We went to a mexican restaurant today for lunch.

I was kind of baffled as to what to get. I thought a burrito was like 8 WW points or something, so I believed they were okay but I ordered something else.

I ordered a vegetarian fajita. It was frilled veggies with rice and beans.
It only had a tiny bit of sour cream and guac. I ate the other half for dinner.
It was a large portion

For future reference what is a good choice in a mexican restaurant?

I did have a margarita which I usually don't have. I usually have vodka and club.

I did hike for an hour and half this morning too.

Hey! Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Are you following Weight Watchers, or are you counting calories?

If you're counting calories, you can use many calorie calculators on the Web to look up foods. FitDay says a beef and bean burrito is 378 cals. for a medium. A margarita is 169 cals. Guacamole is 45 cals an ounce--and so on.

I'm not sure what good choices would be. If I go to a Mexican restaurant, I order a la carte and skip the rice and beans. I like chicken enchiladas--they are about 200 cals. each.

Maybe some other members have ideas...

Jay

Veg fajita is about the best thing you can get.
Burritos are iffy because size varies so widely.
Once I went to Freebird's because they were supposed to have "healthy" burritos and it ended up being 19 pts (they were humongus)
If the place offers whole instead of refried beans, get that.
Chicken fajitas aren't usually too bad either.
Tortilla Soup is good.
Nothing else comes to mind at the moment.

Thanks for the input, and Jay I am following WW but on my own.
I keep a food journal and the WW book and materials, (I have the points
booster and finder) At the very least I am at a slightly lower weight and
not gaining, so my effort is worth something, but I do tend to get in trouble with restaurants, bingeing and cocktails.

I probably should have skipped the rice and beans.

And also I have found that club and vodka as a cocktail does not make me gain.
Wine and mixed drinks seem to make me gain.

At Mexican restaurants, I tend to get a bowl of black bean soup (no cheese), a side order of pico de gallo and a side of tortillas (whole wheat, preferred!). I use the beans and the pico and make little burritos, it's good and filling. I also stay AWAY from the chip basket, if I ate just one, I would have a hard time stopping. Easier not to eat any!

Tonight, I had Chipotle for Cinco de Mayo - chicken bol no beans, half the rice, double the lettuce, half a side order of guac and 2 scoops of pico de gallo

I did eat some chips from the basket. I have to say they were very light tasting. they did not taste salty or greasy and the salsa was very light and fresh too. If I remeber correctly aren't tortilla chips slightly better than potato chips?

I actually tried making burritos a while back, not bad and probably a lot helathier
than a restaurant version. I used organic ingredients and whole wheat tortillas.

I also like quesadillas, but they are probably fattier.

I do like the mexican food, but it seems like its probably starchy, with all the beans and rice. Probaly not the best choice.

I skip the rice because I personally don't like it, but I always get beans. The Mexican Restaraunt I frequent brings little plastic bowls with the salsa (those little brown cafateria style bowls) and I use those to measure out the portion of beans I will eat. I get chicken and cheese enchiladas. Soo yummy.

I like to order fajitas because then I can control the amount of cheese and sour cream I put on. Whole black beans in any dish are good and guacamole is full of good fat if eaten in moderation. Fresh salsa is a good choice too. Be careful of burritos - most of the commercial chains like Pancheros, Chipotle & Qdoba serve enormous burritos that could feed whole families, but are deceptively easy to finish by yourself. Anything full of cheese, drenched in cheese or consisting entirely of cheese should also be a dead giveaway

It really depends on your locale and the type of restaurants you go to.

Fajitas are safe but you will generally only find those in Tex-Mex restaurants. Tex-Mex is popular though so there are plenty of restaurants that offer that as a choice.

My favorite restaurant (outside of CA) is Baja Fresh. I order a burrito and eat half of it. At any mexican restaurant though you should be able to get a plate of meat, rice and beans with tortillas on the side. Sometimes the meat portion will be huge and sometimes they will add a sauce to the meat. My best advice is portion control.

Unfortunately, restaurant mexican food isn't really big on veggies

Usually I focus more on the additions to my meal than my actual meal. I'll decline sour cream and cheese, often I'll choose some type of mexican salad or taco salad instead of a burrito or fajita or anything else in a tortilla because the tortillas are pretty much empty calories unless whole grain. Usually I skip the rice but I have to have my beans! So I get whole black beans instead of the refried pinto beans. And most places, whether it's a sit-down restaurant or a "quick food" place like Chipotle's or Baja Fresh are more than happy to tweak their standard recipe for you, I ask for a smaller amount of meat and a larger portion of lettuce and fresh salsa!

I'm making myself hungry talking about this! My favorite dish is the Burrito Bol from Chipotle's, all the goodness of a burrito in a bowl with a fork instead of in a tortilla

I'm such a dork! I knew cinco de mayo was yesterday, but when yesterday came around I had SO much stuff to do that it totally eluded me and I forgot completely! Maybe its a good thing since I might have been tempted to go to On The Border

This thread is helpful for me today because tonight we're going to a Mexican restaurant to celebrate our next door neighbor's bday. I was thinking of gettiing the fajitas and your posts confirmed it. I know they're cooked in oil, but at least they're not smothered in cheese.

My weakness is guacomole. At least it's a 'healthy' fat with nutrition in it.