Friday morning, I had to get blood work done and couldn't eat. Once I was done, I headed over to Wendy's to grab some breakfast. I really wanted something hot - specifically eggs. Before going through the drive thru, I pulled in to a parking space, signed on to the Internet, and looked up the nutrition info. What I really wanted? The Breakfast panini with eggs, Havarti cheese, and tomato. Mmmmmm, so yummy . . . Unfortunately, 580 calories. Good, but not that good, especially early in the morning and especially on a day I know I will be having pizza for dinner.
As I looked at everything else Wendy's offers for breakfast, I realized I wouldn't be having anything except a fruit cup and the bag of pretzels I threw in my bag. With a heavy heart, I backed out of the space and headed to the drive thru where I got just that fruit cup and a large Diet Coke.
As I left Wendy's, I had some heavy mixed emotions. Emotion #1 - made me want to bawl my eyes out. I really wanted that panini, and I was having a major pity party for myself. Emotion #2 - was giving me a huge pat on the back! A pat for 1) Looking up the info before ordering 2) Staying strong and not ordering the panini 3) Making a healthy choice and following through. Just a couple months ago, I wouldn't have looked up the info let alone chosen a fruit cup. I've really come a long way!
I continued to be amazed when lunch time came. I ended up going to Jason's Deli with a couple of coworkers. Jason's Deli can be a very safe place. They have a great salad bar with tons of fresh choices. Since I had been craving soup all week, I decided to see if Jason's had nutrition info and if they did how good or bad a cup of soup would be. They ended up having soup, and there were several healthy choices. Old Amy would not have been worrying about calories and would have went for the Plain Jane baked potato. Sounds innocent enough, but this potato is bigger than my hand and is loaded with butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon. Out of morbid curiosity, I looked up the nutritional info. Holy Spud! That just ain't right! 2,320 calories?! 150 grams of fat?! Really?! Now, Jason's does offer a Lighter Plain Jane option, but don't be fooled! The "lighter" version is still 1300 calories! How often are we fooled by restaurants' claims of "lighter" options.
So, for those of you keeping score at home, by lunch old Amy would have had a Wendy's breakfast panini, a Wendy's oatmeal bar (I didn't even tell ya all that!), and a Plain Jane baked potato. That would have been 3,150 calories and 195 grams of fat. AND we haven't even hit dinner! Just for "fun", let's see what old Amy would have had for dinner . . .
Instead of 1/4 of a medium veggie pizza on whole wheat crust like new Amy, old Amy would have probably eaten 1/2 of an extra large Pappa John's Tuscan Six cheese with pepperoni. No lie. Without even figuring in the pepperoni we would add, old Amy would have been at 1700 calories and 65 grams of fat. (We interrupt your regularly scheduled Resolute Fat Girl with this startling realization - the Plain Jane baked potato has more fat and calories than 1/2 of a large pizza???!!! How crazy is that?! We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.) Sorry for the interruption. Now, where were we? Oh, yes! We were talking about all the crazy stuff I use to eat! Some time during the day, I would also have had a large DQ vanilla cone. That's 470 more calories and 14 grams of fat. That's a grand total of . . . 5320 calories and 274 grams of fat . . . in one day! That's more calories than I should be having in over 3 days!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am not over estimating here. I'm being truly honest. It is very easy not to pay attention to what we pop in our mouths. When fast food salads have more fat and calories than a double cheese burger and when baked potatoes have more calories and fat than 1/2 of an extra large pizza, we can't depend on what we think is healthy or low in calories. Take the time, look it up, educate yourself.
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2 comments:
Hang in there kiddo - ever since being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, I am acutely aware of EVERYTHING I eat. It isn't a bad thing (just as you are finding out) because it means I'm eating healthier.
Proud of you!
Hazel
I agree. At work recently, our boss was ordering subs for us...we got to choose from a menu. I always opt for turkey or something healthy. I decided to look up the nutrition facts on the restaurant's website. Now I'm not one for mayonnaise, never was...let me tell you. I did choose one of the lowest fat subs, and it allows you to add preferred toppings and what not. By taking off the mayo alone, it dropped the fat from roughly 19 grams down to like 6-8. UNBELIEVABLE. You are absolutely right-salad dressing and mayo are the number one killers of diets...people thing b/c its 'tuna salad' or 'turkey club' or a salad that it must be healthy. Not realizing of course that mayo and salad dressing are the worst things you could have. Hey, I'd rather a 1/2 large pizza over a baked potato with all its fixin's any day! Good luck, Amy! I recommend an excellent, excellent book: "Eating for Life". Very insightful on reeucating on how to fix great small meals in a different and low fat way. You are right in your FB status post today...once you stop eating all the bad stuff, your body really learns to adapt, and no longer can handle the bad stuff. But no worries, keep up the hard work and a cheat here or there will be a reward, not the norm! :)
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