Greasy, sweet chicken

The SO, who is not on a diet, went out of her way to make a nice meal
tonight. It consisted of breaded chicken cooked with pineapples, probably
some extremely sweet canned pineapple juice and a lot oil. It was delicious,
but how do you handle something like that? To turn it down would have
created some strife.

I ate a reasonably small amount, but don't know how to count the cals. What
I should have done, I suppose, was take off the breading and wiped off the
grease with a napkin(?) Or, really, would that make much of a difference?

I had maybe 4oz of the stuff, and maybe five of those little square pieces
of pineapple from a can.

The real problem, I suppose, is that my appetite doesn't have a memory or an
off switch. Other than the numbers I jot down on a piece of paper, I have no
way of seeing the reality of what I have eaten. This same situation occurred
the other night.

It may be that I have to tell the spouse, once and for all, that I am not
going to eat any more of the food she prepares. Cause of death: massive
eardrum explosion.

All I can say is, thank goodness she didn't make a cheesecake too.

What do you do with these little odds-and-ends if you're counting calories?

On Tue, 19 Oct 2004 22:29:43 -0700, "Daven Thrice"
wrote:

The SO, who is not on a diet, went out of her way to make a nice meal
tonight. It consisted of breaded chicken cooked with pineapples, probably
some extremely sweet canned pineapple juice and a lot oil. It was delicious,
but how do you handle something like that? To turn it down would have
created some strife.

Does SO understand that you're on a diet, and know what kinds of foods
you want to eat on that diet? Sometime -- NOT when she has already
prepared a meal that's not on your plan :-) -- you should talk with
her about how you are trying to eat and how she can help you. I'm
assuming your relationship is a positive and supportive one, in which
she would like to help you with a goal like becoming more fit and
healthy. If not, you have a different problem.

I ate a reasonably small amount, but don't know how to count the cals. What
I should have done, I suppose, was take off the breading and wiped off the
grease with a napkin(?) Or, really, would that make much of a difference?

Taking off the breading would definitely cut the calories -- both the
carbs from the breading and the absorbed fat and sugar. The chicken
meat isn't going to absorb much of it. And if the chicken had skin on
it, removing that would cut the fat substantially. I think you could
have removed the breading and any skin without comment and eaten the
chicken. That's what I might have done if served this by a friend.
The wiping with a napkin would have been a bit more overtly critical.

I had maybe 4oz of the stuff, and maybe five of those little square pieces
of pineapple from a can.

I don't know exactly how you'd count the calories; I'd just make a
guess based on the ingredients you're aware of -- 4 oz. chicken,
breading (maybe a few tablespoons of bread crumbs?), and canned
pineapple. (Unless she added extra fat, the greasiness you mention is
probably coming from chicken skin or dark meat chicken, which should
figure into any calorie computation.) But don't worry too much about
it. Tomorrow's a new day :-).

The real problem, I suppose, is that my appetite doesn't have a memory or an
off switch. Other than the numbers I jot down on a piece of paper, I have no
way of seeing the reality of what I have eaten. This same situation occurred
the other night.

That's why -- for me -- it's worth trying to make an estimate of the
calorie count, even if it's imperfect.

It may be that I have to tell the spouse, once and for all, that I am not
going to eat any more of the food she prepares. Cause of death: massive
eardrum explosion.

See above -- try for a nice unemotional discussion about what you're
trying to do and ask for her help.

All I can say is, thank goodness she didn't make a cheesecake too.

Well, this I think you could have just declined. Be sure you're not
using "I don't want to hurt her feelings." just as an excuse to eat
things you shouldn't. Anyone is allowed to decline dessert if they're
not hungry for it after dinner; it's not rude or ungracious.

What do you do with these little odds-and-ends if you're counting calories?

As I said above, I guess at them.

Chris
262/136/ (135-145)

On Tue, 19 Oct 2004 22:29:43 -0700, "Daven Thrice"
wrote:

The SO, who is not on a diet, went out of her way to make a nice meal
tonight. It consisted of breaded chicken cooked with pineapples, probably
some extremely sweet canned pineapple juice and a lot oil. It was delicious,
but how do you handle something like that? To turn it down would have
created some strife.

Does SO understand that you're on a diet, and know what kinds of foods
you want to eat on that diet? Sometime -- NOT when she has already
prepared a meal that's not on your plan :-) -- you should talk with
her about how you are trying to eat and how she can help you. I'm
assuming your relationship is a positive and supportive one, in which
she would like to help you with a goal like becoming more fit and
healthy. If not, you have a different problem.

I ate a reasonably small amount, but don't know how to count the cals. What
I should have done, I suppose, was take off the breading and wiped off the
grease with a napkin(?) Or, really, would that make much of a difference?

Taking off the breading would definitely cut the calories -- both the
carbs from the breading and the absorbed fat and sugar. The chicken
meat isn't going to absorb much of it. And if the chicken had skin on
it, removing that would cut the fat substantially. I think you could
have removed the breading and any skin without comment and eaten the
chicken. That's what I might have done if served this by a friend.
The wiping with a napkin would have been a bit more overtly critical.

I had maybe 4oz of the stuff, and maybe five of those little square pieces
of pineapple from a can.

I don't know exactly how you'd count the calories; I'd just make a
guess based on the ingredients you're aware of -- 4 oz. chicken,
breading (maybe a few tablespoons of bread crumbs?), and canned
pineapple. (Unless she added extra fat, the greasiness you mention is
probably coming from chicken skin or dark meat chicken, which should
figure into any calorie computation.) But don't worry too much about
it. Tomorrow's a new day :-).

The real problem, I suppose, is that my appetite doesn't have a memory or an
off switch. Other than the numbers I jot down on a piece of paper, I have no
way of seeing the reality of what I have eaten. This same situation occurred
the other night.

That's why -- for me -- it's worth trying to make an estimate of the
calorie count, even if it's imperfect.

It may be that I have to tell the spouse, once and for all, that I am not
going to eat any more of the food she prepares. Cause of death: massive
eardrum explosion.

See above -- try for a nice unemotional discussion about what you're
trying to do and ask for her help.

All I can say is, thank goodness she didn't make a cheesecake too.

Well, this I think you could have just declined. Be sure you're not
using "I don't want to hurt her feelings." just as an excuse to eat
things you shouldn't. Anyone is allowed to decline dessert if they're
not hungry for it after dinner; it's not rude or ungracious.

What do you do with these little odds-and-ends if you're counting calories?

As I said above, I guess at them.

Chris
262/136/ (135-145)

"Ignoramus25550" wrote in message
...
You sound like you did pretty well. At some point, you'd have to again
deal with SOs and their food etc.

I will mention a few things in random order that help me with dealing
with DW, food, etc.

- It helps to praise their food at every possible turn. Even if you do
not eat something, praise it and their cooking skills. Eg say, this
cheesecake is exquisute and you did a splendid job, even if you do not
eat it.

So you're recommending giving false praise (LYING) to one's own spouse?
Yeah, that's healthy.

- At some point, your SO needs to get the idea that you are on a diet
and cannot eat everything. You can communicate it politely and explain
that it does not imply a rejection of them as a person.

Dealing with SOs cooking does not have to be a huge drama.

If you have to lie to your SO or have your eating tied into their feelings
of rejection, that would be drama.

Jenn
thankful for a spouse who doesn't need to be lied to or treated with kid
gloves

"Ignoramus25550" wrote in message
...
You sound like you did pretty well. At some point, you'd have to again
deal with SOs and their food etc.

I will mention a few things in random order that help me with dealing
with DW, food, etc.

- It helps to praise their food at every possible turn. Even if you do
not eat something, praise it and their cooking skills. Eg say, this
cheesecake is exquisute and you did a splendid job, even if you do not
eat it.

So you're recommending giving false praise (LYING) to one's own spouse?
Yeah, that's healthy.

- At some point, your SO needs to get the idea that you are on a diet
and cannot eat everything. You can communicate it politely and explain
that it does not imply a rejection of them as a person.

Dealing with SOs cooking does not have to be a huge drama.

If you have to lie to your SO or have your eating tied into their feelings
of rejection, that would be drama.

Jenn
thankful for a spouse who doesn't need to be lied to or treated with kid
gloves

"Chris Braun" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 19 Oct 2004 22:29:43 -0700, "Daven Thrice"
wrote:

The SO, who is not on a diet, went out of her way to make a nice meal
tonight. It consisted of breaded chicken cooked with pineapples, probably
some extremely sweet canned pineapple juice and a lot oil. It was
delicious,
but how do you handle something like that? To turn it down would have
created some strife.

Does SO understand that you're on a diet, and know what kinds of foods
you want to eat on that diet? Sometime -- NOT when she has already
prepared a meal that's not on your plan :-) -- you should talk with
her about how you are trying to eat and how she can help you. I'm
assuming your relationship is a positive and supportive one, in which
she would like to help you with a goal like becoming more fit and
healthy. If not, you have a different problem.

ITA here. When I went on HMR it was going to mean a radical lifestyle
change. DH and I discussed it thouroughly, including the sacrifices he'd be
making. Nowadays, he totally understands my WOE and will even explain it to
his mother before we go there for dinner

Jenn

"Chris Braun" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 19 Oct 2004 22:29:43 -0700, "Daven Thrice"
wrote:

The SO, who is not on a diet, went out of her way to make a nice meal
tonight. It consisted of breaded chicken cooked with pineapples, probably
some extremely sweet canned pineapple juice and a lot oil. It was
delicious,
but how do you handle something like that? To turn it down would have
created some strife.

Does SO understand that you're on a diet, and know what kinds of foods
you want to eat on that diet? Sometime -- NOT when she has already
prepared a meal that's not on your plan :-) -- you should talk with
her about how you are trying to eat and how she can help you. I'm
assuming your relationship is a positive and supportive one, in which
she would like to help you with a goal like becoming more fit and
healthy. If not, you have a different problem.

ITA here. When I went on HMR it was going to mean a radical lifestyle
change. DH and I discussed it thouroughly, including the sacrifices he'd be
making. Nowadays, he totally understands my WOE and will even explain it to
his mother before we go there for dinner

Jenn

My husband had to start a new diet because his cholesterol numbers were
really, really high. His doctor advised that he visit with a dietitian for
some healthy eating guidelines. So, my husband went and got the info from
the dietitian and we both started eating healthier. Lots more fruits and
veggies for us! In our case, it's working because I also wanted to eat
better and lose some weight too.

Even though your SO isn't on the diet, you should sit down together and
discuss your dieting goals and what you need to do to achieve them. Your SO
will probably be supportive of your efforts once she knows the details of
your new eating habits. My husband has actually become more involved in the
meal planning part of our lives. He will go through my cookbooks in search
of recipes that look healthy and then I figure out if we can really have
them or if I need to make changes to it so that it won't affect our new
eating practices. Both of us have become more aware of what we are eating.

Good Luck!


"Daven Thrice" wrote in message
news:tJmdd.72131$cJ3.26637@fed1read06...
The SO, who is not on a diet, went out of her way to make a nice meal
tonight. It consisted of breaded chicken cooked with pineapples, probably
some extremely sweet canned pineapple juice and a lot oil. It was
delicious, but how do you handle something like that? To turn it down
would have created some strife.

I ate a reasonably small amount, but don't know how to count the cals.
What I should have done, I suppose, was take off the breading and wiped
off the grease with a napkin(?) Or, really, would that make much of a
difference?

I had maybe 4oz of the stuff, and maybe five of those little square pieces
of pineapple from a can.

The real problem, I suppose, is that my appetite doesn't have a memory or
an off switch. Other than the numbers I jot down on a piece of paper, I
have no way of seeing the reality of what I have eaten. This same
situation occurred the other night.

It may be that I have to tell the spouse, once and for all, that I am not
going to eat any more of the food she prepares. Cause of death: massive
eardrum explosion.

All I can say is, thank goodness she didn't make a cheesecake too.

What do you do with these little odds-and-ends if you're counting
calories?

My husband had to start a new diet because his cholesterol numbers were
really, really high. His doctor advised that he visit with a dietitian for
some healthy eating guidelines. So, my husband went and got the info from
the dietitian and we both started eating healthier. Lots more fruits and
veggies for us! In our case, it's working because I also wanted to eat
better and lose some weight too.

Even though your SO isn't on the diet, you should sit down together and
discuss your dieting goals and what you need to do to achieve them. Your SO
will probably be supportive of your efforts once she knows the details of
your new eating habits. My husband has actually become more involved in the
meal planning part of our lives. He will go through my cookbooks in search
of recipes that look healthy and then I figure out if we can really have
them or if I need to make changes to it so that it won't affect our new
eating practices. Both of us have become more aware of what we are eating.

Good Luck!


"Daven Thrice" wrote in message
news:tJmdd.72131$cJ3.26637@fed1read06...
The SO, who is not on a diet, went out of her way to make a nice meal
tonight. It consisted of breaded chicken cooked with pineapples, probably
some extremely sweet canned pineapple juice and a lot oil. It was
delicious, but how do you handle something like that? To turn it down
would have created some strife.

I ate a reasonably small amount, but don't know how to count the cals.
What I should have done, I suppose, was take off the breading and wiped
off the grease with a napkin(?) Or, really, would that make much of a
difference?

I had maybe 4oz of the stuff, and maybe five of those little square pieces
of pineapple from a can.

The real problem, I suppose, is that my appetite doesn't have a memory or
an off switch. Other than the numbers I jot down on a piece of paper, I
have no way of seeing the reality of what I have eaten. This same
situation occurred the other night.

It may be that I have to tell the spouse, once and for all, that I am not
going to eat any more of the food she prepares. Cause of death: massive
eardrum explosion.

All I can say is, thank goodness she didn't make a cheesecake too.

What do you do with these little odds-and-ends if you're counting
calories?

One time on Usenet, "JMA" said:
"Chris Braun" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 19 Oct 2004 22:29:43 -0700, "Daven Thrice"
wrote:

The SO, who is not on a diet, went out of her way to make a nice meal
tonight. It consisted of breaded chicken cooked with pineapples, probably
some extremely sweet canned pineapple juice and a lot oil. It was
delicious, but how do you handle something like that? To turn it down would
have created some strife.

Does SO understand that you're on a diet, and know what kinds of foods
you want to eat on that diet? Sometime -- NOT when she has already
prepared a meal that's not on your plan :-) -- you should talk with
her about how you are trying to eat and how she can help you. I'm
assuming your relationship is a positive and supportive one, in which
she would like to help you with a goal like becoming more fit and
healthy. If not, you have a different problem.

ITA here. When I went on HMR it was going to mean a radical lifestyle
change. DH and I discussed it thouroughly, including the sacrifices he'd be
making. Nowadays, he totally understands my WOE and will even explain it to
his mother before we go there for dinner

Very cool. My DH understands that about the only time I can eat his
cooking now is on Sunday (my 2500 kcal day), when he makes breakfast
for the three of us. He's *very* supportive, even if he's not too good
at handing out compliments... ;-)


--
J.J. in WA * 275/235
Goal #2: 215 By Dec 31 '04
Goal #3: 195 by May 31 '05