Applebee’s Mild Boneless Wings is one of my favorite Saturday night splurges. At 58 net carbs for the whole order, it’s quite a splurge. Fortunately I can only eat about half an order – but that’s still more than my max daily carb count.
Confession: I had these on Saturday night. 😯
Of course, I used to eat an entire order WITH a full order of french fries on the side. So as an indulgence, at least the occasional half order is a BIG improvement -lol.
It should be said though, that I would not have eaten these during “Induction Phase” when I first started the low carb diet. And I’m still careful to keep it a rare treat, only eat half an order at most, and not make allowances like this on a regular basis. Definitely consider the Classic Bone-in Wings instead.
Better Low Carb Choices from Applebee’s Include:
- Classic Bone-in Wings – 6 net carbs
- Any Steak – 0-3 net carbs
- Shrimp ‘N Parmesan Sirloin – 4 net carbs
- Side: Seasonal Vegetables – 5-6 net carbs
- French Onion Soup – 15 net carbs
- Chili – 11 net carbs
- Grilled Dijon Chicken & Portobellos WITH sides – 25 net carbs
- Half California Shrimp Salad – 11 net carbs
- Full Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad – 19 net carbs
(remove croutons for better carb count) - Any Burger without bun, ketchup or bbq sauce
- Applebee’s House Salad – 10 net carbs
(remove croutons for better carb count)
See Applebee’s Nutritional Information for more details.
Applebee’s is not my favorite for low carb restaurant choices, simply because they have very limited side items. Your options are Seasonal Vegetables or Salad on the side – and I don’t care for whatever it is they use to make the buttery taste on their veggies. That said, their classic wings aren’t bad for a treat (bone-in, not the fried boneless wings like I ate -LOL). And their Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad is GREAT, and it’s a huge portion.
Hi Lynn. It’s great that you utilize the benefits of some carbs in your program.
As it is a ‘low’ carb plan, not a ‘no’ carb plan, sometimes we can lay off a little bit and still make good weight losses. They look mouth watering tasty, but I would venture to say that I would only have something like this as one of my 10% cheat meals.
There is a lot of science coming out stating that there is very little difference in progress between carrying out a program at a 100% level versus at 90%. And the 10% cheat meals help you to stay on the program.
As long as you plan them in advance and don’t go over the one in ten ratio, you will lose almost as much weight and usually be happier and feel less restricted. No secret here.
John Bernardi of Precision Nutrition is a big advocate of this strategy and he publicly promotes it. He and his team train Olympic athletes as well as thousands of normal people just trying to get fit.
Thanks for writing this and helping to clear up the widely held notion that we always have to be strict with our eating plan or we wouldn’t succeed. Planning our ‘treat’ meals works!
Good points, Al. To be honest, I prefer to get my carbs from vegetables and other good sources – like natural peanut butter. But now and then I do want to indulge, and for me it’s all about “better choices”. I would go for half order of the boneless wings over a ridiculous dessert, or a big plate of pasta for example.
It’s important to note though, that most people start a low carb diet to kick start weight loss. So during the first few weeks (Induction Phase) you want to stick to a high protein, low carb diet of less than 20 net carbs a day.
I’m way past that, being 5 months in, and at this point it is a Lifestyle Change for me. A way of eating (WOE). I’ve also already lost more than my initial goal of 20 pounds. And so I’ve eased into a more relaxed pattern. Though I still keep my net carbs below 20 most days simply because I enjoy the meat & vegetables I’m so used to now.
I know a few people that have done the “slow carb diet”. I don’t know anything about it, except that in comparison I lost more weight more quickly than they did. I lost 8 pounds in the first 10 days alone. So if weight loss is the initial goal, you definitely want to stick to the plan for the first few weeks.
All that said, life is all about enjoyment. If I do choose to eat boneless wings – I’m going to enjoy the heck out of it. I refuse to feel guilty or call it cheating (which is very negative). That’s just me, and my “quality of life” mindset.
For an indulgence eater, associating food with punishment/reward can create problems. Or it does for me, at least. That’s why I look at it as “choices”.
I still wake up every day and make a conscious choice from one meal/snack to the next. When my teen daughter makes a big pan of cinnamon rolls, I choose not to eat one – because I want to lose weight *more* than I want to eat one.
I spent entirely too much of my life NOT making choices, which I discovered were choices in themselves. We are faced with hundreds of seemingly unimportant choices every single day. As a whole, those choices (or lack of them) shape who we are. And I didn’t like the shape I became (round!) haha π
Great topic! Appreciate your thoughts and I agree with you on not being so strict with your diet plan, whatever it is, that you ultimately fail. *cheers*
Small Indulgences and choices. Seems so much more positive. Yes, I do like that vocabulary better. And, how we look at things could mean the difference between success and failure. Great post. I really like this:
“I spent entirely too much of my life NOT making choices, which I discovered were choices in themselves. We are faced with hundreds of seemingly unimportant choices every single day. As a whole, those choices (or lack of them) shape who we are. And I didnβt like the shape I became (round!) haha”
So many of us are a product of our seemingly unconscious habitual decisions, made by being exposed to billions of dollars of relentless consumer advertising, rather than the conscious decisions made from the actual desire to attain our proactive goals.
Glad to hear you have achieved your goal. With no thought of goals and therefore no planning, people may find it difficult to think of the consequences from eating so many “junk” foods. That’s a scary thought.
Goals and delayed gratification seem like difficult concepts for some people, but they are extremely important to success. Without setting goals, instant gratification looms large and regrets come after. It’s like ‘do what makes you feel good in the moment’.
And, common sense seems to become less common . . . much better to have a clearly defined set of meaningful goals to live our lives by.
So true. Regarding instant gratification, I think that’s the reason so many people choose a Low Carb Diet. I know it’s the reason that I did – because I had heard stories and researched the science behind the “super fast weight loss” that occurs during Induction Phase (the first few weeks).
That was definitely instant gratification for me. I don’t know any other diet or weight loss program that gives you suck quick results. And it was that great start that kept me motivated month after month, even when the scales started moving slower (but still moved in the right direction).
Results fuel us. It’s human nature.