Wednesday, December 11, 2013

There's a lot of eating ahead ... my strategy to stick to the diet


So, you all know I'm on a diet and I'm counting my calories and it has been going well. I've lost 3 lbs so far, just under halfway of my goal. Yes, I know, it was not a huge goal to begin with, but it's still taking effort to get there.

I'm just reflecting on my coming month and I think that my dieting might be a little challenged in the coming weeks and month.

This Saturday, we are heading to a wine masterclass where we will be tasting wine and having that paired with chocolate. I estimate that there will be about one small glass worth of wine to be had and several pieces of chocolate, so I estimate that I will clock up about 300 calories there.

Then we are going out with friends for dinner and we are planning on 2.5 bottles of wine between the 4 of us, plus likely a 3 course meal. I can't even begin to count how many calories there will be there.

Following that, in the next week we are having a big managers get together over two days and there will be a fancy lunch in a very nice restaurant on the first day, which will be 2 courses - starter and main or main and dessert, and a really, really fancy dinner in the evening. That will be 3 courses and a whole bunch of wine. Again, the calorie counting is going to be challenged.

Then the next day, we are having a catered 2 course lunch in the office, cooked by a friend of ours who is a Masterchef. The food will be awesome and again, many, many calories.

After all that, a week later, we have signed up for 2 degustation wine tasting dinners which are both I think 4 or 5 courses each of meals with matching wines. Lots of food, lots of wine, calorie count indeterminate.

Honestly, I don't even know how to begin counting the calories in a fancy meal.

I don't want to not eat and be a total downer for everyone, but I also don't want to blow my diet.

I am thinking hard about what to do so that I can enjoy the evening but also not set myself back after all the hard work I've put in to lose the weight and be able to keep it off.

I think that I will probably be leaving a lot of food on the plate, just eating part of the meals and where I have choices of what to order, I will do my best to order meat and vegetable dishes, staying away from any carb laden meals or meals with lots of creamy sauces.

With the wine, one small glass, which is 120ml is 82 calories. If I sip, and only taste, I can space out my drinking and stick to just one or two small glasses.

Another strategy I will employ too is when there's going to be one big, fancy meal in the day, I will make sure that any other meal I have will be very, very low in calories, such as perhaps an apple and a slice of cheese and keep the calories under 150 for the meal, so that I have a lot more calories to "spend" when I am at the fancy meal. That would, of course, be hard when I have the day where we are having two fancy meals, lunch and dinner, but I will try to be careful.

I guess the point that I am trying to make here is that life happens and there will be events that can throw a spanner in the diet works. The trick is not to deny or deprive yourself, but to work out how to best enjoy yourself, enjoy the event and not totally blow the diet.

I don't think it will be easy, and I'm pretty sure that there will be times when I am going to be over the calorie count for the day (and many times when I just won't even know how to count the calories since I didn't prepare the food myself!).

I'm thinking watching portion sizes is going to be key and in a lot of instances, just "tasting" rather than consuming everything.

All that said, I don't want to be a party pooper either, so I will do my best to order wisely, eat what is put in front of me and be as gracious about it as possible. I definitely will not be reciting calorie counts to everyone at the table and spoiling their enjoyment of a very nice meal.

And when it is all over ... hope and pray that I have not put back on any of the weight I have lost.


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