Risky Behavior "PointsPlus" Calculator

Alan is out of town where he will be wined and dined mighty fine.  He loves to call me and tell me about the amazing restaurants he gets to enjoy.  I counter with how much I enjoyed my dinner of Lean Cuisine or leftover 4-day-old stew.  There came a time when I developed a little tradition.  Every time Alan went out of town, I hopped in the car at about 5:30pm and headed to one of my favorite little guilty pleasure eateries:  Chicken Express. 

Drive-thru-speaker-person:  May I help you?

from Chicken Express website

Me:  I'd like combo #5 - LIVERS ONLY!  NO GIZZARDS! - with fried okra and a large unsweetened tea.  That's all.  (I always add "that's all" to resist being tempted by fried apple pies.)

A few minutes later (it's almost scary how quickly they can fill the order),  Drive-thru-speaker-person hands me a sack filled with chicken liver and okra goodness.  The perfume of greasy fried food fills my Suburban.  My mouth begins to water.  I tell myself that this is a very special, very occasional treat knowing full well that every day I'm one emotional surge of "starvation" away from the Chicken Express drive-thru window.

So, this evening I was feeling sorry for myself because Alan mentioned last night that he would be dining a Smith and Wollensky during his travels.  Staring into the freezer deciding which Lean Cuisine looked the most delicious, I thought about his juicy filet with a side of Smith and Woll hash browns or truffled macaroni and cheese.  Then, I began to feel sorry for myself.  Then, that old familiar hankering for fried chicken livers flared up in my brain like the grand finale of a 4th of July fireworks extravaganza.

"I've lost 14 pounds on Weight Watchers!  I deserve a treat!"

"But, I had 'treats' I had in San Antonio a couple of weeks ago and in Houston a week ago."


"That was different.  It was a birthday celebration weekend for Alan's dad.  EVERYONE had treats."

"Weight Watchers says that I can eat whatever I want if I count up the points and stay within my point range (26 per day).  I wonder how many points a liver combo would set me back?!"

"I'll go online and find the nutritional info for Chicken Express, then I can figure out the points!  Maybe I could eat 1/2 an order!!"

Search online.  Search online.  Calculate.  Calculate.  My rough math came up with 25 points for 3 oz of fried chicken livers (I don't know how much a single fried chicken liver weighs.), 1 cup of fried okra and 1/4 cup of cream gravy.  I feel totally peaceful about forgoing the warm bisquit that comes with the combo.  


But seriously, can I use those points in such a wildly delicious manner?  Yes.  WW gives me a bunch of "extra" weekly points.  

Given the choice, this is what I figured out.  Chicken livers don't taste as good as skinny feels. 


Then, I had a funny thought about something I need to invent - a point-calculator iphone app for teens who are considering risky behaviors.  


The Risky Date Combo:
Date with risky person (be it male or female...)  - 100 points
Going alone with date to a secluded place - 200 points
Consuming drugs or alcohol - 500 points
Total:  800 points for one evening


Daily allowance for points which leads to living with no regrets - 75


In the game of life points count.  I'm all about skinny and no regrets.