Planning Ahead Saved My BACON!

This weekend started off with Valentine’s Day and wrapped up with Family day. I knew I would be attending a Valentine’s party and restaurants.   It was a Long weekend filled with all sorts of food temptations.   Tasty treats, desserts and chocolates were within reach the whole weekend.  It could have turned into an eating frenzy, had I not planned ahead. 

The first thing I did was mentally prepare myself.  I did this by focusing on weight loss quotes that would inspire me to stay the course.   The one that became my mantra was “It’s not about how good you are, but how BAD you want it” (author unknown).  Walking into temptation armed with this quote allowed me to overlook the calorie-laden food.

The second thing I did was looked at the Restaurant’s menu online.  I do this often to see if there is nutritional information available.  Looking at the nutritional information allows me to make wise food choices.

I wanted to have a large spinach salad as my entrée along with some soup.  When I looked at the nutritional information, my jaw dropped.  The spinach salad was 442 calories with a whopping 24 grams of fat.  In comparison, the 8oz sirloin was only 288 calories with 12 grams of fat.  The amount of fat added to the spinach made it an unhealthy choice for me.  I could opt for the dressing on the side, and reduce the fat grams or I could choose to eat the meat.  If I hadn’t planned ahead I would have eaten the salad the way they prepared it and thought I was making a wise choice.

Finally, I was intentional about getting some form of exercise in this weekend.  When I went downstairs to do some laundry, I hopped on the exercise bike and pedaled.

Planning ahead saved my bacon.  I was able to indulge a little and hold back when I needed to.  It was a small step that armed me for a weekend of food and entertainment.  I’m sure each of you have some different strategies that you use to stay on track in the face of food temptation.  Please feel free to comment and share your methods…