k i am trying to be really really really good. I am trying to be on target and hit my goal by halloween. I even excersised for 45 minutes today doing a Cardio Pilates workout. Then my hubby, dear sweet hubby, comes home and wants to take the family out to dinner. We go to Ruby Tuesdays. Just lovely. I had1/2 the plate of Shrimp pasta parmesean and a small salad. Well thank god i worked out today. My calories just shot up to about 2000.
Ok so i will get over it and do good all week. Well we have a birthday party to go to Tomorrow night. Great, even better it is at a mexican resturant. Ok so Mexican food is my favorite food in the universe. This is going to kill me!!!!!!

BTW - my goal is 16 pounds by the 31st!!

I know how you feel, I just went to a work get together- at Boston Pizza. EVERYTHING is fried! I was OK, but not great.
It's so hard when you want to make good choices but there are almost no good choices to be made except a chicken breast garden salad with dressing on the side. I enjoy this sometimes, but not all the time.

If you guys eat out a lot, you might want to take a look at a book I love. It's called "Eat This, Not That", and it's very helpful for making better choices at restaurants, grocery stores, and in certain situations. You can also google that phrase to see some of the book (It's written by folks from the magazine Men's Health) online.

And as far as Mexican goes, fajitas can be a good choice if you watch the cheese and other things that have tons or carbs and/or calories.

Thanks for the tips. I am actually trying to really cut down the amount of eating out we do. I actually enjoy cooking anyway. I just happens alot is going on at once this weekend, uuuggghhh. Maybe hurricane Hanna will come through enough tomorrow that it will be canceled, lol. i will be excersising tomorrow and cleaning the house so that will help alot!! other than that i just have to be really good. But it is just futrating when you have to be in these situations.

It IS frustrating to be in these situations, I know - but these situations are going to happen for the rest of our everloving lives and getting a good handle on it is crucial IMO.

The way I deal is to hop on The Daily Plate and compare dinner options, go into it with a plan.

Mexican is awesome, and it doesn't have to be a diet breaker. I often go with my family to our favorite Mexican restaurant and have discovered a lovely spicy tomato soup with giant shrimp and tons of cilantro, which totally works for me. Before beginning my new healthy ways I NEVER would have considered that, I likely would have eaten a huge fried chimichanga, too many chips for my own good and wound up with a bloated belly. Which is sad, because the soup is way way better tasting and better for me- I just never knew. One of the fun things about this great adventure is trying out new things, I love it!

Check out generic entrees online and see what works best for you before going. Don't be scared to ask to customize your meal, don't even let the stuff that may send you off track on your plate. Back in my waitressing days it was a rare thing for a customer to order a dinner without specifications. I'm never afraid of asking for things made a certain way, steaks prepared without butter/oil, veggies steamed plain, ect.

You can do it! Enjoy, have a great time and stay in charge with knowledge!

I always seem to be eating out, even when I am trying really hard not to and it drives me mad. It's always been a struggle because I'm vegetarian, but it can border on miserable these days. My biggest struggle is not having a clue how many calories I'm eating. How the heck can you count calories when you don't know how many there are in a meal. I tend to eat at local restaraunts, so I can't google for calories either.

yes, I agree. For example, yesterday I was trying to figure out how many calories I ate when we went out with work. But how do you count 9 nachos, 6 of them with cheese, 3 yam fries, a sliverf this, a bite of that...
Anyways i ended up just saying that I ate my alloted cals. for dinner and only eating a small snack when I got home?

FB_ Wow, you have come a really long way! Congrats to you!!!!

Ruby Tuesdays is one of my favorite casual places to eat out b/c I can control exactly what I am getting with their awesome salad bar!! I just get the salad bar and I make a big salad with spinach, brocolli, garbanzo beans, red onions, tomatoes, sometimes mushrooms or a FEW beets and balsamic vinegar. Then for dessert I eat some red grapes, which they always have at the salad bar. The calories are very low, and you get a lot of nutrients!

I know it is too late to help, but maybe someone else going to Ruby Tuesdays will benefit from this post

Yeah- we eat at local restaurants too, more than chains. I just go general counting on those, for example, if I have a 7 ounce steak and veggies that's readily available on The Daily Plate. Same with whatever meals, from Mexican to Indian - there's a zillion things on there. The brands/restaurants don't have to match, what I'm looking for is a rough guideline.

I'd count the nine nachos as 1/3, 1/4 or whatever serving of nachos (don't know the plate size) from a chain restaurant that closely matches the nachos at the restaurant you ate at. Same with the yams, I'd eyeball the plate and get a guess at what portion of the appetizer I ate.

I don't think it has to be an exact, scientific match when dining out. I doubt I get that accuracy at home with a food scale and measuring utensils anyhow. It really can be overwhelming, can't it? And it should never make us miserable, I think we should just try to do our best.

Thanks for the encouragement 'i am still trying', it means a lot!