Using Up Those Points

Note: Blogger was on crack last night and I couldn't publish this or the next post, so that's why it sounds like an end-of-the-night post first thing in the morning...

Last week, I was sticking really close to my daily allowance of points and used very few of my 35 extra Flex Points. As you know, I was *very* hungry for several days. This week, I've been using some of those points to get me through days with a little more in the schedule.

Tuesday was another 2-meals-out day. I met JJ for lunch at Gordon Biersch, and I had a gift certificate so our lunch was free. That meant we were a little more liberal about ordering... They have a pretty decent selection of salads, but I've had a lot of entree salads and a whole lot of raw tuna lately, so I wanted something a little different. I went for the 1/2 turkey sandwich and salad combo. The sandwich was a little boring, but it was probably the most substantive thing I've eaten in days. I added it up and gave it 10 points, to be on the safe side. It came with a nice mixed greens salad. JJ and I then debated whether she should order dessert, since it would be free... and we landed on the "if you order something, I will" deal. So I asked my favorite server (yep, I'm a regular there) what the options were and I ordered just a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream. Of course, it ended up being a dish with about 3 scoops, but I was SO GOOD. I really only had about 4 litt! le teaspoons-full... I checked the WW online listings and gave that 3 points. Not so bad for a little induglence. And honestly, the full-fat vanilla ice cream tasted so rich - kinda too rich - that after just a few bites I was ready to be done with it. That was a big lunch, but it still fit in with what I was doing for the whole day.

My friend C and I were planning to go to a gallery opening tonight, and I knew there would be wine and some not-so-point-friendly munchies there. We decided to go to Teaism first for a healthy dinner, and that was the right move. I wanted to make sure I was NOT HUNGRY when I went to the opening, cuz I didn't want to be tempted by all the cheeses, dips, and spreads. I got a bowl of miso soup and the shrimp spring rolls plus a big mug of tea. The miso soup was a much bigger portion than last night at the sushi place, so that cut into my points a bit. But I ended up using 7 points at Teaism. When we got to the gallery, I allowed myself 1 glass of chardonnay (2 points) and totally skipped the munchies table. Score! I knew I would be hungry when I got home, though, cuz that Teaism stuff wasn't super-filling. So I broke out the reduced fat wheat thins and a little hummus, and fully allowed myself to use up some of my allowed Flex Points to finish out the day. I used 5 of them total, after I used I think 3 yesterday. But that's fine - I'm spending the next few nights in and will have more low-point choices in my own kitchen.

There's a reason we're given these Flex Points - it's to use them! So even though I ate more food in the last 2 days, I'm still totally on plan. Hooray for WW!