This was thrown together for a client who had a very busy social calendar. One day I will come back and improve it. But for now, here is my advice for staying on track while being social. This is not to overwhelm your social activities with restricting your diet. But there are ways to stay on track towards your fitness goals while maintaining a social life. You go to events that have food at them for the people and the memories; not events with people at them for the food.
Best advice for basically all events:
Do not go hungry. Seems counterintuitive to lower the amount of calories you have room for that day. Which I could see exceptions like a Turkey dinner where like how many calories can you really consume in one sitting. But as a general rule, don’t go hungry. This will help you have more control when filling a plate/ordering food.
Start your day with protein. This should be a daily thing but more so on days your diet may not be 100%. Chances are it won’t be hard to get enough carbs & fat where you are going, protein is a bit harder to get. And it will also help with hunger cues.
Food order matters. This is another one that can be applied to all meals but especially when there are sweets and treats around. The order you eat the food will impact how quickly its digested, how much your glucose spikes which among other things will impact how soon after you want more food. As well as possible, start with veggies, then protein/fats and then have the carbs.
Plan ahead: If you know the menu or what types of food are going to be there, log them before you go so you can make your food around the event work. If it’s something you are bringing food to, bring a veggie tray or some sort of veggie/protein focused item
One plate method: Of course indulging in something special is fine, but you will enjoy one piece of pie as much if not MORE than you will enjoy the third, fourth or who knows.
Keep it unique to the event: Will you enjoy the time spent with family without plowing through a bag of chips while sitting around the fire? Probably. Does the treat add to the experience or could you enjoy the event without it?
Eat slowly to enjoy each bite individually rather than get it in as fast as possible. This will allow you to get the psychological benefits of having the treat while allowing your body to realize it’s full and ideally preventing going back for more once the experience is over.
Low calorie drinks:
Water
Diet pop
Soda waters
Bring a mio/crystal light and squirt it into water/soda water
Hard liquors like vodka and gin have less calories than most drinks
Water/soda down the pops in cocktails (I’d say do this gradually because at first, ew)
White claws, Smirnoff light, nudes (not a fan of those)
Use lemons, limes and other garnishes to add flavor
Water between each drink and apple cider vinegar (the next day) to mitigate hangovers
I don’t know if this is “healthier” but I used to get 5 espresso shots on ice from Starbucks when I was DDing for my friends so I could keep on their level without alcohol.
Potluck style:
Plate your food rather than grazing, this way you can visualize how much you are eating rather than just winging it
If you do graze, choose veggies, pickles, the negligible calorie foods
Focus on the veggies, the meats, and whole grain options. Do not deny yourself the treat at the end, but taking a break between the meal and dessert will allow the food to settle and you can make better decisions based on hunger cues.
Restaurants:
Plan ahead, google the menu and pick what you would like so you can plan your calories up to then accordingly. Or save a 600-800 window to give yourself some room to play with.
Switching to a lettuce bun
Dressing on the side, removing sauces you don’t care for
Mustard has no calories
Most seasonings have no calories
Oil and Vinegar is actually amazing
Not starting with a bread focused appetizer -Bonus if it's something with veggies
Deep fried pickles are healthier than mozza sticks
Baked chicken wings over deep fried
Eat the veggies that come with what you order
Bowls will keep you full longer than a salad
I am sure as I get into my Dietetics degree my thoughts on this will change. But this is off the top of my head, things that have worked well for me or my clients.
Cheers,
Paige
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