I have been doing so well, eating mostly whole food, watching calorie intake etc. I lost about 8 pounds in the last two weeks. Well I had to do a lot of running around today taking my daughter to the doctor, then a long wait to get an x-ray, etc. I was out a long time and was starving and tired so I thought it would be nice to have a treat and get some Mexican take-out on the way home. Oh my, first of all after becoming accustomed to healthy eating it really didn't taste that appealing to me. Not nearly as good as I remember. Too greasy, too salty. Now I feel bloated, heavy, and miserable. I am so bummed because I know I probably just set myself back at least two or three days on the scale.

I am sorry I chose to do that, but I definitely learned a lesson. I'd have been better off either making the effort to cook, or eating something easy like Lean Cuisine. I've been avoiding the processed foods, but I think even a frozen meal would have been a better choice than my greasy Mexican binge. It stinks that I didn't even really enjoy my cheat. That's what I get!!!

The more you know! Remember this experience the next time you have a craving.

You may see a temporary gain from the extra sodium, but I don't think you have set yourself back much. Remember that a pound is 3500 calories, so unless you had one of everything on the menu, you probably didn't gain any actual fat from eating one meal off plan. The tricky part for me is usually NOT turning that into "the rest of the day" or worse, the rest of the week/month/year!

I have had the same experience, BTW, that the stuff doesn't taste as good as I 'remember' -- definitely a motivator not to bother with it!

Just remember, that one doesnt have to give up mexican food completely. The take out stuff is a totally different story, but there are many ways you can make your own mexican banquet at home without all of the "bonus" calories you get from say Taco Bell.

You learned a lesson and have a plan for next time (ie. cook for yourself or grab a Lean Cuisine). THAT is a lesson well worth learning! Next time, you will know what to do! Give yourself points for that. It is changing habits that are hard - so many people never learn anything and keep repeating the same behaviors.

Personally, I think you should consider this a huge success Good for you for realizing how much better you feel when you eat healthy - that's the kind of thing that you can remember in the future when you're craving junk food to keep you on your way to a healthier lifestyle.

Just don't worry too much about the scale (or maybe even avoid it for a few days so that you don't get discouraged). If you stick with your healthy eating, this'll be nothing but an insignificant little blip on the radar

I agree with smisen. I'd look at this as a success. You've done a good job getting your body used to what it deserves, which is HARD once you've lived a life of salt, fat and carbs. I get sick feeling every time I eat foods that are overly-processed. And you're right! I can barely stomach the smell of some of the foods I used to crave. A few weeks ago my husband brought home Taco Bell after about a month of eating mostly whole, unprocessed foods. I had one bite of a soft Taco and spit it out. It was so SALTY! I couldn't believe I used to LOVE eating those. It's awful how dulled your tastes are when you have an unhealthy diet.

If you have to do Mexican, do a salad. Fajita steak/chicken, peppers, onion, on a bed of lettuce instead of in the wrap. Toss on some salsa, and you're still on plan.

Thanks everybody for the encouragement! It actually wasn't too bad scale wise, I didn't gain, I just didn't lose (duh! lol).

Anyway, yes healthy Mexican can be great. I think what we get in the US is a real stereotype of Mexican food anyway. I went to Mexico (Puerto Vallarta) about 7 years ago and a lot of the food was fresh, healthy, and amazing. Lots of seafood, etc. It wasn't the beans/rice/taco/burrito stuff that you mostly see in the US. Yeah, so I'm all about healthy Mexican!