On Consuming Unlimited Amounts of Meat

This is what my breakfast and lunch looked like yesterday:

I was repentant. I was in serious need of a detox. I made breakfast for my hubby, but I could not stand to look at a piece of turkey bacon for myself this morning.

So my cousin invited me out to dinner at one of those Brazilian steakhouse places. You know, one of those places where the guys walk around with various cuts of meat on skewers and slice it onto your plate. I hadn't been to one in years. As a matter of fact, Saturday's dinner made the second time I'd been to one.  The first time I went with my hubby, and I had the salad bar. His plate looked yummy, but I just don't love meat all like that. Between the salad bar and the sangria, I was good.

It was Restaurant Week here in DC, so I convinced myself to indulge. I thought about only doing the salad bar, but I didn't want to be that girl. I've long had a love-hate relationship with meat. I was vegetarian for a while. I still go meatless quite often. I've even dabbled in veganism. I'm not a big meat eater, but I don't want to box myself in on some "Oh, I don't eat meat" type stuff and then get caught out there gnawing on a leg of lamb. So I prefer to think of my style of eating as veggie-heavy with some exceptions for red meat on occasion. I'm still working out that chicken part, but for now we eat mostly organic & free range. However, in my effort not to be that girl, I usually don't share all my picky food stuff with folks. I just tell it to anonymous people on blogs. Furthermore, I don't tell adults (unless you married me) what is best for them to consume.

So when I was sharing the yummy smoked goodness of last night with my girlfriends, one of them was all, "Let's go this week! Smoked meat is awesome!" Yeah, it's awesome, but an all-you-can-eat meat smorgasbord twice in one week?!?! Ma'am! She was all, "Roasted meat is good for you! It's compatible with your blood type."** Sorry. I cannot be convinced that a smorgasbord of unlimited steak and lamb is a wise and healthy choice for someone trying to stay on the healthy straight and narrow and keep their blood pressure under control without medication. All things in moderation, and the meat-on-the-stick spots are not meant for moderation.

With all of this in mind, I'd like to offer a few suggestions for managing yourself at dining establishments such as these:

1) Pace yourself. Embody the ways of the tortoise. Slow and steady wins the race. Don't come out the gate with eyes bigger than your stomach. Know that the meat pushers will be by the table 897 times during your dinner, so just be cool.

2) Don't wear your get 'em girl jeans. Yeah. I was wearing my jeans that were fresh out the dryer, the ones that need the wiggle dance to fit. Y'all know about the wiggle dance you do to get into those things when they haven't been broken in. I'm glad I exercised some self control because that dinner had all the potential for some secret pants unbuttoning under the table. I wore a long shirt just in case, but didn't have to do it. 

3) Don't go there lying to yourself about managing your diet. As of late, I've been logging my food on myfitnesspal.com. When I really thought about where we were going, I stopped telling myself the lie that I was going to be able to track my food. I surrendered to the calories, and I was better for it. Just acknowledging that I was gonna fall off the wagon that night made it much easier to enjoy my food and the great group of women I was with.

4) Get into the vegetables at the salad bar. I started the night with a huge salad. I stayed away from all of the carbs, and there were lots of them. As I type this, I'm thinking maybe I wasn't as bad as I thought I was. I was very Atkins-esque last night - high protein and high produce (Can't remember where I read that little phrase, but I like it!). Also, be sure to try some fish while you're there. Honestly, the salmon rivaled the sirloin. . . to me anyway.

Keeping these tips in mind will make your visit more pleasurable. Upon re-reading this post, perhaps I should have given myself a better pep talk the other night. Experience is the best teacher. I'll bookmark this post for next time, which will be in the distant future.

Enough talk about meat. I've got bigger fish to fry (LOL - I know; that was so bad!!!).  I'm off to start the day. I'm meeting with Cindy the trainer, and then I'm reworking one of my dissertation chapters. So much fun I can't stand it. . . sigh.

Until next time. . . I'm pulling out my blender, some fruits and veggies, and some chia seeds!

Happy Monday!!!

** My girlfriend does the eating for your blood type diet, and it works for her. She looks awesome! We have the same blood type, and it is suggested that we consume decent amounts of red meat for optimum health. I just can't do it. I come from a long line of folks with extra high blood pressure, and a high-vegetable, low meat diet is best for me.