Weigh In-Rate your Plate

I've got to start by telling you about my dinner Friday evening.  Mamaw came home from rehab and we spent the day getting her settled back at home.  We went to Outback for dinner and days later I'm still thinking about that dinner we had.  It was a fun celebration, her first day in over a month to be out in the real world.

It started with a Bloomin' Onion followed by bread and honey butter.  I had steak and a sweet potato topped with honey butter, cinnamon and brown sugar.  Then.  Then.  Wait for it, wait for it, we got a Chocolate Thunder From Down Under.

It was the best dang dinner I've ever had.  This weight loss journey has made me change some things.  Years ago I read the Weigh Down Workshop and loved the concept.  Eat what you want, when you want it, stop when you are full.  That concept, combined with Weight Watchers has helped me drop...

19 pounds

• I think about what I really, really want before I eat it.
• I've realized I can have fun and enjoy a fun dinner.  Just not every day :).  No more big Mexican celebrations just 'cause it's Monday and I can.
• When we go out to eat, I share with someone.  If I don't share I end up overeating and feeling miserable.  In my mind, sharing never seems like enough food, so I make myself feel better by telling myself I can always get a dessert if I'm still hungry.  Crazy thing is, half a meal out fills me up.  5 of us shared this dessert and it was perfect.  A few bites of heaven was all we needed!

Back to point number 1, thinking about what I really, really want.  I already LOVED food and eating, but this makes it even better.  Food, especially really good food, is an experience.

Two weeks ago I was in Memphis.  We had BBQ for lunch, of course.  Everything about the lunch experience made me happy.  The way the sun was shining and the bright blue sky did not have one cloud in it that day.  The way 14 of us women gathered around a table and chatted happily over what we were learning.

The way the smell walking in should be bottled and made into perfume.  The cheese biscuits.  Oh those cheese biscuits.  The 2 real Dr. Peppers I drank.  The brisket and french fries.  It was gooooooood.  I ate what I wanted and when I was full there was half a plate of fries and bread from my sandwich left over.  I enjoyed it all, rated my food, decided the meat and fries tasted best, so most of my bun got left behind.  Normally it would have found it's new home on my rear end.  Ha ha ha get it.  Buns, Buns?

Later that same afternoon we went to Chick-fil-A for shakes and the craziest and I mean craziest thing happened.  It was weird.  Like, I've heard of this happening to people but never experienced it first hand.  As I stood there looking at the menu for a shake (still full from my BBQ lunch that was so satisfying because I ate exactly what I wanted) I decided the fruit cup looked best.  So that's what I got.  A fruit cup.  Mediano.  $2.46.  About an hour into our trip when I got hungry I whipped that puppy out and it hit the spot.

A fruit cup.  Is that not crazy?  I'm tellin' ya though, that lunch earlier was so fantastic, I didn't even need the shake.

My other tip besides halving your food at restaurants is halving your portion size at home.  I'm a seconds kind of girl, probably always will be.  When we had chili this weekend man, I know I'm going for 2 bowls.  So I trick myself and just have smaller size bowls. 

Before weigh in this morning I wanted to quit.  But man, it's working and I've still got 11 pounds to go.  Last week I lost 2 pounds and ate out a couple times.  I just used my eat what I really want trick and it worked.