Over the last couple of days, I’ve discussed the frustrations of things changing when you’ve planned out your calories for the day. Another frustrating thing, which occurred yesterday, is when you go through a drive-thru and they get something wrong.
This is already frustrating enough when you’re not budgeting calories and watching your food intake. It only adds to it, when you’ve only got so much room to spare and you’ve decided to allow yourself a quick drive-thru treat.
The entry to my son’s stomach…
My oldest son and I decided to spend the evening together at Elitch Gardens for Fright Fest. My daughter and youngest son spent the night with my sister-in-law and my nephew, and my wife wanted a night to herself, so we used our season passes to head downtown. On the way, I asked him if he wanted to grab a burger. Being a 15-year-old garbage disposal, he excitedly said yes. I knew exactly where I was on my calorie count, and I knew that one double cheeseburger would leave me with about 150 calories of room, should I want a glass of milk before bed.
I got there and ordered each of us a double cheeseburger. I ordered him a small Coke and myself a small iced tea. The lady checked to see if I wanted sweetened or unsweetened, to which I answered “unsweetened, please.” She put in the order, and I know it was correct because it was on the drive-thru screen. We pulled to the first window, paid and pulled to the second window. We got our food and drinks, and as we pulled onto the road, I asked my son to grab my burger for me and unwrap my straw. He handed me my burger, which I unwrapped at a stop light. I took the first bite, and while the light was still red, I grabbed my cup and took a sip of the crisp refreshing taste of….SWEET TEA!?!?!
I don’t dislike sweet tea…but there are three problems here:
- I wasn’t expecting it1.
- There are a lot more calories in sweet tea than unsweetened.
- I didn’t know exactly how many calories were in a small sweet tea.2
I needed to drink something, and since I didn’t have my water in the car, I decided to settle down and enjoy a rare treat of some sweet tea before riding some roller coasters3.
When my son and I got home, I did plug my calories in, and I had come very close to my budget, which just underscores the need to know exactly what I’m eating at all times.
Calorie Diary: 10/24/14
Budget: 1741
Total Calories: 1737
As always, thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
Footnotes
1. Like a lot of people, my brain has a problem when it confronts something unexpected, even if it’s something I like.
2. A small sweet tea has 150 calories…almost the same number as a small Dr. Pepper, although there are some benefits to tea (polyphenols, and possible anti-stroke and anti-heart disease related properties).
3. It was nice to have some one on one bonding time with my oldest son. We don’t get a lot of that, but we got to talk quite a bit while we were walking around the park and waiting in lines.
Send Me on My Weigh 