A losing proposition
Success! I jumped on the scale after a weekend filled with self-denial to find my efforts rewarded with a five pound loss. I was ecstatic, and filled with a renewed determination to stick to my diet and exercise routine. Saturday, we went to Spokane to see Jonathan, go to lunch, and take in a movie. We went to Chili’s, a chain restaurant that we frequent often. They have really good food, and it’s easy to overindulge. As I scanned the menu, I found myself leaning toward the Cobb salad, my favorite. But I know the Cobb is laden with calories. Filled with avocados, arguably my favorite fruit, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, bleu cheese crumbles, and smothered liberally with bleu cheese dressing, I’m sure it comes in at well over 1,000 calories. I have been giving in to my gluttonous desires on the weekends, no doubt the reason my weight loss program has been a dismal failure. With our trip to the UK just 3 months away, I had to start getting serious. I opted for one of Chili’s “Guiltless Gourmet” items – all low fat, low cal foodstuffs with calories, fat content, and carbs neatly displayed beneath the description of the meal. The lowest calorie offerings were a grilled salmon dish and a grilled chicken sandwich, both coming in at 480 calories for the entire meal. I was in a sandwich mood, so chose the grilled chicken sandwich meal with black beans and “seasoned steamed vegetables”. My husband had the peppercorn burger with fries, while Jonathan had the Philly cheese steak sandwich with fries. All three meals looked delicious when they arrived at our table. My chicken sandwich was accompanied by steamed broccoli and carrots, nicely seasoned with a seasoned salt, and a cup of black beans in a soupy sauce. The chicken breast was smallish, but flavorful and juicy. The bun was a whole grain bun, spread with a honey mustard sauce. It really was a delicious meal, made even tastier by the knowledge that it was low calorie. I was proud of myself.
Right after lunch, we went to the theater in the mall in which the Chili’s was located. The movie we were seeing was Firewall. While I am generally a fan of Harrison Ford, despite the fact that he pretty much plays the same character in every movie – the sort of bumbling, lovable action hero, I was really disappointed in the movie. We all were. The name is deceiving. I thought it would be more “technological” and revolve more around circumventing computer security. It doesn’t. The characters are never fully developed. You don’t really feel a connection to any of them. You don’t really know why the bad guy is doing what he’s doing, except that he’s a bad guy who wants money. You don’t get a feel for why the bad guys chose “Jack” as their target. It’s just a very typical bad guy vs. good guy sort of action movie but not very full of action. It was very disappointing. It entertained, to a degree, but certainly wasn’t worth the $7 economy hour ticket price. It would have been a good DVD rental, but not a $21 trip to the theater. Thankfully, having just had lunch, we avoided paying even more by visiting the concession stand for overpriced popcorn, soda, and candy. I give the movie two stars out of five. Wait for the DVD.
I ended my day by having a salad with some cheddar cheese and fat free dressing when we came home – a mere 300 calories at the most. I was rewarded the next morning when I stepped on the scale to reveal I’d lost 5 pounds this week. Now, if I can do the same next week, I’ll be well on my way to my goal of 30 pounds by May 13. Yay!
