Friday, October 12, 2012

You think you know...but you have no idea.

Lunch today was a special treat! Normally, I eat lunch in my car while listening to talk radio. Boring! Today, I got a call from my mom asking if I'd like to meet her for lunch. What a fun way to break up the work day. We met at Sprig. I have eaten here a number of times for dinner, but this was my first lunch visit. It was delicious.

I had half of a grilled chicken club sandwich, and a cup of split pea soup(with a few pork belly bacon bits on top for good measure.) Yum!
I'm big on the whole farm to table trend turned common place restaurant concept. I'm not one of those people that only buys organic, local stuff. However, when a restaurant buys local it is bound to be fresher and therefore taste better. Plus, these restaurants tend to have smaller menus where they focus on getting a handful of things just right, whereas chain restaurants generally give you an eight page menu where everything is just ok. Today I read that Sprig makes everything in house, bonus points for them.

The other day I was talking to someone and I mentioned the number of calories in the dinner I'd eaten the night before. They seemed surprised by how high the number was. Admittedly, it was a little higher in calories than my normal dinners these days, but it still wasn't out of control. That conversation immediately got me thinking; how many people really know how many calories they are taking in each day? Before this latest quest to shed some serious lbs, I thought I had a vague idea each time I would make a meal or eat out. Surprise! I was wrong. It is so important to track calories when first starting to lose weight, especially if you have a lot to lose like me. I have always loved healthy food. I love veggies and don't scoff at the idea of a meatless meal filled with whole grains and even the ever so scary tofu. However, I also love pizza, mac and cheese, french fries, etc. Bring on the carbs, baby! I began using a resource called Lose it.(Shout out to Steel for suggesting this little gem!) After the first couple days, the truth set in, you think you know, but you have no idea just how quickly calories can add up.(And by you, I mean me...well, nevermind, probably you, too.) For example, in the sandwich you see above, my brain used to think, "grilled chicken sandwich", now my brain thinks, "1 slice bread, 3 oz grilled chicken, slice of cheese, 1 slice bacon, 1.5 tablespoons mayo, lettuce." The calories are a little different when you add all the extras. That's not to say that the meal I had for lunch today was "bad". It was delicious, a perfect serving size, and I still have plenty of calories left in the bank for a great dinner, it just won't be pizza. Calorie counting is controversial because people can become a little obsessive about it and/or feel deprived. I totally get that. I may or may not have had a mini tantrum earlier this week when I realized that something I was eating was actually labeled incorrectly and I had unknowingly consumed an extra 300 calories last week. Earth shattering news? No. However, in the land of enormous portion sizes, extra mayo, and "OMGhowdidIgetfat?IthoughtIwaseatingsohealthy!"(aka America), it never hurts to take a second, write it ALL out and figure out what we're really putting in our mouths. Once I did this the gym started to suck less, I'm seeing results more quickly, and I'm really never hungry. I still eat french fries, mexican, and frozen yogurt sometimes. I just never go over my calories. This is working for me and until it stops working, I plan to count every freakin' calorie that I put in my body. If I have to choose between being fat and being a little calorie obsessed, I choose the latter.



1 comment:

  1. Knowledge is power.
    And a little obsession never hurt anyone (I don't think).

    ReplyDelete