MEXICAN FOOD! Talk me out of it guys!!!!

So Tomorrow is my third week of dieting. I havn't cheated at all since i've been on it BUT tonight my FAV mexican spot is having Carnitas Night (Its only on Wenesdays) I WANT IT SOOOO BAD....

The plate comes with Carnitas (about 4 cups cooked), a flour tortilla (huge 10 inchs), rice & beans (.5 cup of each), and sliced avocado....

How many calories do you think it is? HELP!!

I love mexican food and could eat it 3 times a day 7 days a week, so I'm not going to talk you out of it BUT just eat the right thing while you're there.

Skipping the refried beans will save you a lot of fat calories.

Eat the other foods on your plate first to fill up, and go out as early as you can.

Ask for shredded lettuce (or extra) and pile it on, as well as the salsa! If you can stand the hot salsa- it's actually good for your metabolism.

Avocados are high in fat, but are litterally a superfood, so go ahead and do it. They are way better than guacamole and sour cream.

If you know you're going to cheat, do a little cardio before you go, it'll help raise your body temp and your metabolism if you eat right afterwards.

A LOT.  2000-4000???  4 Cups of Carnitas???  Isn't that about a pound of fried pork??  Carnitas are loaded w/calories.  Probably about 400 calories in the tortilla.  Are the beans made with lard?  It sounds like authentic Mexican food so it's not going to be healthy.   If you must, eat half and dump salt over the rest if you can't resist.  4 cups of carnitas is no bueno.

100 for the rice

175 for the beans

175 for the avocado

Carnitas have 380 calories for every 100 grams... you do the math, 'cos I'm scared.

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Solution:

Check if they have chicken enchiladas (sometimes called enchiladas suizas (with green salsa and cream, asked them to skip the last one) or enchiladas tapatias (red sauce and cream, asked them to skip the last one)

4 corn tortillas (not tortilla chips, not fried tostadas) = 208 cals

1 cup of chicken: around 250

salsa= less than 50

and repeat on you mind: CARNITAS ARE SO NOT WORTH IT!

 

Jens - why do you have to talk yourself completely out of it?  What if you only ate 1/3 or a little more, and save some for lunch/dinner tomorrow?  That way you get to enjoy it twice in one week.  I know it's hard to stop once you get started, but it has helped me to think while I'm eating - "Won't this taste good tomorrow?"  It kind of makes me want to save some.  Just a thought.

I guess I'll have to play the bad guy here sorry!!

I'm not exactly a fan of Mexican food (Chrones has a tendancy not to get along with anything...ever ) but to ballpark the meal here's my general overview:

Carnitas- per serving- about 300 calories

Massive flour tortilla - 210 calories

Rice and beans depends on what kind of rice and beans. Beans = good protien but roughly 300 calories is average for refried beans (5 oz.) Rice, not sure there.

But yay for the saving graces of avocado! A medium avocado is about 270 calories.

So without further adieu, I approx. this out to be 1100 calorie night.

If you want to check calories of items, I found this site www.thecaloriecounter.com

Anyways, enjoy your night!!

I wouldn't deprive myself if I were you. Life is too short. If you do have this you will have to work out religiously and keep your calories in check for the next week or so.

 

When there try not to overeat, Eat half of it. Give the other half to someone else if they want it or hell feed it to the dog. lmao.

 

A cheat day is not bad, but it will slow your progress just a tad bit. You have to ask yourself what is more important that day. Temporary mouth satisfaction or a quicker route to weight loss. It's really all in your priorities and goals.

 

Whatever you decide make sure you enjoy yourself and feel it will be the right decision. :)

I would skip the rice, beans, and tortillas and ask for salad instead.  I have found that some Mexican places give me a really great salad with all kinds of veggies.  Sometimes its just lettuce.  I am surprised at how accommodating Mexican places can be. 

The other option would be to get a couple of carnitas tacos a la cart to keep the portions small before it even gets delivered.  Then you get the carnitas but just not so much.  If its not enough food, find some kind of salad or veggies on the menu or eat a big snack of something before you go. 

Mmm.  Sounds good!

Oh, and here's a suggestion.  If you want to talk yourself out of it, make a barbecued pork butt this weekend (or day off).  Cook it super slow, like 4 hours or more low heat. Baste occasionally. Its done when it pulls easily. It comes out tasting like carnitas and pulls apart the same way, but since its barbecued instead of cooked in fat, its way less calories.  Some of the fat cooks off the meat and its not that fatty in the first place.  Its just how they cook it traditionally!

Then you can make your own healthy sides, have leftovers for the week. You can resist tonight knowing you'll have something just as good, but healthy this weekend. 

It might work in the oven, but I've never tried it.  I'd think you'd have to put it on a broiler pan so the fat drains.

GOSH!!!!!!!! I HATE THIS! Why do all the good foods have to be high in calories?!?! geez!

You can do this!  The suggestions above are GREAT!  Eat the carnitas you love, just eat in moderation!  Like maybe one cup instead of 4 cups!  Lots of lettuce!  Black beans instead of refried beans.  Lots of salsa!  No sour cream.  A little bit of avacado.  Modify this meal so that you are still happy with yourself afterward and HAVE FUN!  Good luck! 

 

Original Post by jeanhorsfall:

 

Skipping the refried beans will save you a lot of fat calories.

Avocados are high in fat, but are litterally a superfood, so go ahead and do it. They are way better than guacamole and sour cream.

 I would skip the pork over skipping the refried beans, yes they say refried but look them up, lots of fibre/protein and minimal fat (12.5%).  Plus guac is made with avocado/ tomatoes/ onions, so if you're okay with avos, you're ok with guac, just try to get nonfat sour cream.

Food Details Foods > Beans and Legume Products Nutrition Facts Serving Size 1 cup (252.0 g) 1 tbsp (16.0 g)   Amount Per Serving Calories 237 Calories from Fat 29 % Daily Value* Total Fat 3.2g 5% Saturated Fat 1.2g 6% Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4g Monounsaturated Fat 1.4g Cholesterol 20mg 7% Sodium 753mg 31% Total Carbohydrates 39.1g 13% Dietary Fiber 13.4g 53% Sugars 0.6g Protein 13.8g Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 25% Calcium 9% • Iron 23% * Based on a 2000 calorie diet
Nutritional Analysis Good points

• Very low in sugar
• Very high in dietary fiber
• High in vitamin C

Bad points

• High in sodium

Nutrition Grade
96% confidence

Report bad grade

Mexican food kind of scares me because it is high in calories. I can't stand to deprive myself of anything though. I would just portion it. That's what I do with all of my scary foods. If I don't like the calorie content, then I keep shrinking the portions until it is something I can deal with. If it becomes too small of a portion, then I start looking for a new way to just make it myself and substitute all of the bad stuff.

"cheat meals" are good because they keep your metabolism from slowing down, one meal wont ruin your diet as long as you don't make a habit of it every night, just make sure you watch what you're eating prior to dinner, as long as you dont eat 3500 calories more then you've burnt that day you wont gain weight, you might even wake up looking slightly smaller since your metabolism will boost up to burn your dinner

Aww mexican food is the best! yum I'm craving chipotle's burrito now.You can have a cheat meal once a week it is not going to kill you.Like Estelleg says it helps keep your metabolism from slowing down. Plus it is good to have a cheat meal on the weekends because you get those craving out and are more likely to stay on your diet for the rest of the week. I have a cheat meal on saturdays and it has not affected my weight loss. I would have to suggest on making sure you don't over do it and eat in moderations such as  having 1 or 2 cups of  carnita instead of four and half of the flour tortilla. Have fun eating out.