Facing the Challenges of Restaurant Dining...in San Antonio!

Main Posts Background Image

Main Posts Background Image

17.9.11

Facing the Challenges of Restaurant Dining...in San Antonio!

Hi Friends, Greetings from San Antonio! We are having a lovely time here. I do hope your week has been fun too. :o)  We have been quite busy setting up the convention booth for the company my hubby works for. It's a group project for sure.  photo credit

But even with all the set up work, we've enjoyed many a walk on the river walk and have marveled the beautiful architecture. I hope to get some pictures while on 'the spouse's historic tour' on Tuesday to share with you. We've also dined in some simply fabulous restaurants! Ahhh..but therein lies a little problem...


My biggest challenge this week will be to NOT overeat.  

My dear daughter (and unofficial health consultant) just texted me because she noticed that I had not logged my food for this last week.  She said she wants to know exactly what I'm eating. LOL!  Actually, I knew she would be checking up on me, so I've been a pretty good girl.

To get me in the proper frame of mind, my diligent and resourceful daughter showed me how to look up the calorie counts for some typical restaurant dishes... just so I would be aware of how terribly 'calorie packed' they are.

It's a good thing we did, because we've already eaten out six times! We get a luxurious morning banquet every morning--just for starters. Tim had a 1" thick Texas shaped waffle for breakfast..and sausage and juice. Me? I had an orange and two scrambled eggs..and two pieces of Canadian bacon.

Captivating Mariachi bands play festive music all night!


It's shocking to see that even many salads are 800-1000 calories.The average dessert can easily hit the 1200 range, and dinner?... Shudder!

A strategy to avoid killing myself with a knife and fork
this week was crucial!

Here are some of our ideas to avoid unwanted calories:
  •  Choose a meat and vegetable dish rather than a bread or pasta dish. 
  • Soup and a dinner salad with low cal dressing are great choices.
  • Watch out--the appetizers have as many calories as the entrees!
  • Order a dinner salad (not the chunky ones)
  • Avoid dangerous carbs: dessert, potatoes, pasta, rice.
  • Remember that chicken is a fraction of the calorie count that beef is.
  • Eat half and put the rest in a doggie bag.  Hopefully you will forget it like I always do. Tee-hee!
  • Eat two bites of hubby's dessert. Don't get your own! 
  • Bring your own healthy snacks. We stocked our fridge with pieces of fruit and vegetable juices.

Best Tip: Eat Less than HALF the Entree  

Just remember that the average meal 'out' is 1000 to 1500 calories!  Even salads with dressing start in the 1000 calorie range. Too many entrees hit near the 2000 calorie mark!  Eat half.


Yep, that means skipping the bread, the desserts and heavenly whipped garlic potatoes. Mixed drinks are also heavily laden with calories...so no margaritas at the local Mexican restaurants.

Introducing..... a superb web-based calorie and
  exercise counter- 'Lose It' 



 The Tower of the Americas in the background.

Rebekah and I now use a group program called 'Lose It' that functions a lot like Facebook.  It's also similar to Spark People. I love how it keeps us in touch with our friends who are also dieting so we can cheer each other on. I've tried hosting a weight loss group too, at Gettin' Thin Together, but we are all bloggers who also have to maintain our own blogs. With 'Lose It', the program automatically updates the whole group and you only write a few sentences, like a status update. It's easier to communicate this way.

The best feature is the simplicity.  When you type in a food for the day, it doesn't come up with a myriad of options...just a few simple ones. In other words, when you type in 'egg' it suggests, scrambled, fried or boiled and lists calorie counts, but leaves out a million other options. You can click on links for more detailed choices if you feel the need to.

 
Some people prefer the horse draw carriages to walking.

Another fun feature is getting rewards for the time you log as daily exercise. Here in San Antonio, I'm walking a LOT! Our hotel is several blocks from the convention hall.  Plus, the river walk entices you for many long strolls...and they all add up! 



 Tim's boss's wife couldn't decide what she wanted for dinner last night.  We must have walked two miles looking for just the right place. On the bright side,  I burned off half of dinner before I even got started eating! Lol!

The exercise feature lets you type in your exercise from a suggested list, then adds those calories burned to your 'allowance' for the day. Talk about motivation!  Gee, now I don't have to sweat having dessert tonight! (Eeep!--I couldn't resist!) :o)

Well, I'm off to sleep. We have another busy day tomorrow and some sight seeing to do.


What is your favorite strategy for avoiding 
unhealthy eating in restaurants?




11 comments

Anonymous said...

Donna I love San Antonio,me and hubby had the pleasure of visit a few years ago,hope to return.I just love the Riverwalk.Great photo's.
And good job on the intake,teehehe,with all that delish food around,I'm afraid I would be tempted to really indulge.
~JO

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

Hi Donna,

What a wonderful post! We will be in San Antonio in January, and it will be our second time. I would love to take a historical tour.

I think that we ate in the same Mexican Restaruant as you did on The Riverwalk. What a neat place that is. So was The Alamo, The Witte Museum, Ripley's and The Wax Museum. I'm hoping to go to the zoo and botanical gardens this time around.

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Kathy M.

Donna said...

Thanks ladies, It IS amazingly beautiful! I would like to try the botanical gardens for sure.

I'm going to take much better photos today. The flowers are so so pretty! Last night, all I had was the cell phone! Yipes! And no one wanted to slow down for me.

I'm amazed I got any photos at all. LOL!

Kerrie said...

It is so beautiful there and you ARE are being a good girl on your dieting! I am proud of you! Our oldest daughter was there for boot camp in the 80's. I remember her sending pictures similar to yours on the waterway... good memories!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful pics. You are doing very well on your diet. I'm guessing you are exercising a lot with putting up the display and walking around. Thanks for the food tips!
~Monique

Cindy said...

Wow you are in San Antonio...for how long? Thanks for coming you brought rain....lol!!

Love the Riverwalk. The Botanical garden is having a unique hands on butterfly exhibit going on right now.

Have fun. I will have to check out the weight loss sites you mentioned.

Hugs Cindy from Rick-Rack and Gingham

nannykim said...

Glad you got a bit of rain! I am going on a short family vacation and that is when I am tempted to over eat. It takes much longer for me to loose the weight than to gain it, for sure!

Caroline said...

Oh, I love the redesign!! So clean and fresh!

Maria Killam said...

Now that I can see your header bigger I love it! How on earth did you possibly do it that fast? Incredible. You are a woman of action. Even changed your posts to the short ones (which I have never done). Aaaack! So great to meet you and your sweet husband this week!
xoxo
maria

Maria Killam said...

By the way, I love the pink. It stands for unconditional love and acceptance. xo Maria

Donna said...

I'm so glad you like it Caroline. It was Maria's suggestion. :o) Though my friends, Shona and Shannon had encouraged me a long time ago towards a graphical type blog header. Some times stuff just doesn't 'sink in' to this ole' brain of mine.

Oh, Maria,..I didn't know that about pink! How fun! And you know..I dooooo like this pink. :o)

By the way, I just changed the header again..and it's just me doing my 'thing' LoL. It's a little simpler.

Wasn't it wonderful getting to have supper together? I'm still pinching myself! Yep..still awake!

“There's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again.” ~ Margaret Sangster

Friends of Comin' Home

Thanks for visiting!

Search This Blog

Followers

Copyright Comin'Home 2020. Powered by Blogger.

Error 404

The page you were looking for, could not be found. You may have typed the address incorrectly or you may have used an outdated link.

Go to Homepage