Last night we were out to dinner in Old Town Alexandria at a restaurant on the waterfront. Similar to most places in Old Town, the prices were pretty steep. I was intending to have prime rib as the main course and the menu had a “meal deal” offering that included prime rib as the main course. The deal also provided a starting salad or soup and a molten chocolate with ice cream dessert. The frugal part of my brain started adding up numbers and quickly I saw that if I ordered a salad, prime rib and dessert separately, this would cost a good amount more than taking advantage of the “meal deal”. As I was going to order prime rib anyway, I proceeded to order the “meal deal”.
From a weight control standpoint, here was the issue: The “meal deal” provided a dessert and I almost always, never order a dessert at a restaurant. The reasons: 1- I am simply not hungry anymore after the meal and 2- the prices for desserts at restaurants are sort of outrageous. BUT, because the “meal deal” provided this very god tasting dessert that could not be brought home due to melting ice cream, there I went, devouring this almost 1000 calories dessert.
Expanding this discussion beyond restaurants, we all must be very cognizant NOT to be enticed by “meal deals” if they will be deleterious to our weight control efforts. Human nature is such that we all like to avail ourselves of a “deal”, whether this be “buy one McDonald’s breakfast sandwich and get one for free”, or “buy one candy bar and get a second for 50% off” or “Get a Wendy’s milkshake for one buck”. There are many other examples of enticing “meal deals” that may help our wallets but hurt our health.
Beware of “Meal Deals” derailing your efforts to become healthier and happier.
And anyone out there remember the “Deal” from the Columbia House Record Company back in the 1970’s that offered “11 record albums for a penny” and then they would ship to you horrible albums monthly and charge a good amount of $$$ for those monthly albums?
I, of course, fell into this trap and eagerly ordered my first 11 albums, one of which was Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits, released in 1972. On side 2 is one of my favorite songs of their’s..”America”.
