Peeling Off The Pounds

Recently, I participated in a month-long weight loss challenge. When it began, I was not thrilled at the prospect of giving up my high fat foods. My favorite dessert is ice cream, so while I knew I would be successful, I also thought I'd be on edge, mean and HUNGRY.

The challenge turned out so much better than I had hoped mainly because restaurants now have so many lower calorie, lower fat options. ( A fact that I had been aware of in the past, but not committed enough to altering my diet to try). While not traditional "diet" food, you can enjoy meals at the following restaurants and still lose weight:

1)Boston Market-1/4 chicken meal (white meat) or 4 oz turkey meal comes with two sides. You might want to choose steamed vegetables, green beans or seasonal fresh fruit salad to keep calories under 500.

2)Chili’s- Their guiltless grill offers a hearty honey mustard glazed salmon with broccoli as a side. Other items include a grilled chicken sandwich and a meatless black bean burger. Chili's indicates all items on the guiltless grill are under 750 calories.

3)Chipotle-Try a chicken or steak burrito bowl with corn salsa, rice and lots of lettuce. If you prefer a taco, try some of the same ingredients in one or two of their crispy taco shells. These options are both under 500 calories.

4) P. F. Chang's- The chicken steamed with broccoli or chicken lettuce wraps are filling and have fewer than 650 calories.

And For Dessert:
5)Dairy Queen-The kids vanilla cone has 150 calories and 5 grams fat whereas the small vanilla cone or DQ ice cream sandwich come in at under 250 calories.

Having access to the aforementioned menu items, definitely assisted me in dropping 13 unwanted pounds. I look forward to losing more.