Heading into Week #4, I hit a wall in week #3…HARD!!
The good news is, I didn’t gain any weight. Bad news, didn’t lose any. I know exactly where I went wrong.
- Still finding it hard to get to the gym more than a couple days a week. Between work, church, errands, planning meetings for non-profit work, stuff around the house and the occasional nap, I just haven’t moved the gym higher up on the list of priorities.
- EATING OUT! This, for anyone trying to lose weight, can be a pit fall, especially if it happens a couple times in one week. I had a chance to catch up with a friend this past week and then date night with Michelle and I wouldn’t trade those nights out for anything. Roger and I hit Dempsey’s and a burger, 2 beers and duck fat fries later, we’re done. Then Saturday night, before a movie, it was salmon, salad and the bread with the herb olive oil from Carrabba’s (and a couple more beers). So, here we are, still sitting at 295. But here’s my big takeaway from this past week. SALADS ARE THE DEVIL!!
Photo by Taylor Kiser on Unsplash
You think salad, you think healthy and lo-cal, right? Well, the former has a better chance of being true than the latter. A lot of salads at your favorite spots are higher in fat and calories and WAY HIGHER in salt than you may think. To prove my point, I did a little digging for some examples of high-calorie salads. Here are the TOP 5-
5. BUFFALO WILD WINGS Mediterranean Salad with Lemon Pepper Chicken: 1110 calories, 74 grams of fat (18 grams saturated), 4230mg of sodium, 70 grams of carbs, 23 grams of sugar, and 52 grams of protein.
4. IHOP Crispy Chicken Cobb Salad: 1230 calories, 93 grams of fat (27 grams saturated and 1.5 trans), 2750 grams of sodium, 38 grams of carb, 7 grams of sugar, and 59 grams of protein.
3. Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad (I used to eat this one all the time): 1420 calories, 99 grams of fat (15 grams saturated and 1 gram trans), 1530mg of sodium, 96 grams of carbs, 39 grams of protein, and 42 grams of sugar.
2. Chili’s Quesadilla Explosion Salad (another fav): 1430 calories, 96 grams of fat (28 grams saturated and 0.5 grams trans), 84 grams of carbs, 2420mg of sodium, 64 grams of protein, and 18 grams of sugar.
1. Cheesecake Factory Chicken Caesar Salad (dinner portion): 1510 calories, 16 grams of fat, 24 grams of carbs, and 1450mg of sodium. This is about 2/3 of your daily recommended sodium intake and 3/4 of your daily calories. In comparison, their Factory Burger is 740 calories and has 18 grams of fat.
So, what’s the lesson? A bacon cheeseburger, and chicken wings are better than salad….and at the end of the day, I think we can all agree on that.
