"Order like you give a damn about losing weight!"

That was the verbal smackdown I gave myself before we went out to dinner tonight. I usually do OK at restaurants but often look the other way when cheese, bacon, fries or some other junk finds its way onto my plate. I try not to succumb but "just one" turns into " a little bit" and even a little bit can throw off your calorie count.

I knew the place offered turkey burgers, so I planned on ordering one. I also brought along my secret weapon -- an Arnold's Sandwich Thin, in a Ziploc bag tucked into my purse.

If this place was uncharted territory, I would have checked to see whether it had a menu online -- I Iike to know what I'm getting myself into.

I ordered the turkey burger, which came with either fries, onion rings, cole slaw or pasta salad. "Can I have salad salad?" I asked.

"Sure, but that'll be an extra dollar," said the waitress. And pay I did. Actually my parents paid.
:)

I made sure the dressing came on the side and did the fork trick (dip fork in dressing then into salad), I swapped out the big, fluffy bun for the Sandwich Thin, and had a perfectly lovely dinner. And mooched an onion ring from my kid.

What made dinner taste even better was the fact that I stuck to my guns and did the right thing.