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Today I went out to eat with one of my best friends in the world, Ashley. She picked the restaurant Chili’s since they were having a lunch special on unlimited soups and salads. But when I realized all the soups were either cheese or cream based, I decided to pass and order something else.
I ended up getting the grilled chicken Caribbean salad. Sounds healthy, right? Well, I made some amendments just to be sure. I know how salads can be surprisingly packed with calories. This particular salad came with mixed greens, some red peppers, mandarin oranges and fresh pineapple. But I had to nix the dried cherries because dried fruit is a no-no on the Jump Start Diet. Good thing the Jump Start Diet taught me that. When I looked up the calorie count of the salad, as prepared equaled 610 calories. However, leaving off the dried cherries saved me around 140 calories according to CalorieCount.com. This brought my meal to an acceptable 450 calories, just like SELF magazine’s diet plan recommends for lunch. Who knew leaving off one ingredient would make such a difference?
Later she took me out for “dessert” since I treated her to lunch. Instead of hitting up ice cream (I was going to opt for the kiddie sized fro-yo option), she told me I just HAD to try the passion fruit iced tea lemonade at Star Bucks. I got mine with only half the sweetener because I wasn’t sure how many calories were in this little drink, but turns out, it really was a fine option. With half the sweetener (and still super delicious), my drink was just a little bit over 100 calories. That’s not bad at all for a refreshing spring break treat, if I do say so myself. And with losing 9.5 lbs, I figured I could reward myself with feeling normal because after all, if you can’t feel normal while dieting, then what in the world are you doing?
Tonight for dinner, I cooked for my mom again. This time my dad decided to join in. And for the first time in my
life, I made two things I’ve never cooked before: squash and shrimp. It was totally a hit with the parents. And I’m not going to lie—I actually liked it too. The Indian Squash and Shrimp recipe was quite flavorful and spicy, but entirely filling. I had a hard time finishing my plate there was so much food! Make sure you watch my video on how to cook it and give it a try yourself. I love colorful meals like this. They always make food more satisfying to me in a way.
Tomorrow, I’ll have to face more restaurant challenges as I’m going out for a lunch date with my grandmother. I’m really excited about getting some good one-on-one time with her, and she’s so sweet. She picked a restaurant where she knew there were healthy options served! It’s going to be a fun day!
Do you have family and friends supporting you while losing weight? Or are they being more difficult than helpful. Let me know and if you need support, I’m here for you! Email me at NikkiRoberti@HerCampus.com or tweet me anytime @Nikki_Roberti.