Have Your Cake and Eat it, Too!!

My husband and I spent a beautiful weekend on his Harley Davidson traveling around Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The colors of the trees can't even be described!  Amazing! We had perfect weather, too! We were with some good friends, which only made the weekend even better!

Saturday night, after we had parked the bikes for the night, we went to a Mexican restaurant for margaritas and dinner. My husband said something that has popped back into my head a couple times (Now....he often says things that will pop back into my head later on, but this one didn't require an apology-haha!)

We were talking about how many people assume that if I'm in the fitness business that I must live on tofu and lettuce. And we all know that ain't true!!! If you've followed my blog at all-or, really, if you've only read 1 or 2, you know that I love my food and drink  :)  I can chow down with the best of them and it's a wonder I'm not 700 pounds! But my husband said that I "eat smart". And I think that is probably a big reason why I'm not at a record breaking weight :) (Yet!)

So what does it mean to "eat smart"?

It means that I try to make my "food of choice" a little healthier....Eating out is a good example because I have (more) control at home, while at restaurants I have to make "special requests". Say I like cheese, sour cream and guac on my burrito-but I don't need a full cup of each!....so I go light on the cheese and sour cream but since I love guacamole I might keep that the same, but also, take a pass on the so-so beans and rice that come with it. Most places will accommodate you, no problem.

It means when I look at a menu I know there are healthier choices that I would like just as much as the unhealthy choices. So I tend to skip the double deep fried chimichanga :)

It means I ask for the bleu cheese dressing, or the mayo, or the stuff I like but know is "bad" for me, on the side so I can control the amount on my food.

It means if I want pepperoni pizza I can usually pick off half of it and never miss it :) Oh, and sometimes I'll soak up the extra oil floating on top of my slice(s). This reads like I eat like a 3 year old but it's not as messy as it seems!!!

It means I know my "weak spots" and I at least attempt to manage those. All my "tricks" go out the window when I'm at a party where everyone brings their best appetizer or whatever, cuz I want to try them all!! I try to take a tiny bit of everything that looks yummy....but more often then not I overeat and then balance it out somehow in the next day...or two...or three.

It means I eat ONE instead of TWO! I once read somewhere that after a certain number of bites of the same food your taste buds are kinda bored with it. ONE (regular size) brownie should be enough! I figure out how much of that food will thrill me before it loses it's yummy factor.

It means I like to share whenever I can-still trying to get my husband to to go along with this. He's getting better, but if he won't share then when I can, I'll take home 1/2 of my food for another meal.

I have lots more silly tricks I use but this a blog post, not a book!!! I'll share those another time.... 'Til then Bon Appetit :)

(If you are training for your first 5K, the program I mentioned in my last post is attached as a PDF. Just click on the thumbnail in the upper right corner of this post to see it.)