Soup and Salad day and 1900 calories-what?!?

I just had to chuckle this morning when I reviewed my food log from yesterday.  This is a good lesson to all.  I went to Olive Garden restaurant yesterday and had their Soup and Salad lunch, for which I had two servings of salad, half a bowl of the Soupa Tuscana and 3 breadsticks  (520 calories for those puppies!). For dinner, I had my own salad and my own homemade Vegetable beef barley soup.  The lesson learned-breadsticks have lots of calories-stay away!  It's all good though, I enjoyed it and will have a better day today.  LOL :)

I think having only three breadsticks is rather restrained, actually -- the last time I went I'm sure I ate many more than that...

I thought so too, Coach K, that's why I am not beating myself up over it.  I just find it so interesting how many calories certain foods have.  You wouldn't think salad was high in calories, but the dressing at Olive Garden is pretty high.  It sure is good, though.  Sometimes, you just have to relax, enjoy and then get back on the horse!

luckily I don't eat salad dressing... but I also doubt I could go to OG and only have soup and salad -- I like pasta... (in other words -- to maintain my moderation might require more will power than I have)

Yay no Olive Garden here in Vancouver.

But there's always Capers where I luckily never eat. Having read that eating 3 breadsticks is restrictive by another poster above I congratulate you for only having three ddugan.

Moving on and on by OG in the future :)

I also LOVE OG and try and only have 2-3 breadsticks.  I usually go with someone that I know will get a meal and usually just have a few bites of theirs and I'm satisfied and FULL!  I'm usually full by the time I get my meal, and then eat my meal!  I've found it also helps keep the bill down too.  Good job!

I just have to say that this is why I love C.C.!  You are all so supportive and we can truly understand each other like few other people can.  Thanks so much for your input. :)

I don't think I have the restraint or discipline to eat at Olive Garden ... yet.

yum.........

=^..^= MOLLY

drat. double post.

=^..^= MOLLY

ddugan, and I'll bet that YOUR salad and soup was way healthier than Olive Garden's!  That's a significant difference right there.

I may be going to Olive Garden this weekend with a friend; thanks for the reminder to be careful around the breadsticks!

I read that the OG breadsticks were only 140 calories... so where are you getting 520 from?  That scares me because I had one the other night... oh well.

Ratinhat, I think that is called bad math-oooops!  It was only 420 calories...but that is still alot for bread!  I think the best tool for me has been the food planner, because when I plug everything in, I can see exactly what I need to do when I go out or eat at home.  And yes, my soup is very healthy, but most soups are not too bad, if only too high in sodium.

how random, i went to olive garden yesterday too!

i stayed just a little over maintenance, i think... but got close. and i was literally doing something with friends all day, i didnt exercise. (which is rare for me)

 

whenever i go to olive garden, which i do a lot, i get water with a lemon and minestrone soup. i get so full on the soup, which is chock full of veggies, beans, and a little pasta.... 165 cals per bowl? it always used to say something quite lower. oh well.  i had three bowls of it........ but hey it was GOOD.

but you know, today is a new day. i have barely gained in a month. a month! a recovering (NOT recovered) anorexic, i used to gain 10 pounds per month if i was lucky (more if unlucky).

i love to exercise, and im starting to eat more healthy foods... although i do go crazy making my own coffees at holiday... any size for 89 cents!

college visit today. and tomorrow. college dining lets me be very healthy. i dont binge around friends. and i can choose whatever i want... so many healthy options! (university of minnesota, two dif. campuses. good meals)

I LOVE OG but have not gone in a long time. But I would like to share a tip with you that I learned a long time ago, in regards to salad dressing. Especially, salad dressing like that at the OG, that is wonderful, but very High in calories.

Order your salad without dressing, get your dressing on the side, (get more than one little dish of salad dressing if you wish [one for you to dip your fork into before a bite of salad & a larger one for the rest of the table or enough small ones so that everyone can have their own]). One reason, I started doing it this way was because sometimes the salad would just have way toooo much dressing on it to suit me, & now (even at home) I eat my salads this way.

P.S. Before my DH decided to change his life-style he use to order extra dressing, just to dip breadsticks in (talk about HIGH CAL)

Thanks for the tip Lori, and yes I agree their dressing is very high in calories.  I never thought to have OG keep the dressing off to the side, as it seems to just be a part of the salad.  At all other places I do keep my dressing off to the side and it really does help keep the amount of dressing I use down to a minimum.  I will definitely do this the next time I go!

Julia Rose, it sounds like you are doing awsome with your recovery!  I am very proud of you.  It is soooo hard to overcome even the simplest food obstacles when you have issues, and it sounds like you are enjoying your life.  Yahoo!

So I usually get Caesar salads at Chili's when I go there because I always imagine it being healthier than what I would otherwise eat. WHOAH! I looked it up and there are 1010 cals if you eat the whole thing (I never do but that's not the point ^_^). That Caesar dressing is LOADED, hah. Yay, CC for helping not down 1010 cals when I think I'm eating ~200.

It's still probably healthier than fries and a burger, but 1010 cals? I can think of many other things I'd rather eat for that much.

We went there tonight and I had half a turkey sandwich and a cup of soup. I guess it's all about portion sizes when you eat out. I was actually surprized at how fast I filled up. Drinking water or tea helps curb the appetite as well.

i've worked at the OG for just about two years now and i still have a hard time controlling what i eat on my breaks!