Valentine’s Day (Diet) Massacre

I like to think there are days where calories don’t exist. OK, that doesn’t seem too healthy. So maybe they still exist but they just aren’t as important as they are on other days. So this means you eat healthy all week or all month long, it’s OK to splurge a little bit and eat something you normally wouldn’t. But to me, this splurge has to be worth it. I don’t want to blow a day’s calories on a cheap candy bar or a hamburger. I’d rather blow them on a piece of decadent, rich chocolate or something that isn’t normal, everyday run of the mill food.

I don’t believe in the word “diet.” That word conjures up thoughts of starvation or disgusting trends like an all popcorn and diet coke diet (yes, I had a friend follow that one. Only popcorn and diet coke. Eventually she fainted. See, not worth it!). To me, when you’re losing weight it should be about eating healthier, eating locally, and making substitutions and modifications. Instead of eating an egg, I eat an Egg Beater. To me, no difference except the calories.

As a huge fan of food (obviously) my #1 weight loss philosophy is simple: Eat what you want, substitute when you can, and don’t starve yourself. You’ll never fully commit to a new lifestyle if you’re not happy or if you’re frustrated with what you’re eating.

So last night, we decided to splurge and blow some calories by eating a nice Valentine’s Day dinner at Texas de Brazil. Wow. Seriously, SO DELICIOUS. Let me talk a little about this place (as I make myself hungry thinking about it!…)

This place is similar to a buffet but they bring the meat to you. You start out at the salad bar, but I’m not sure I’d call it that. It’s mostly gourmet cheeses (fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, and toasted provolone, oh my!). And let me say, I could live forever on cheese and chocolate. So I was in heaven before the meal even began. It’s a gourmet salad bar and you could fill up on it alone. So I ate my day’s worth of calories (and maybe more) trying every kind of cheese offered. Definitely worth it.

You’re given a little card on your table that’s red on one side, green on the other. When you want meat, you flip the card to green and men called gauchos literally swarm your table offering you every cut and variety of meat you can imagine. Given that I’m not a huge meat eater, I still thought what I had was really delicious. I think Adam was in meat heaven, he zoned out a few times because he was so excited about the selection in front of him. So not only is it all you can eat antipasti bar, all you can eat meat, but they also give you all you can eat cheddar rolls, all you can eat mashed potatoes (these were GOOD!) and fried bananas to cleanse your palates in between meats.

Another cool thing about this place was the double story wine cellar with a glass window in which you could watch a girl on a cable float around and do summersaults all night. Very nice. So of course we had wine with dinner. And who goes to a fancy place and doesn’t eat dessert? Not me! (OK, where do I go that I don’t have dessert? Not a lot of places). Surprise, I picked the chocolate mousse cake. And that was deliciously rich.

So, all in all- lots of calories (I’m sure, but I haven’t thought about it!), great dinner and a great time. And the best part is- I don’t feel guilty! If I had done this a year ago, I probably would have beaten myself up for eating like that, even though I didn’t let myself go overboard- I was reasonable and didn’t eat more than I should have, I still would have been upset with myself. But after this long journey, I realize that counting the specific number of calories every day will drive you crazy. There are times when you need to let loose and enjoy yourself. Let yourself eat that chocolate pie, let yourself eat that cheese, let yourself eat whatever it is that you love. But be reasonable. Don’t make it a common occurrence, don’t go overboard and eat the entire pie. But we’re all here because we LOVE food, so let yourself love it!