Mexican Food advice

I just finished my first week and lost 1.5 pounds, I'm feeling pretty good that I've kept on track.  Tonight i have to go out for mexican food with some close friends.  I don't know what to order.  I was thinking of chicken enchiladas in the green sauce but when i looked at the calorie count there is 330 calories in one!!  They only have one salad on the menu and it has so much stuff in it that its really not a good choice.  Any advice for me?  My husband loves mexican food so I really need a couple of good choices as we probably go there every other week.

Honestly, I would go and have what you want while being sensible. It's common to have a treat meal or cheat day in your diet as it helps keep you metabolism in check, though don't then use that as an excuse to go absolutely crazy. Just go and enjoy yourself, and congratulations on your loss thus far.

Also note, if you see fluctuation upwards tomorrow, it's probably just sodium. The downside of eating out is that you can bet your bottom dollar it'll contain a fair bit of salt. But, this is why day-to-day weighings are inaccurate. :]

If your husband loves mexican, why not try asking in the Recipes forum for some fun, healthy, mexican food ideas you can make at home?

Some mexican restaurants have a chicken dish that is like half a chicken marinated in spices, usually served with rice and beans.

You could get this and put half of it in a to-go container.

mexican food can be a real pitfall for cals... huge portions, and tons of cheese are the culpates.  Some even use oil to cook the rice and beans making it even more caloric.  when I go I usually get a steamed veggie platter with rice and beans, no cheese guac or sour cream, and I just eat 1/3-1/2 of it, thats plenty of food.  Just think of it as getting two meals and eat the rest for lunch tomorrow :)

I love Mexican food -

If I'm being good I will get the veggie fajitas or chicken tacos in soft corn tortillas (not fried) or chicken tortilla soup (without extra toppings). And I count out about 15 to 20 chips onto my plate and PILE ON the salsa but no more chips than that. I usually indulge in a little guacamole - avocados are so good for you, but very high calorie. Watch out for the rice and beans - especially if the beans are cooked the traditional way, in lard, I shudder to think what the calories are in those. But, on the other had, they are high in fiber and protein.

Hmmm, if I'm being bad - then I just go ahead and get the combo plate with cheese and eat the rice and beans, too. Not my recommendation however.

Good luck.

I just had mexican food on saturday, and I felt like it was pretty sensible.  I didn't count it, but I had chicken fajitas which I shared with my husband, but I could have taken more than half of it home, and made 2 more meals out of it.  Also, I ask for corn torillas, just because I like them better.

I love Mexican & live in Texas where we have the BEST mexican food ever..it is my absolute favorite.

In order to keep eating it every week or so, I have made myself stick to the following "guidelines" & it doesn't seem to do any damage at all. If anything, I think its a nice little boost for my metabolism (I tend to zig zag anyway, so I make this one of my higher days):

• Plan ahead and eat healthy meals the rest of the day.
• Measure out "servings" of chips on the little plates they give you, rather than going back & forth to the basket the whole meal.
• No more margaritas. If I must drink, I stick to light beer. I think frozen margaritas are one of the best drinks ever but NOT WORTH 500-700 calories on top of my meal.
• Limited cheese. No queso dip & none on my main dish unless absolutely necessary (if cheese is a key for you then I say do it..but I've found I can live happily without it and use salsa instead).
• Eat slowly and enjoy every single delicious bite!

Thanks for the tips.  i want to be as good as i can since thanksgiving is two days away.  i like the idea of counting the chips i hadn't thought of that and i will most definately bring some food home.  chardonnay for me no 500 calorie margarita! I'll also skip the beans and cheese!!

muchas gracias

I've been living in Mexico for the past 3 months, here are some tips that I've found diet-friendly!

• Skip the rice and the potato side dishes. Often rice is in the soups, so I cook/order it without the rice.
• Make sure to balance your meals with vegetables/fruit. Everywhere I go here, all the foods are cooked. The only times I get to eat fresh fruits and veggies are when I buy them from the grocery store myself. Good luck finding a healthy salad here!
• Stay away from breads since you'll be enjoying tortillas. Often the guys here have 'tortas' which are like a sandwich on thick bread. Ill have fresh fruit and bran cereal instead.
• Order corn tortillas rather than flour. They don't taste the same, flour ones taste much better in my opinion, but they're the anti-diet food! Corn tortillas taste healthier and do the trick. Try blue corn tortillas if you can find them! Yum!
• Eat small portions of the main dish. If you feel like 3 tacos, order 2. And pile on the salsas, lettuce, onions, chiles, etc.
• Speaking of chiles: Build up your ability to eat more of them! Eat serrano chiles with meals (yes, raw. Between bites of your meal.) They're spicy, but when you eat them with your food it lessens the sting. Chiles raise your metabolism, and make you burn more calories due to the heat. Not to mention they prevent certain types of cancers, and have great antioxidants. Google 'chiles' and read up more on the spicy peppers!

Good luck! Message me if you have more questions :)