Wait what?! You don’t mean “chipolte” as in yummy burritos and “to die for guac” Chipotle Mexican Grill Diet, do you?
Well, yes I do. I eat Chipotle 5-6 times a week and it has helped me lose over 30 pounds. Let me explain.
 When I first started counting calories and eating healthy in August 2009 (as party of the Hacker’s Diet) I was having a hard time finding restaurant/fast food to eat that was tasty and low calorie enough that I could eat a lot of it. I had given up Chipotle because my regular order, soft tacos with barbacoa, corn and extra sour cream and cheese, was almost 1000 calories. Even if I skipped the pop and the extra dairy, I couldn’t eat much else the rest of the day if I had that!
One day while getting a salad from a restaurant across the street from my local Chipolte, it dawned on me that they too had salads. When I went back to work I found this handy nutrition calculator just for Chipotle.
I figured that I could get a huge salad for 430 calories. So that is what I do just about every day for lunch as part of my low calorie/ healthy eating. And I have lost over 30 pounds, going from 150 in July 2009 to 118 in February 2010! Here is my 430 calorie salad-
-Lettuce
-Fajita Veggies (I usually ask for extra)
-Chicken
-Corn Salsa
-Green Salsa
-Side of Sour Cream (which I use like a dressing)
Now don’t feel like you HAVE to have a salad. While it may be one of the healthier options there, you can do other low cal options too. Justin and Eric over at Chipotless have had great success with their “bowl minus the rice and beans” approach.
A bowl with a little rice and the above would only be about 500 calories. Play around with the calculator to see what kind of meal you can make.
Now there area few things that you should stay away from if you want a healthy, lower calorie meal from Chipotle -
The Tortillas – Stay away from them all, including the hard and soft tacos. 290 extra calories! If you have the extra calories to spend get extra meat instead, you are better off with the protein.
The Chips - You can’t say you are shocked. They are so good so they must be bad. Well, they are. They are the aforementioned tortillas fried for goodness sakes! 570 calories for the bag, and tons of fat.
The Honey Vinaigrette Dressing – 260 calories, almost ALL from fat. Skip it like a cutscene.
The Guacamole - This is something that is perfect in moderation. Since I am eating at Chipotle almost every day I usually skip the guacamole. Avocado is a food high in nutrients such as fiber, potassium, and vitamin E. And Chipotle’s guac is full avocado (this isn’t the case with all guacamoles, read the labels). But it is also very high in fat, although they are heart healthy fats, it should be eaten in moderation! I usually get it 1-2 times a week.
So there it is! Chipotle had been a huge part of my weightloss. They have provided me with tasty food, along with most of my veggie serving for the day. Thanks Chipotle, you made it easy!
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