Healthy eating when out to eat

Ok so this weekend I ate out a lot more than usual and I take pride in my knowledge of knowing if something is good or bad by looking at the description.
Let me start by saying that picking a salad is most likely not always the healthiest choice on the menu. If you don't believe me go look at the nutrition info for Applebees. They have a salad with 1110 and 66g of fat!! I couldn't believe it!! Every salad on the menu had at least 820 calories. I choose the sizzling chili lime chicken which is delicious! My only complaint about the meal is they don't offer brown rice as a substitution :/ I also had a caesar side salad with the dressing on the side and took leftovers home from my meal to eat later :) My meal was off of the 550 calories or less menu. Applebees also has a weight watchers menu and I recommend ordering off of one of these two menus when eating there.
In some cases restaurants might not have nutritional info online **ps I always look up the nutritional info before ordering** when this happens to me I usually get some form of chicken.. But BEWARE of anything that is "smothered" or "fried" and anything covered in cheese. I usually get a chicken sandwich with no bread.. Last week I got one that came with lettuce and pickles (and onions and tomatoes which I opted against) and I got veggies on the side- make sure to ask for veggies with no butter.. Mine were swimming in it :/ I have also gotten one with cooked mushrooms and onions yumm!
On Sunday we went to my favorite Mexican restaurant and it is so hard to resist their chips and salsa! So I didn't, but I made sure not to eat to many! I had a taco salad with no cheese and no sour cream. When eating at Mexican try to avoid the chimichangas and enchiladas which are usually fried and very high in fat.
The most important thing is to do your homework on what they have and take a minute to look at your options.. When in doubt don't get a salad! Go for the grilled chicken with a side salad with a light italian of vinaigrette dressing on the side instead :)

Highlights from my day

The best (and most important) way to start the day is eating breakfast! Did you know that if you go 12 hours without eating your metabolism decreases by 40% if that isn't enough reason for you to make a few minutes for breakfast I don't know what will!
One of my favorite things to make in a hurry is whole wheat toast with apple butter. You can use any whole wheat bread but make sure to look at the labels because some are still pretty high in calories and fat. I am currently using Sara Lee Multi Grain, it has only 90 calories and 1.5g of fat! Apple Butter is also great, only 30 calories 0 fat and 6g of sugar. I eat this all the time and it is great because it is fast and I can eat it in the car!

Something that you will discover about me is that I am a master at making leftovers into brand new meals. For lunch I brown rice- cooked in the microwave with water and a few splashes of garlic vinaigrette (My favorite dressing) I also threw in some left over grilled onions and some almond accents- I cooked it with the rice so it would be crunchy but not to hard. I also fried 2 egg whites and chopped them up and threw them in. It tasted much better than even I thought it would! It was like my own version of healthy fried rice :) This whole meal was delicious, nutritious and filling for only 300 calories!

Back to the garlic vinaigrette- It sounds nasty and trust me I didn't want to try it at first but the fact that it is only 55 calories per serving I decided to give it a try and I fell in love! I put it on everything! Chicken, pasta, rice, salad, veggies, It's so good and much healthier than most dressings and marinades! 

Wednesdays are usually busy for me and I don't have much time to work out, knowing this I decided to work out at work while the boys slept. I did Jillian Michaels Yoga, it is great! Jillian Michaels doesn't do anything half way! If you get one of her videos you know it is going to be a great workout! She uses yoga moves but adds movement to make the moves more difficult and burn more calories. I always feel great after I do this video I recommend all of her videos! 

I forgot to mention that I am training for my first 5k to take place on May 5! I am so excited! When I started working out I could barely even run one mile! I downloaded the Active.com Couch to 5k App on my iPhone and it is great! The app takes you through a nine week program and when you start you will jog for 1 minute and walk for 1 1/2 minutes, each week is three days and after each week it gets harder. I love the app because it has a timer and will tell me when to start running and when to start walking, also it pushes me harder than I would push myself. If you are not a runner but want to get started just start with a mile a day, once you can run/jog a mile with no trouble add more and definitely get the app! You will love it! It is $.99 but when you sign up for a 5k from the app you get $1 off so it is practically free! I might also mention that I am now up to running 4-5.5 miles at a time :) Today I ran 3.10 after I got off work because my 5k is creeping up and I need to kick it up a notch!

Back to talking about leftovers! Last night I made a yummy Mexican inspired dish and it was so easy! I chopped on 3 chicken breast and cooked it in a big pan, when it was just about done I added a jar of salsa and let it simmer in the chicken for a few minutes then put 2 bags of frozen Mexican veggies and a little bit of water, covered it with a lid and let it cook until the veggies were soft I mixed in 2 1/2 cups of cooked brown rice and mixed it together. Tonight I was in a hurry and wanted to eat the left overs but there was not quite enough for a meal so I mixed it in with some chopped romaine lettuce with no dressing! It didn't even need any! I don't have a picture of my salad but here is what it looked like last night.

If you have any questions or comments just leave me a comment! I am thrilled to share my way to fit with you!

Pictures of my journey thus far

Down 15 pounds and a pant size in one month

Before :/

Before

Fitting into size 8 jeans for the first time since highschool! :)

A skirt I bought online in November and this was the first time I could fit in it :)

The key to success.. No not ice cream.. The key is not depriving my self of things but also not eating them all the time! When I do splurge I eat a small portion.

Mashed Cauliflower- Use fresh cauliflower and cook until tender.
Mash until desired consistency. I added black pepper and garlic.
Great alternative to mashed potatoes!

Chicken marinated in Italian dressing with whole wheat pasta cooked in onions, peppers,  canola oil, italian seasoning 

Whole wheat pasta with spinach, cauliflower, broccoli and garlic vinaigrette  

Most Recent

Most Recent

My first post!

I'm so excited about all the progress I have made in my journey thus far! I started a little over a month ago and have already lost 15 pounds!
The title of my blog has a lot more meaning now than it would have had two months ago. When I started this new journey it was all about getting skinny and looking good, but it is so much more than that now! I am more concerned about my long term health and fitness than just lookin good. I am now more concerned about being healthy and in shape than just being skinny (but that comes along with it).
I am NOT on a diet. I have changed my lifestyle and my way of thinking.
People keep asking what I am doing to lose weight so quickly and I tell them exactly what they don't want to hear- started eating healthy, lowered my proportion sizes and started working out. For some reason people think that losing weight is "magic" and they think somehow the weight just falls off.
If you want to see results you MUST change your lifestyle!
I'm not a writer (not even close) so I may use a run-on sentences or fragments but I just like to write it out as it is- I will post on here as if you and I were having a conversation on Facebook- I want to make it as easy for you to understand a possible!
I'm not a personal trainer- I an still learning and the purpose of this blog is to share what works for me along the way.
I'm not a nutritionist- although I'm not a professional I have read a lot of books and I know what's good and what's bad. I have learned to make alternations for certain foods and it is still delicious! I love to cook and make up my own recipes!
I hope that through my journey on my way to fit I can help you! If you have any questions, comments or encouragement you would like to share just leave me a comment!