really great for keeping yourself committed. I read it and think, If he can do it, so can I! I started my diet January 11th, and right now I'm down just shy of 45 pounds.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, the first time I saw the deep fried green beans on the TGIF commercial my reaction was different than yours. I've always believed deep-fried anything is wonderful, but I've now made friends with salad.
Good luck on your journey! You're off to a great start, and I look forward to reading about your C25K progress. I've been toying with the idea of trying it out, but I'm still the girl who only runs if something is chasing her. Maybe I should work on that.
Keep up the good work!
http://500thTime.blogspot.com
Was that slice pie a reward for ordering and eating a half of salad instead of a nice steak dinner? If so, you probably would have eaten far fewer calories and felt more fulfilled if you went for the steak dinner in the first place.
ReplyDeleteSalad - 500 cals
Pie - 870 cals
Where is the victory you mention?
All the small victories like eating salad at a restaurant adds up to a big victory. Keep working at it and you can make your goal!
ReplyDeleteI was dating a very sleek and gorgeous woman until recent times. At one point, I asked her how did she stay in such great shape. She said to me "Frank, I just do not enjoy eating that much." I thought..."how ridiculous, what is there other than food?"
ReplyDeleteWhen I probed further, I realized what she was saying is, when you eat what you want to look and feel great, you feel great all day long....meaning, you don't only feel good when you get a rush of satisfactions from peak moments of food.
Very revelatory for me. I have since learned how to live a little closer to that and I am enjoying the benefits already. I'm looking good dude!
@Body By Pizza the pie was a lapse in judgement but it wasn't a reward. I made the mistake of ordering it in advance. Yes, I regret it. But I can't take it back. Thanks for busting my balls.
ReplyDeleteWhy did you go to Friday's in the first place? Just because you're a teacher doesn't mean you have to eat at shitty restaurants (Applebee's, Olive Garden, and TGIF all seem to be favorites of educators for whatever reason).
ReplyDeleteI assume this was because you were in Roseville buying shoes. There are at least a dozen other, better, healthier, lower calorie choices in the same neighborhood.
I'm so glad you've recommitted to your goal. I'm glad too that you've realized that it's not the exercise but the food that is the issue for you. There are so many, many ways to approach this. And there will be so many, many people throwing out (well-intentioned but not always accurate) advice. I would love to see you consult some experts as you go along. They could be the difference that you need to make your goal AND some lifelong changes in your behavior.
ReplyDeletePie, on the other hand, will never go away. But you WILL get to the point where it will finally lose its appeal. It will be too costly to you to be worth it. Kudos on staying accountable for it. That's another step in the right direction.
It reminds me of the sobriety poem:
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
By Portia Nelson
Chapter One
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost…I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter Two
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend that I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter Three
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep whole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in…it’s a habit…but,
My eyes are open
I know where I am
It is my fault.
I get out immediately,
Chapter Four
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter Five
I walk down another street.
Hey Andrew! I am the Jeff (also in MN)that Tyler featured in his first reader email and I can tell you everything you are saying and experiencing is the same with me. I know the feeling of eating something you know you shouldn't have like that pie. I know all too well how we feel the guilt, then jump into some exercising to compensate. Been there but Tyler's approach to this was what is different for me this time. There will be such meals and treats and in the past, I have beat myself up over these and thus went off my diet/plan. Now I take a second to realize that I am human (pretty sure anyway. ;) )and occasionally need these things to be ultimately successful and return to my diet plan the next day. Get right back on the horse if you will. I just went through a four day period where I was loosing focus and the meals were increasing and oh yeah, there was a pizza night in there as well but I have gotten a hold of myself and am back in the game. Yes I was angry with myself on loosing the four days but here I am back on plan and the head is in the right place again also.
ReplyDeleteSuccess to you Andrew!
Like Mr. Scott said, why did you go to Friday's in the first place? It's so hard to make good decisions about food when you eat out, so maybe it should be one of your goals to not eat out, ever. Restaurant food is often fried, slathered in butter, and very addicting - all things you don't want!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the hard work, I am rooting for you to reach your goal weight!
I'm a fan if fried green beans....It 'ruins' the vegetable, but its so much better than french fries!!! and I usually don't eat them very often..
ReplyDeleteI think it's hard to order an appetizer anywhere! I like TGIF's salmon salad. A lot of times the 'fancy' salads (the ones with all the extras and destination names) are just as much calories as a burger and fries. I usually stick to a simple salad and add chicken or beef cuts to it. This weekend I had a salad that had 6 different vegetables in it! It was at a Coffee Shop down the street from the music studio! :)
I'm excited for weigh in and measurements!!!!
Agreeing with two other posters - DON'T EAT OUT!!!!
ReplyDeleteHow many times will people (including yourself) have to say it? Do you want to lose 100 pounds or not?
Grilled meat of any kind is almost always good, with Chicken and other white meat being among the best. I usually go with the processing model, if it is the least processed before it is cooked it is better for me. Thus, meat, a baked potato and organic sour cream is always good. Not only is it usually less calories and sodium, but its also better for your body and leaves you energy to exercise with.
ReplyDeleteI think your goal is an admirable one and is attainable so long as you can maintain a 2 pound a week average, the tough part will be squeezing past your birthday and holidays while maintaining your program.
I will not tell you to not eat out. Eating out is fine and it is reasonable to expect to maintain a healthy eating program while eating out. Salad dressing is ALWAYS the devil in these programs, bring your own dressing to the restaurant. My wife and I always bring a bottle of Stevia when we eat out and put it in unsweetened iced tea.
Hi Andrew! Good for you for exercising even after the pie. Hey, it happens. Just don't let it happen every day. It could have been worse as you mentioned. I think you did well.
ReplyDeleteGlad I found your blog. Keep up the good work.
just found your blog keep up the good work, doing my own weight loss myself hope you see it through it will be worth it
ReplyDeleteWow, that mention by Tyler is a double-edged sword, huh? I think it's fine that you went to Applebees (in the real world, we do eat out sometimes). And I think it's really fine that you ordered the salad and the pie instead of the steak.
ReplyDeleteIs it okay because it's healthy? Well, no. It's okay because this is a journey. And it's very personal. It's something only you can do. So, while it WOULD be better to avoid eating out (like some people can) or to avoid ordering pie (like others recommend), but you did avoid the steak. And that's a great thing. That's progress. And on this journey, it's not important that you're "there." It's important that you're moving toward there.
So great work, Andrew. Seriously.
That's just my 2-bits.
Hi Andrew,
ReplyDeleteI came across your blog while following 344pounds. I had a question that I'm hoping you can answer ... I'm trying to lose 20 pounds - not that much, but a pound is a pound and everyone has a struggle, and I find that my main challenge is controlling my evening grazings. I eat healthy but its the amount of calories that build up between 6 and 11 that sabotage me. Have you found any mental tricks to keep yourself from wandering to the pantry or fridge?
Also, how did you psych yourself to go to the gym for 21 days in a row???
Thanks!