Previously at Outback I'd have eaten:
Small Cheese Fries (shared) 374 calories
Side Salad with Ranch Dressing 319 calories
7 oz Victoria’s Filet 587 calories
Baked Potato with Butter & Sour Cream 455 calories
Chocolate Thunder from Down Under (shared) 478 calories
Coffee with Cream 39 calories
Total calories: 2252
This time I ate:
Atlantic Salmon (1/2 order) 364 calories
Baked Sweet Potato (no butter) 418 calories
Fresh Steamed Green Beans (butter) 228 calories
Decaf Coffee (no cream) 0 calories
Total calories: 1010
A thousand calorie meal is not great, but it's less than half the calories I previously tucked into at a visit to Outback. And I wasn't dissatisfied at all with the meal. My husband was as charming as always. We had a good talk and enjoyed ourselves just as much as we always do, only we ate a much healthier meal by skipping the appetizer and desert. I got some fiber with the green beans and sweet potato, and the salmon was definitely healthier than my usual steak. I only ate half the salmon because it definitely looked bigger than a deck of cards! Next time I might only eat half the sweet potato, too. I pushed off the ball of butter, but there were still a lot of calories there.
Maybe I'm starting to figure out this weight loss thing. You don't have to deprive yourself of everything enjoyable. You do have to make small changes and better choices towards healthier eating.
My poem to share today is by Dorothy Parker who was one cool woman. It's not about food, but it is about staying out of trouble (or not).
Portrait of the Artist
Oh lead me to a quiet cell
Where never footfall rambles
And bar the window passing well
And gyve my wrists and ankles
Oh wrap my eyes with linen fair
With hempen cord go bind me
And, of your mercy, leave me there
Nor tell them where to find me
Oh, lock the portal as you go
And see its bolts be double…
Come back in half an hour or so
And I will be in trouble.
By the way, the Outback has a great interactive web site where you pick items off the menu with different options and add-ons and they give you the nutritional information.
They also have a gluten free menu.
