Sunday, September 30, 2007

eating out

I love to eat out; Cliff wouldn't care if he ever ate anyplace but home.

Where we live, the nearest place to dine away from home is eight miles away... unless you count the Village Inn, which is more of a bar that happens to serve Mexican food.  They're a little pricey to suit me, and they don't have a huge menu.  So you'd think it would be easy to resist temptation, eat at home, and stay healthy.

Cliff's heart surgery and recovery has been a big incentive in keeping us out of salty, fatty restaurants, and we try to eat out no more than once a week.  Sometimes, however, we do go overboard. 

Here's what happens:  Cliff works second shift, leaving for work at 2:30 P.M.  So we do our grocery-shopping or farm-supply shopping, or make our monthly-or-so trip to Sam's Club, on weekday mornings after our walk.  That has us departing home around 10 A.M. 

No matter in which direction we go, we find ourselves right in front of someplace to eat at noon.  Sam's Club isn't so far from Olive Garden; and Smokehouse Barbecue and Fazoli's are right across the road.  Price Chopper grocery is in a suburb of Kansas City that has just about every chain restaurant you've ever heard of (except for anyplace featuring steak).  Ten miles to the south of home, there's Pizza Hut (my biggest weakness) and Subway.  Eight miles east, there's our favorite Mexican eatery and another Pizza Hut; and now, a brand new Chinese buffet that totally rocks, and blows the dirty little Chinese place that's been in that town for years out of the water.

Picture me as Eve and Cliff as Adam (only with clothes, not fig leaves).   This Eden we inhabit has forbidden fruit everywhere.

But I do want my husband healthy. 

Cliff, who weighs every morning, recently crept up to 210 pounds over a five-day period when we ate out three times.  Not good.  He tries to stay at 205, and with my help, he does.

So we've been eating at home.  It helps if we skip our walk on the day we shop, because that gets us out early and puts us in the danger zones before all those places open for business.

Of course, meanwhile I'm plotting where we'll eat out, the minute he's back to 205.  Yesterday he was 206.

I think we'd better stay out of the buffets, don't you?

Eve, I feel your pain.




10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love to eat out also.  Unfortunately I can't afford to!  Linda

Anonymous said...

I feel Eve's pain too.  I love to eat out.  But with us, it isn't Dave who has to be careful. :(

Anonymous said...

Going out to eat is my weakness, too.  What's not to like - you order what you want, you don't have to cook it yourself, and you don't have to do the dishes afterwards.  
The bummer for me is...Jesse goes out to eat for lunch every day, so by the time he gets home, he wants home cooked food, but the rest of us are jonesing to go out.  

~Amy

Anonymous said...

I'm with you...I LOVE to eat out!
Pam

Anonymous said...

I feel your pain too.  It is so convient to eat out but it costs in many ways.  With all of our running around on Friday we ended up eating out twice!  NOT good for the wallet or the waist.
Traci

Anonymous said...

They do have healthy foods on the menus, but all the other stuff is just too tempting.  It's a good thing I rarely eat out as I'm fat enough without it.  'On Ya' - ma

Anonymous said...

my husband eats out everyday.. Ibitch about it but does no good the other day I said we neede more insureance so when he dies I will be taken care of ..Me gave me the evil eye
Donna G

Anonymous said...

At least you are aware of the temptations and how to avoid them. I try to think of most of that food as poison. In a way, it is!

Isn't it odd that so many men would be happy to eat at home only? It seems women like to eat out more than men do, doesn't it?

xoxo

Anonymous said...

Men like to eat at home usually because it is the women that do all the cooking and cleaning up!
If you are not gaining weight, it does not seem fair for you not to go out and eat...Maybe he eats more when you are not looking..lol..

Anonymous said...

Staying away from those restaurants is hard, but Cliff's health is far more important.  Yes, I feel Eve's pain as well as yours! lol

Hugs
Jackie