lizlor
Transcendent Member
Posts: 1,159
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Post by lizlor on Nov 30, 2023 3:12:19 GMT
Day 30- Stay in Control When Eating Out
Today’s Thought:
Once I start preparing myself in advance for eating out, dieting will be easier.
When you go to a restaurant, family gathering, holiday celebration, or other special event, you’ll encounter lots of triggers: the sight and smell of food, people eating and drinking, people offering you food and drink, a festive atmosphere. Many people apply special eating and drinking rules to special occasions. They give themselves permission to indulge. That’s why so many dieters come undone.
Sticking to your diet every time you eat out or while celebrating is a skill that requires preparation and practice. Here’s what you should do to get ready: Plan in advance how much you’re going to eat. It’s fine to eat a little more than usual—perhaps up to 25 percent more calories than you ordinarily would have. Plan what you’re going to eat. Check to see if the restaurant has a menu posted on a Web site. Think about which foods you might eat and the size of portions you should consume. Anticipate the sabotaging thoughts you might have. You might think, for example, It’s okay to eat more than I’ve planned because ... everyone else is eating a lot/I rarely get to eat these foods/it won’t hurt/I can start again tomorrow/I should eat more to get my money’s worth. Make Response Cards to read before you go and bring them with you in case you need them. Make sure to review and bring along your Advantages Response Card, too. Plan how you’ll tolerate cravings. What can you say to yourself? What can you do? Review Day 13 to remind yourself of the mindset and behavioral techniques you can use. For example, if you start craving, you might need to distance yourself from the food by taking a short walk through the restaurant, by going outside, or by going to the restroom to read your Response cards.
What kind of sabotaging thoughts occur when you have the opportunity to eat foods that are not on plan? How do you handle the holidays and the usual onslaught of foods? And finally, when you are successful to staying on plan, how do you do it?
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lizlor
Transcendent Member
Posts: 1,159
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Post by lizlor on Nov 30, 2023 3:14:33 GMT
When I eat out I usually look at a menu to get the lay of the land. Sticking to a plan works best if I’m not drinking at all. 1 drink or 2 and the resolve usually fades away. At book club, sugar is a temptation. In restaurants it’s easier to say no to dessert.
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Post by cathygeha on Nov 30, 2023 9:37:04 GMT
I knew we were probably going to eat out on Tuesday on our way back from Beirut. I checked a few menus and had ideas for what I would eat. My husband really PUSHED to go to McDonald's and I did track what I ate and used up a LOT of points. I would rather have gone to another place but...knew he wanted to eat where we did so even though he sort-of said okay to somewhere else...tried to please him (he is picky). And...I paid for the transfat bomb that threw my GI tract out of whack even though the same meal in the past has not bothered me. After telling my husband...he said he wouldn't push to go there again...bet he will though.
I have a lunch out on Friday and have tried to find the menu online but have not succeeded...will do my best.
Pre-planning works best for me but it doesn't always work <sigh>
We need to find a way to make eating out, dinners with friends, happy hour, and whatever social life we live work in real time. I will do my best but my current goal is to maintain through the events I know are on the schedule and get back to losing when they are behind me (last known event is the 7th December)
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Post by susan092907 on Nov 30, 2023 12:45:35 GMT
When eating out, I study the menu before hand if it's online. But sometimes there are specials that aren't posted on the online menu. I try to think in terms of eating healthfully. We never go to chain type restaurants, so there's often something to eat that's unusual - not what we'd eat at home - and I often want to eat that. Generally it's a matter of stopping when I'm just satisfied, not full. I find this easier to do at home than when out, but I keep practicing it. I know that if it's a pasta dish, then I can probably plan on just eating half and bringing the rest home for another meal. Desserts are harder to deal with. Sometimes I share one, sometimes I just skip it, but sometimes I have one and eat it all. I try to work the rest of my day around the restaurant meal, or work my week around it.
Holiday meals involve extended family and a festive atmosphere, and also foods that are we eat only at that holiday. So I don't have a problem eating those along with everyone else. But I do try to watch my portion size and eat per hunger and satiation. As with restaurant meals, I also try to work my day and/or my week around them.
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Post by lani on Nov 30, 2023 15:07:32 GMT
I will also look at the menu online if it's a new place for me. I am able to be pretty flexible and not suffer long-lasting negative consequences. At this point I actually prefer the healthier option vs. say, a giant slab of steak. (Which Mr. Lani will go for every time, and then regret later.) I will have dessert but if it's not amazing I won't finish it. Hey, that Beck stuff works!
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Post by bbbearsmom on Nov 30, 2023 20:02:45 GMT
The only eating out I've done in a long time is going out to breakfast with my friend. I usually get two poached eggs and well-done fried potatoes. If my sweet tooth is active, I might get a waffle, or pancakes (short stack), or French toast (short stack) and use one packet of maple syrup. Figured out that both the meals end up about the same in the calorie and WW trackers so unless I just want to avoid sugar getting the sweet dishes is okay. I figure it is a choice between fat or sugar.
My routine when we did go out was to check the menu ahead of time, eat half of the entree, and have coffee with half and half for dessert. I wasn't always perfect but that was my plan.
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Post by ermabom on Dec 2, 2023 15:03:24 GMT
We don't eat out much unless we are traveling and I am quite careful when we do eat out. I also don't like to waste food so both my SO and I will discuss how hungry we are and order just enough for the two of us and neither wants to gain weight. I also tend to skip a meal when I'm traveling - if breakfast is included in the hotel, I skip lunch and if breakfast isn't included, I skip breakfast. It really helps me stay in control because the food itself is higher calorie when I eat out vs what I cook at home. More fat, usually.
I am always reminded of the time when I asked for steamed vegetables instead of fries at a chain restaurant many years ago. The vegetables came out and they were covered in some sort of fat (butter I hoped), I told the waiter I wanted steamed vegetables, without anything on them. He looked at me strangely and said that he had given me steamed vegetables. I repeated the 'without anything else on them' and he went and brought me a serving of steamed vegetables without the fat. It was definitely different. Restaurants put fat on all sorts of things to make them taste better, look shinier and more appealing, etc.
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Post by susan092907 on Dec 2, 2023 21:46:47 GMT
ermabom, You did great with being persistent in getting what you wanted in the restaurant. I get very intimidated about doing that. The most I've managed to do is to ask for salad dressing on the side, and I don't always do that. Yes restaurants add lots of fat to everything. Your request was probably unheard of at that restaurant.
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Post by ermabom on Dec 3, 2023 14:35:20 GMT
susan092907, I was counting calories or points at the time and I didn't want those for the day given I was already probably going over with the meal. And, fortunately for me, I don't like vegetables slathered in butter. I love butter on bread and toast but I don't like greasy things and vegetables slathered in butter are tasty but greasy. I always ask for the dressing the side even if it isn't that big a salad because now I think most restaurants over-dress the salad. I like only a light dressing. Which brings me to a question I want to ask all of you: I like eating salads for lunch but I hate making them. I've been buying the pre-made kits but a) I don't always like the dressing, b) I hate using all that plastic, and c) they aren't always as fresh as I would like. I used to buy the boxes of washed greens and try to add my own stuff to it - that I'd pre-made for a few days. But I didn't like that either because the greens always get soggy in the box before I'm done. Give me ideas for salads that sort of make themselves, easy to put together or that last for a while in the fridge. I don't mind cutting up vegetables once a week or so but when I'm also cooking almost every night, I hate spending time every few days cutting up vegetables for salad. And how do you keep the greens fresh in the box?
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Post by susan092907 on Dec 3, 2023 15:04:04 GMT
I haven't been able to keep cut greens that come in a plastic box fresh, unless I buy a really small box, and then it runs out too fast. I also hate all the plastic. I make salads often to have with my dinner, and I start with a head of leaf lettuce and whole vegetables. I keep the lettuce fresh for a long time by wrapping it in a paper towel or two and store it in the plastic bag that I brought it home in from the store. I also keep the twist tie on. If the paper towel gets too water logged after a few days, I change it for a dry one. I had read about this somewhere, and it works pretty well for me. This might work for your salad ingredients that you prepare yourself and store in your own container.
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