T.G.I. Wednesday

No, I'm not serious when I say that, but I did eat with the wifey at T.G.I. Friday's this evening. Even though I eat out 2-3 times a week, I still forget how hard it is to eat healthy at restaurants. Sure, a lot more places offer "healthy options" or "low-carb options." Applebee's even offers Weight Watchers meals with points listed right on the menu.

But I can't live without the classic, fatty meals! I've tried those healthy options on the menu...and they just don't satisfy me. For me, I am happy eating smaller portions of the regular menu items than eating the healthy options. I will also try to eat a healthier version of the classics, like grilled chicken instead of fried chicken, or turkey tips instead of steak tips. Tonight, I went with the sizzling chicken and cheese...OK, it wasn't the healthiest thing on the menu, but it is simply grilled chicken with some cheese, peppers, onions, and mashed potatoes. This is a lot better than my favorite meal there, the cheesy bacon cheeseburger, which is basically a bacon cheeseburger with a mozzarella cheese patty on top. Plus fries, of course. I probably ate around 1,500 calories just by eating that atrocious thing.

My friend Becky sent along a great link to the Healthiest Restaurant Meals in America at the Eat This, Not That website. As this site shows, eating healthy at restaurants can be as easy as choosing sirloin steak. I'm quite sure that I can live with eating sirloin steak on a regular basis. I'm going to have to try as many of these choices as I can...I just can't resist a good meal prepared by someone else.

The wifey sent along a link to a CNN.com article about plus-sized TV shows gaining a large viewing audience. I haven't seen any of these shows, except for The Biggest Loser. And I think I've seen Dance Your Ass Off mocked by The Soup. It sounds to me, however, that all these shows are really catching on. I like the realism of them all...real stories, real struggles, real life. I wish shows in general were more realistic, you know? I'm intrigued by Fox's new show More to Love, which is essentially The Bachelor for overweight people. The brief preview I saw looked both touching and entertaining.

Guess what? A new diet pill is on the way. This one sounds promising, but it's still too early to tell. It seems to be different from diet pills that attacks food cravings head on, but I'm more interested in the side effects. Alli is well known for having...ahem...sticky side effects. Remember olestra, which were in those Lays Wow! potato chips? I guess the best way I can phrase it is...waxy discharge from the rear. There are plenty of websites that describe the side effects in more detail, so I'll leave you to find those on your own.

My opinion: don't go the easy way and take a pill. Work hard, eat healthy, and exercise. You and your rear won't regret it.