Sunday, March 4, 2012

WARNING: Dieting May Cause Alcoholism & Hemorrhoids (Sunday Food Journal Too!)

Hi Everyone.  Hope you had a great weekend.  Mine was great but weekends prove to be challenging for the diet.  Instead of making weekends an all around "freebie", like I used to, I gave myself free meals Friday and Saturday dinner "within reason" and kept on track for breakfast and lunch.  Back on the wagon with 1,200-1,400 calories Sunday.  All in all, this weekend was still an improvement from weekends past.

A couple interesting developments during this process...apparently, when you make drastic caloric cuts one thing you do is eat less of everything, including fiber and greens.  This can lead to ah...(stop reading if you're afraid of hemorrhoids)...hemorrhoids.  Yuk!  Don't worry I won't go into detail but it's rather uncomfortable.  I'm adding more greens & fiber and hoping to keep the hemmies away.  Another development...which should have been obvious...a little alcohol goes a long way on an almost empty stomach.  I found myself surprisingly drunk Friday night after an evening of cocktails and conversation.  I knew things had gone too far when the hiccups set in.  Oops...and yet also exciting, I'm a cheap date again!  Whoo hoo.  I'll try for the moderation thing next weekend.

Graham and I tried a new restaurant this weekend in our pursuit of satisfying meals that are both health conscious and delicious.  We tried Seasons 52 and it was fabulous.  Their menu changes seasonally and showcases fresh ingredients as well as local foods, organics, and grass fed beef.  The best part is, ALL of the menu items are 475 calories or less.  They have no butter in the restaurant at all!  Some of my favorite items we tried...the spicy chicken chile relleno (330 cal), carmelized sea scallops with asparagus and tomato-mushroom pearl pasta (430 cal), and the mini desserts.  I have to admit I was skeptical about a dessert in a shot glass.  I didn't think it could possibly taste as good as a full size treat but actually, they were amazing!!  It's also shocking how many calories you can fit in a shot glass.  Key Lime Pie (250 cal) and Pecan Pie (320 cal) and they were both DELISH.  However, Seasons 52 is still in the business of selling tasty food so even with menu items under 475 calories, our meal was still around 1000 calories (without wine).  It was worth it but again, restaurant food is calorie suicide.  Dining out with multiple courses should be kept to a minimum...once a week or so.

Sunday Food Journal:

Breakfast: Strawberries with Pumpkin Fluff --46
                  1/2 Chicken Sausage Wrap from Starbucks--150
                  Starbucks Latte--145

Lunch: Shrimp Cocktail--165
            Veggie Sticks--65
             Onion dip--35

Dinner: Grilled Wild Salmon w/brown sugar rub--283
             Roasted Beets and Brussel Sprouts--65
             3/4 Cup Brown Rice & mushroom--112
             2 skinny Margaritas (Recipe Below...you're welcome.)

Snack: 1 Cup Popcorn--65 cal

Total Calories: 1,377

(I'm including this recipe because I've been honing the perfect skinny margarita and I think it's pretty close.  It's great if you like the taste of tequila and a margarita that's not overly sweet.)
Make sure you use pre-made Cuervo Lite Margaritas (not skinny girl, yuk) with the alcohol mixed in and a measurement jigger with ounces might be helpful.


Kelly's Skinny Marg on the Rocks:
3oz Cuervo Lite Margarita-68 cal
1/2 oz premium white tequila-34
1/4 oz Grand Marnier-19
1/4 oz Trop 50 Orange Juice
Fresh squeezed Lime Wedge
TOTAL: 123 calories

ENJOY!!

1 comment: