I have had a really good first week thus far on SBD, 10 pounds down. ...that being said, everything I made came from home, so I knew exactly what was in it and that it was okay for phase 1. This weekend I ate out three times already, and I just wanted some feedback on whether or not I am making good choice.

Meal 1: California Pizza Kitchen
Full Caesar salad, add salmon, no croutons
Diet Coke

Meal 2: Chevy's
Table side guacamole with pico de galo, jalapenos, some kind of dry cheese, and of course, avocados
Salmon fajitas (no tortillas, rice, or butter) double beans, sour cream and guacamole and salsa on the side (very small amount), grilled vegetables (again, no butter), and grilled salmon (it had little pineapple chunks on top, but I didn't eat them either
...and NO CHIPS! *pats self on the back*

Meal 3: Taco Bell (I know, I know)
Pintos and cheese
Taco salad (no meat, no rice, and I didn't eat the shell it came in) lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, beans, cheese

Thoughts? Thanks!

Meals 1 & 2 sound like what I would get at those restaurants

Taco Bell is HARD. You probably did about the best you could there. I imagine the salad is just iceberg lettuce and some anemic diced tomatoes (I could be wrong about this... so my apologies to TB if it is better than this!). Just for curiosity, I looked up their ingredients list. The beans and cheese seem OK but wow, I don't know what else.

another thing to worry about with eating out is the sodium! I ate at Chili's a couple of weeks ago and had the chicken fajitas (no oil, no sour cream, no tortillas) and weighed the next day- I was up 2 lbs.

I pushed, pushed, pushed the water that day and it came back off.
I am almost paranoid to eat out. We are doing so well with the program, it is easier for us to make stuff at home.

I sure do miss Chinese though!

The worst thing about eating out is it can be so BORING! I've gotten to appreciate the restaurants so much that have some variety of healthy options on their menu. I've been getting grilled salmon whenever I can and just doubling up on the veggie side, since salmon is something I've never been good at cooking at home.

I feel self-conscious, too, putting in a special order, depending on who I'm with. My family doesn't care at all but I have a friend who kind of gives me the roll-eyes.

blech... let your friend roll her eyes. grrrr....
I have a friend that I lunch with occasionally and I think she was actually mad at me for a couple of weeks. She felt she had lost her "foodie" friend and that she would "never be able to order what she wanted" again.
I told her to eat away, it was not going to bother me in the least.

I totally agree about the salmon... I love it, but I can't cook it for some reason!

Sounds like good choices but I agree about making sure you drink lots of water. Have you had any cravings after any of these meals?

Lee, I think it's exactly the same with my friend--she's feeling self-conscious about what she orders now and it makes going out not as much fun for her. If what I order makes her feel bad I would be happy to shop, walk, or go for coffee, etc, instead!! Or go to any one of the tons of restaurants in our area that have options we both like. To complicate things even more, we're going on a cruise together in a few weeks, and I know she's expecting me to go wild with the food. I am sticking to my guns, though. It may make for an uncomfortable week but you know, I have to take care of me! If our friendship isn't able to handle this maybe it wasn't really that strong to begin with.

The strange thing is I've been friends with this woman for years and there have been lots of periods where I've been vigilant with my diet and fitness so idk why she's suddenly bothered by it now.