Metabolic Efficiency - Day 4 - Holiday Party #1

I didn't have much on my schedule Saturday except some tri club work and a few other things I needed to do, so I ended up sitting a computer most of the day. Fortunately I did get out for a run. Actually ran to the grocery store (in an indirect way) to pick up a few things and then walked home. This was my first run in two weeks so I kept it easy. Also, in keeping with the MET "plan," Bob recommends to keep all exercise aerobic when in a metabolic efficiency phase.

Nutrition:
Because I knew I had a holiday party in the evening, I wanted to make sure I wasn't too hungry going in so I could keep my portions controlled. I also didn't know what would get served (I signed up for my meal over a month ago).
Breakfast was a smoothie made with soymilk, frozen cherries, frozen blueberries and frozen strawberries with chocolate whey protein, cocoa, and peanut butter (of course!). I didn't get a picture, but it was really good!
Brunch was the leftover egg/veggie mix from day 3.
Lunch was chicken tenders (boneless skinless chicken breast strips) cooked in tomato sauce served with a spinach carrot salad.

this was actually quite filling!

Now we get to the fun "cheat" part. Cheating is a relative term and I probably should use it, as there usually is a guilt associated with it, and you shouldn't feel guilty about what you eat. I just deviated slightly from the metabolic efficiency plan. But it is a holiday party and I was going to enjoy it. Moderation is key. So here's what I enjoyed on Saturday night:

My first serving of grains since Tuesday!

dill cream cheese spread on toast. that's bacon on the bottom appetizer. And everything is better with bacon!

coconut shrimp. I only had one - my husband had the other. but it was delish!

salad with creamy balsamic dressing

one glass of red wine (that's NOT my martini!)

main course - salmon and filet minon, bacon wrapped asparagus, and mashed sweet potato under the filet. The red thing in front is a tomato, but I opted not to eat that. Picky Nicky is still in there somewhere.

Dessert - small bites of pumpkin cheese cake and an oatmeal raisin cookie.

Definitely plenty of calories and I enjoyed the food, but I didn't overindulge. And please note that I did skip the roll in the bread basket. For me that's HUGE! but I didn't really miss it. The dessert totally made up for it! I also ate about 3/4 of the filet. It was good, but I was plenty full.

Even though my portions were moderate, I still ate plenty on Saturday night. I entered estimates of portion sizes into TrainingPeaks and the meal was over 1000 calories. Went to bed with a full belly, but not uncomfortable at all! I would say a successful holiday party!

And here's a pic of my husband and me at the party:

we cleaned up for the party