Smart Choices When Eating on the Go

One of the biggest things I've learned in the short time that I've been watching my calorie count is that you can blow your whole day on one bad choice. For example, last week I went to Sonic to use a coupon for a buy one, get one free burger deal. We were short on time and cash so it seemed like an easy fix. I got a regular burger with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and mustard. I split a Dr. Pepper with my husband and I gave myself about 1 cup. I also took about 1/4 of his french fries. The hamburger was 560 calories, the Dr. Pepper was 100 calories, and the fries were 112 calories. The total of my meal was 772 calories. That may not seem like too much but that was over half of my daily budget. And I felt yucky and sluggish for the rest of the day. The rest of my day was shot and I went over my daily budget by 174 calories.

In comparison, today we went to Arby's for lunch. Knowing how tough my "Sonic day" had been, I tried to make better choices. I got a Jr. Turkey Ranch sandwich, a side salad (with light ranch dressing) and a diet Dr. Pepper. My sandwich was only 220 calories, the side salad with the dressing was a total of 145 calories, and the diet Dr. Pepper was, of course, 0 calories. My total caloric intake for that meal was 365 calories. I was completely full at the end of it and I didn't even finish my salad. Lesson learned!

I'm also learning quickly about empty calories. I only have a limited amount of calories I can consume per day, why waste them on foods that aren't doing anything to fuel my body? If an ice cream bar is worth 180 calories but only goes against all the work I'm doing with my workouts, why would I choose to eat that instead of a spoon of peanut butter? The peanut butter still curves my craving, it's still sweet, but at least it's packed with protein!

I'm looking forward to our next shopping trip. I'm really interested in getting healthy snacks so I can graze through the day and keep my metabolism going. I love the idea of healthy trail mixes and smoothies I can slurp on in class. Anyone have any healthy and yummy recipes?

As I mentioned in my last post, tonight is my first night to train with the Couch to 5K program. I'm a bit nervous but only because I don't know what I am capable (or incapable) of. I'm going to take the advice of my wise Daddy and make sure I at least finish the exercise, even if I have to walk when it's telling me to jog. Really hoping I can give you all a good report this time tomorrow!

Stay tuned and be lovely!!