Day 207 (day 4 / week 30)

I just got back from the same 4.16 walk that I have been doing for the past few days. My numbers are almost identical to yesterday. 4.16 miles, 80 minutes 1095 calories. This makes me feel a little more confident that my HRM isn't giving me wonky numbers. If it is, at least it's consistent to itself.

Last night I went to a buffet with my hubby's family and I didn't enter my food until this morning. I knew before hand that we were going to go out with the in-laws so I saved up some of my calories throughout the day so that I didn't go over during dinner.

I was a little worried, because buffets are scary, but sparkpeople has trained me good! I didn't go over my calorie budget, in fact I actually had 300 more to go to meet my minimum for the day! I didn't leave feeling icky, guilty or full (it's funny how I used to love that full feeling--not it makes me feel not that great). First, I ALWAYS fill up my plate with mixed salad greens (not the premade salads--those are full of sodium and surprisingly a lot of calories!) and eat tomatoes, mushrooms and a few TBs of carrots and a very small drizzle of ranch (less than 1 TB) and get fresh shrimp. Usually after my salad, I'm not as starving, so I am more clear of the danger zone than when I walked in there.

After that the 2nd thing I do is I ALWAYS scope out the buffet, instead of diving right in. I also grab a smaller plate and use that instead of the larger plates (I use the larger plate for salad). I make note of all of the veggies and come back and grab the ones that aren't bathed in some sort of cream sauce or butter. Nothing in any kind of creamy looking sauce is going to be healthy--especially at a buffet. The buffet we went to last night was huge, so there was a big selection.

I grab only a very small serving (few 2TBs) of things that I haven't tried before, and want to try, and even of my favorites, that are easy to over endulge with (like mashed potatoes) I only get a very small serving of as well--like 1/4c-1/2c. I go back only if I really want more. This strategy for the buffet works really well for me. With the little servings, I am able to fit a ton of variety on my plate, and if I don't *really* like it, I don't eat it all, because what is worse than filling up on calories of stuff that isn't worth it? Unfortunately one of my favorites is buffet pizza. I know, so gross, but for some reason I like cheap tasting pizza lol. I grabbed a slice and ate maybe 1/2 of it, if that. This was a HUGE victory for me, becuase I am estimating that each tiny slice is about 300 calories and I used to easily put away 2 or 3 of these little slices of yummy goodness. I had about 2 cups of mixed salad greens and the salad stuff I mentioned previously (tiny bit of ranch, 3 large tom slices, 1/2c mushrooms and 2 or so TB of shredded carrots, 1.5c of fresh shrimp), 1/4c mashed potatoes, 1/2c lime cilantro shrimp rice, 1-2 bites of shrimp fajitas, maybe 2 ozs of grilled salmon, 1/2c green beans (my favs), 1/2 of a small slice of mushroom pizza, and for the end, a reduced sugar banana creame pie. I didn't finish everything on my plate and got a great variety.

I know I don't normally post about these types of things, but I wanted to share my tips for having a successful night at a buffet, without breaking your calorie bank and feeling guilty. It's about a lifestyle change, and lets face it, not everyone in our lives cares what they eat or how much, so we can't avoid restaurants and buffets (especially here in Vegas). If you know that you are going to go to a restaurant/buffet before hand, and are worried that you wont find healthy choices, save up calories throughout the day so that you don't break the bank during dinner. Fill up on salad (not premade ones!) and don't drown your salad with death in a bottle (as my old professor used to refer to salad dressing). Remember that not everything in the salad area is healthy! Use a smaller plate instead of the large one for your 2nd trip (unless you are eating salad), scope out the buffet looking for veggie entres and grab SMALL portions of everything. Stay away from creamy stuff! If there is something you must have a lot of, grab a SMALL portion, and go back for another SMALL portion. I promise these tips will help you. Take tiny steps, just like you do with exercise, and it will soon be apart of your healthy lifestyle.

Hope you all have a great day! Make each day count!

I can do this. I am a star.