Oh Fu-ey!! Scratch that Non-Scale Victory

So, you know how yesterday I was all happy and proud that I was avoiding dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant and opting for a healthier Chinese restaurant?

I bragged on myself about how eating at Mama Fu's instead of walking around buffet tables would help me make better food choices and eat healthier options? 

You remember?

Yeah, well I learned a valuable lesson with that.

Just because I ditched the buffet restaurant and opted for a restaurant that served healthier foods - didn't mean I'd actually eat healthier foods.

Oh no.  I take my family out to eat at a restaurant that I've bragged about being a healthier version and then BAM, I totally ditch my good intentions and leave them waiting at the front door.

Good intentions? Sorry, no reservation by that name.

Bad choices?  Yep, got you right here...please take a seat.

I could sit here and say that it's all the waiters fault.  I checked the menu before I went.  I saw that they no longer carried my favorite item: Beef Curry Roll.  Think fried spring roll filled with chopped beef cooked in a Thai curry sauce.  Then, the fun-spirited waiter walks up and says "anyone care for appetizers? We have beef curry rolls that are not on the menu, but delicious".  DAMN IT!!  Why did he have to inform me that they DO have beef curry rolls?

So, I ordered them.  I did share with everyone.  I only ate a few pieces...OK, several pieces. 

Then, jazzy waiter comes back and declares "all appetizers are half price, anything else?"  Hubby jumps on the chance to order Dynamite Shrimp.  I ate two of the shrimp.

Then it was time for entree selections.  Now, I could have ordered the steam veggie rice bowl.  I could have ordered the chicken bowl with brown rice.  I could have ordered ANY of the delicious rice bowls they offered that range from about 400 - 800 calories...which had been what Good Intentions had planned on ordering.  Good Intentions didn't get to join us, remember?

Nope, I order red Thai curry noodles with chicken.  I have no idea how many calories are actually in the enormous bowl that I consumed - because that tidbit of "nutritional value information" can't be found anywhere on the Internet. I would guesstimate that I consumed around 1500 calories in that bowl alone. Oh, and did I mention that I ditched drinking water and opted for a Miller Light instead?  No, I didn't mention that?  Hmmm, wonder how I could have forgotten.

So, what did I learn last night? Well, several things.

I learned that having good intentions is a far cry south of actually following through with them.

I learned that checking a menu before I go to a restaurant is a fantastic idea AS LONG as I stay with what I picked out to begin with.

I learned that when an up beat, loud waiter approaches the table - I need to take my mind to another place.  I need to ignore everything that comes out of his mouth.  Go brain dead and pretend that I listened to everything he said..... or better yet, before he even opens his mouth, join his enthusiasm with "I'm sorry, I'm trying very hard to lose weight and I have already decided what I'm going to eat - so please don't try to tempt me with anything."  Yep, that might have worked.  I have a voice as loud and obnoxious as his - I should have used it.

I could have warned Hubby before we left that the possibility may come up that I stray from my predetermined menu choice and that he could nicely remind me why we chose to eat at the restaurant to begin with in case that should happen. 

Of course, after the meal was over, I was full....full of food AND guilt.  I felt bad for abandoning Good Intentions.  I had been so proud of myself just one day before when I made the decision to eat at that restaurant, to study the menu ahead of time, to prepare myself for making good choices....and in a total of three minutes, all that hard work was whisked away.

So, now what?  Well, now I move forward.  It's a lesson learned.  The positive spin to all of this?  Well, I don't eat out very much.  Rarely is a better word.  The fact that I made some bad decisions during one meal is not the end of the world.  If anything, it's probably a little of a blessing in disguise.

Wwwhhhattt???  Did I just say that consuming more than 2000 calories for one meal was a blessing in disguise?  Yep.  I was getting comfortable - too comfortable - with myself.  Remember the Jen and Courtney incident that happened on Biggest Loser last week?  Well, that was me.  I thought that I was ready to tackle the challenges that came from eating out.  Look where that got me.

So, yes, I saw a gain on the scale this morning.  Not surprising.  Expected.  I learned many valuable lessons - and now it's time to move on. 

Today, I have a "mass" interview at a school district.  I, along with about 700 other teachers, and interviewing for about 70 open positions within that school district.  Can you say stressful?  I have to try and stand out among the crowd and pray to all things holy that I will get a call back for a "real" interview.  Oh stress, how I have missed thee - NOT!!  Well, wish me luck.

Till next time. ;)

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