growing in the goo

TGI Friday's is NOT forthcoming with their nutritional information! They have a "low fat" icon on their menu, but it's only attached to one item (which I did not get, naturally).

Last month I joined a "Bridal Boot Camp" at a local training/nutritionist small business, and it includes two boot camps a week, one personal training session a week, and two nutritional meetings a month. I had my first nutritional meeting not this past Saturday but the one before. It was...illuminating.

I've realized that breakfast, snacks, and lunch (for the most part) are manageable, but I fall apart at dinner, especially with portion sizes. Tonight fiance picked me up after a particularly strenuous boot camp, and we talked each other into a trip to our local Friday's. I know that Applebees has been pimping out their low-cal menu, so I figured TGI's would be keeping up with the Joneses.

Nope!

Ugh. I hate being that girl who counts calories and thinks about what she eats. I'm used to saying "Why the hell not?!" and going for the third... or fourth... or fifth... piece of fried chicken. Eating delicious cookie after cookie. Washing back beer after beer without thought of how many calories I've ingested. It's actually a big part of who I am and the breezy fun image I try to cultivate. In the past two weeks I've learned that a rolo has 13 calories, whereas a mini-reese's pb cup has 36. 36!! That one peanut has 6 calories (important information when adding to low-cal chocolate pudding), and a baby carrot has... okay... need to look that one up, but I think it's 4 calories? Maybe?

On the plus side, I'm eating less and getting more full. And my breakfast of 1 serving oatmeal, 1 Tbsp of peanut butter, 1 tsp. of chocolate chips, and 1 tsp. of brown sugar tastes AMAZING and keeps me going until snack time. I really recommend it. And as you can tell, I don't have to give up the things I love. Just eat less of it, and add some items that actually provide nutritional value.

While I want to look hot for the wedding (well, actually the honeymoon. I'll have professional hair and makeup and the most expensive dress of my life on my wedding day... I better look good), I'm more concerned with FINALLY embracing a fit lifestyle. I don't need to be super buff or skinny or whatever, I just need to stop the cycle of gaining each year, along with losing the extra pounds I've been gathering along the way. I've been feeling like poop about myself, and my clothes don't fit, so it was time for a change. I know I've been saying this since the goo began, but I'm all about fresh starts. Sometimes you gotta be.

Anyway, so this intensive boot camp will hopefully get my butt in gear. It's been a positive experience thus far - the trainers are excellent and really nice - so I have high hopes. I just need to remember that I'm doing this for me and my overall happiness, though staring at my sparkly ring while suffering through a plank does help a bit.