Dinner out

Last night we decided to go out to dinner. I chose Portofino in Sellwood http://www.portofinoportland.com/. It's a little Italian joint with really fantastic food and a romantic atmosphere. It was a nice change because we usually eat dinner at home watching TV. Growing up, we always ate at the dinner table as a family. It was only on special occasions (like movie night) where we'd eat in the TV room.

The only drawback to my iphone (besides being ridiculously expensive and pretentious) is that the camera does not have a flash. Boo. Sorry the picture of my food didn't turn out great.

I got the grilled flat iron steak with pesto, Yukon gold au gratin potatoes and grilled broccolini. I'd never had broccolini before and it was really good! The vegetables were not dripping in oil or butter and the food was correct portions. I didn't feel like I'd gorged myself afterward.

I did have a few pieces of the freshly baked bread from Great Harvest. It was soooo wonderful; airy and soft. I didn't use butter or the olive oil.

Michael got the pasta special of the night that looked like a creamy fettuccine with chicken sausage. I had a bite and it was very tasty. I loved Portofino because it was quiet, not busy, and very romantic.

I probably went a little over my calories for the day yesterday but I don't feel discouraged. I had a good run and the protein in the steak was exactly what I was craving!

Food

I'm not much of a chef. For two years, I struggled with trying to figure out how to eat. I had to relearn what was "healthy."

I was pretty restrictive with my calories. I wanted to eat 1500 a day (but it was usually closer to 1800 calories a day). On a side note, I was even evaluated by a "nutritionist" (I use that name lightly because honestly she was just hawking shakes) who said I should be eating 1200 calories a day to lose weight. Excuse me?? To me, that sounds like a starvation diet and NOT healthy.

My typical meals for two years were as follows:
BREAKFAST:
Low-calories cereal with nonfat milk or Egg Beaters scramble with an English muffin and fake cheese (nasty!)

LUNCH:
Every day for 2 years I had a turkey sandwich and the exact serving size of Wheat Thins.

DINNER:
Usually a Lean Cuisine frozen dinner with a salad.

I wasn't perfect with my diet, but I was okay. I rarely snacked in between meals, and tried to eat fruit and veggies when I did.

Boy, am I sick of sandwiches now!!

This diet probably sounds awful to a lot of people. But for me it was great. I knew what I had to eat each day, I knew I would reach the calories I needed for the day, and I learned what PORTION SIZES were!! This is probably the most important lesson I learned in this whole process. I had NO idea what a portion size was.

Once I got comfortable with this diet, I started to change things up. I sometimes made a chicken breast on my George Forman grill for dinner. I love fish, so I baked salmon a lot. Again--not a chef. It wasn't exciting food. But I learned portion sizes and what I should be eating, instead of what I wanted to eat.

Now before anyone gets too overwhelmed thinking they can't do what I did...I slipped up many, many times! I was in no way perfect with my food for those two years. My weight fluctuated up and down and I battled the holiday bulge.

My suggestion to anyone trying to lose weight: LEARN PORTION SIZES. Trust me, it's NEVER enough food. However, if you retrain your body to eat portion sizes, you will not be hungry.