Dinner out of the 'Compound'

Tonight about 11 of us went out to dinner and practiced our new lifestyle plan in action. I guess the ravioli dinner served tonight was dreaded and everyone wanted to get away from it. We all made healthy choices and it was fun! Notice I had 1 (yes only ONE) glass of wine. Yay me!

Getting home late so I'll just jump straight into my day, but first a few quick responses to the comments made. Jeff, there are guys here. Out of 36 people here, there are about 8 guys. One celebrity (Rob Riggle, comedian... google him) but he kinda keeps to himself. Probably afraid people will treat him different. There are like 4 or 5 married couples and people ages 26 to mid 70's. Most of the guests are middle aged women.

Justin, Carey and Tamy... Thank you SO much for sending me cards. It always brightens my day to see letters from home. I really appreciate you taking the time out to do that. Thank you!

OK...

Exercise:

Sunrise Beach walk

Ultra Circuit (2 min stations between cardio room and weight room)

Super Circuit (2 min stations of calesentics)

Step areobics

All the classes made me drip in sweat.

Lectures/Discussions:

Alcohol and weight control. I did NOT want to go to this, I wanted to live in oblivion, but I did go and I have shocking things to share (below)

Cooking demonstration - 4 low cal healthy desserts

Ok, alcohol... the good news, it is actually healthy for us to drink a small amount of alcohol a week. for women that would be about 3 glasses a week. Recommended guidelines say women can drink 1 glass per day and men 2 glasses per day. Now each drink is equal to 5 oz wine, 12 oz beer, or 1 shot (1 1/2oz) liquor. And you can't save them up and drink them all at the end of the week.

Figure this out...

1) take the number of drinks you consume in a week (5 oz wine is 100 cals, 12 oz beer is 150 cals, and a shot is about 100 cals, 6 oz marg is 280, and a martini is about 240)

2) take that number X 52 for the calories you consume in alcohol in a year.

yes that number is shocking, but there is more.

3) divide the yearly caloric total by 3500 to get get your potential yearly weight loss with no alcohol consumption. So basically the amount you could lose by not drinking. My number was sure a wake up call... figure out what yours is just for fun.

Example:

1 beer each night for a week = 1050 calories

On the weekend you have 3 glasses of wine a day = 600 calories

total=1650

X 52= 85,800 calories. Scary

divide by 3500= 24 1/2 pounds in a year. Crazy scary.

But wait there is more:

Not only does alcohol contain all these calories, but it also impacts your diet commitment so you eat more calories than you were originally planning on. "Resolve dissolves in alcohol". But also, 5 glasses or more alcohol a day lowers your metabolism making weight loss even harder. Good news is that it's reversible. As soon as you cut back your metabolism returns to normal. Maybe you don't drink 5 glasses of wine or 5 mixed drinks per day, but are your wine glasses only 5 oz? Are your mixed drinks only 1 1/2 oz shots? Food for thought.

Nobody is telling us not to drink, but be aware of your consumption and try to make better choices. Bob (the other Bob) says to order your drink after you order the meal so you stick to your healthy food decisions. Also savor your drink and enjoy 1 or 2 glasses instead of mindlessly drinking 3 or 4 (or more). Order by the glass so there is not a bottle to refill your glass with. Save it for Dessert. Drink water first if your thirsty so you don't chug. Mix your drinks with low calorie mixers.

Ok, I'm done preaching. It was a real eye opener for me so I wanted to share.

Calories in: Don't know but I made great choices at the restaurant. Broiled seafood and steamed veggies.

Calories burned: 2847

Small goal achieved: I can reach my ankles for quad stretches now without using props!