Day 13 - Planning Ahead

Diet tip of the day: If you need or even just want to go out to eat, look online before you go to see what your healthy options are. A salad can be worse than a burger if it has bacon, cheese, tortilla chip crumbles, and loads of dressing. You might have more options than you think.

Yesterday, I went to dinner at Chipotle with a good friend. I ordered a vegetarian burrito bowl with very little toppings. That's basically black beans with cilantro lime rice and pico de gallo, which I know I could make at home quite easily, but it was nice to go on a walk to enjoy the weather and catch up with someone I haven't seen in a while. I burned the extra calories on the walk there, so I don't feel guilty about it.
I looked up the information on my Restaurant Nutrition app on my iPod touch. They have information for fast food places as well as nicer sit-down restaurants, and it helps to know ahead of time how much exercise to plan on doing later in the day. I also recommend picking out a few things you can have rather than setting your heart on one thing. If it's only offered at lunch time or during a particular season, you're out of luck.

I ended up with 1,290 calories yesterday, but I burned 200 calories walking and doing some stretching exercises. I think I'm going to stop trying to compensate for my food choices with exercise and start eating like I'm not exercising so that my exercise pushes my weight loss into high gear. Now that it's nice out, I should have a much easier time going outside and getting active.

Tonight, I am eating dinner with my boyfriend's family. They'll be getting back from the soccer tournament around dinner time, so I'm not sure if we're going out to eat or having the usually Sunday night roast. Either way, I'll have to be very aware of everything I'm putting on my plate.

I'm hoping more people start to follow me on my journey. I'm a little disappointed that I don't have more feedback about it. I don't expect 10 comments a day and an extreme amount of followers, but I thought I would have a little more support by now. If you have a comment, please leave it. I would really appreciate feedback in any capacity.

As for exercise, when you're doing the dishes or making dinner, do some calf raises. It's as simple as going up on your toes 5-10 times in a row, taking a 30 second break, and doing a few more repetitions. If you want, you can alternate with a 10 second squat. (If you're just starting out, use the counter for balance.)
Good luck, and remember to give me your feedback.