Social over-eating tips needed

haysavam

Oh my goodness. So I have really struggled this week. The biggest part of my eating challenges I've noticed has been in social settings. I've tried bringing healthy options (for instance bringing a veggie tray to a potluck) but I always make a bee line for the "bad" foods. This has resulted in me going over my calories. Does anyone have any tips share on how to get over the hurdle of social over eating?!

Camo_xxx

Tip, no bad foods just bad decisions.
Tip, IIFYM eat it.
Tip, stay dedicated to your goal.

gothchiq

Avoid alcohol if it causes you to binge. That can be a big issue at gatherings.

segacs

Just spend more time socializing and less time eating. Just because the food is there doesn't mean you have to eat it.

ana3067

Camo_xxx wrote: »

Tip, no bad foods just bad decisions.
Tip, IIFYM eat it.
Tip, stay dedicated to your goal.

i agree. Although if you seriously have issues with over-eating the higher calorie stuff, just choose larger portions of the lower cal stuff first and fill up on that. Or munch on it throughout. Save the high calorie stuff for the end of the night when you aren't going to be as hungry.

Otherwise I just pig out and call it a day./

chrisdavey

Eat a high protein/volume meal before you go. Drink plenty of water.

Pre log and just eat the food you bought if you want.

haysavam

chrisdavey wrote: »

Eat a high protein/volume meal before you go. Drink plenty of water.

Pre log and just eat the food you bought if you want.

Yes, I think that may be part of the problem because I won't eat hours leading up to it (or skip a meal) because I know I'm about to have a lot of calories and want to save them. I think that may help with the binging part. Thank you!

SLLRunner

Camo_xxx wrote: »

Tip, no bad foods just bad decisions.
Tip, IIFYM eat it.
Tip, stay dedicated to your goal.

This^^^

tomatoey

chrisdavey wrote: »

Eat a high protein/volume meal before you go. Drink plenty of water.

Totally this (though a snack would be ok) - if you're not hungry hungry when you see the food, you'll be less vulnerable to making bad choices.

RodaRose

It is just food and you can have food anytime you want to.
When you go to the event, you already know exactly how many calories you are going to eat. Stick close to that number so that you can feel great about your ability to follow your own plan.

haysavam

Thank you so much everyone for your tips!!! I will be using them all

Jolinia

chrisdavey wrote: »

Eat a high protein/volume meal before you go. Drink plenty of water.

Pre log and just eat the food you bought if you want.

This. I sometimes go to these gatherings stuffed to the eyeballs with satiating food. It works. Unless I'm dumb enough to have a drink. The alcohol munchies get me nearly ever time.

segacs

I usually do the opposite and eat less before a planned social event or night out, so I have more calories to play with at the event itself.

Life is meant to be enjoyed. I'm not going to pre-eat and deprive myself of the enjoyment of good food and good times.

I just trust myself to have enough self-control to stop when I reach my calorie limit, is all. It's really not that hard. I just attack the buffet strategically, order carefully, mentally log or estimate the calories, and try to leave room for drinks or dessert if I can.

mom2ava07

Just don't eat if there isn't any healthy options, and then field questions about why you aren't eating.
Happened to me this morning at a professional meeting in which breakfast was included. I thought surely there would be something I could eat and still be able to gage the caloric content (such as fruit, a bagel, etc). Nope...nothing but donuts, cinnamon rolls, gravy and biscuits and bacon. Then everyone asked why I wasn't eating. I hate the big role that food plays in social gatherings.

Roxiegirl2008

I typically going a "walk through" to check out the food offerings and choose the one thing that I know I want to eat at that event. I will then load the rest of my plate with veggies, hummus (if there is some) fruits, protein and a few bites of cheese. I limit myself to one glass of wine and then switch to soda water with a lime. It works for me. Those can be very hard. I have one to go to on Friday. Good luck!

lizzocat

I like to look around at all the food being offered before I make any choices. I look around, then head and get water or a glass of wine ( i tend to sip this for quite a while) then head back and start to pick up things. That little break gives you time to make decisions with your head instead of just grabbing at whatever looks the tastiest.

Need2Exerc1se

I'd suggest not letting yourself get too hungry before eating. Also, you could make little deals with yourself. Something like you can have one small serving of the bad stuff but then must wait X amount of time before having another. In the meantime, fill up on the healthier stuff.

But mostly it just takes WILLPOWER. I saw a quote on here recently that I really liked. Willpower is like a muscle, the more you work it, the easier it becomes (or something like that).

cwolfman13

1 - lose the "good" / "bad" identifiers...ultimately, these will foster an unhealthy relationship with food

2 - Learning portion control and self control are ultimately going to be very important to your long term goals. Noticed I said "learning"...these things are learned and as with all learned things, practice makes perfect.

3 - In the same vain as #2, don't just hang out by the food grazing. Get a plate...put reasonable portions of whatever it is you want on said plate and call it a day. Just about the worst thing you can do is just hang out by the food grabbing bites.

4 - I'm a hopeless drunk, so I don't even follow my own advice here...but if you drink, have a water or something in between alcoholic beverages...some of my friends have also been known to walk around with a partially empty bottle most of the night...they look the part so nobody gives them a hard time. As for myself, I'm just usually drunk at these things and I'll go ride it off the next day.

SLLRunner

mom2ava07 wrote: »

Just don't eat if there isn't any healthy options, and then field questions about why you aren't eating.
Happened to me this morning at a professional meeting in which breakfast was included. I thought surely there would be something I could eat and still be able to gage the caloric content (such as fruit, a bagel, etc). Nope...nothing but donuts, cinnamon rolls, gravy and biscuits and bacon. Then everyone asked why I wasn't eating. I hate the big role that food plays in social gatherings.

But, why can't you eat any of those foods? I don't like donuts, but I'd eat a piece of bacon and a biscuit with butter or jelly or maybe part of a cinnamon roll.

SLLRunner

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

I'd suggest not letting yourself get too hungry before eating. Also, you could make little deals with yourself. Something like you can have one small serving of the bad stuff but then must wait X amount of time before having another. In the meantime, fill up on the healthier stuff.

But mostly it just takes WILLPOWER. I saw a quote on here recently that I really liked. Willpower is like a muscle, the more you work it, the easier it becomes (or something like that).

Since there are no good and bad foods, you must mean foods you see as good or bad. This is not a good mentality. I lived in that mentality for years, convinced it was the actual food type that was making me gain weight instead of eating too much.

haysavam

Thanks everyone!!!! I really enjoyed that willpower quote!!! Willpower is a muscle, the more you flex it the powerful it will become.
I've got the willpower in an average day, just those darn social settings. The food just sits there and I need to break the habit of constantly munching while I talk.
Thank you for the support. I feel very positive about my ability to change this.

acheben

haysavam wrote: »

Thanks everyone!!!! I really enjoyed that willpower quote!!! Willpower is a muscle, the more you flex it the powerful it will become.
I've got the willpower in an average day, just those darn social settings. The food just sits there and I need to break the habit of constantly munching while I talk.
Thank you for the support. I feel very positive about my ability to change this.

You could also eat a mint or something similar once you are done with the food you planned to eat. I have much less of a desire to go back and get something else to eat when my mouth tastes minty.

brenn24179

like others said, socialize and quit all the overeating. In the summer we have picnics and I am planning to bring games, balls and stuff

laurie62ann

Drink lots of water and for some reason having a glass in my hand makes me feel better. And I chew gum so I don't constantly munch!

Therealobi1

SLLRunner wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

I'd suggest not letting yourself get too hungry before eating. Also, you could make little deals with yourself. Something like you can have one small serving of the bad stuff but then must wait X amount of time before having another. In the meantime, fill up on the healthier stuff.

But mostly it just takes WILLPOWER. I saw a quote on here recently that I really liked. Willpower is like a muscle, the more you work it, the easier it becomes (or something like that).

Since there are no good and bad foods, you must mean foods you see as good or bad. This is not a good mentality. I lived in that mentality for years, convinced it was the actual food type that was making me gain weight instead of eating too much.

see that was me, i used to say to people its not how much i eat its what i eat. I laugh at that now. A soon as I started logging I realised it was foolish.
All this good food bad food talk is also the reason some people give up after awhile, as they believe certain foods are off limits and start missing them.

Therealobi1

To the OP i will go to all social events and will eat. I try and plan it into my day. Helps if you know where you are going before hand and can check out menus. If not you just try your best not to over do it.

SwankyTomato

In the past I would not eat all day and go in REALLY hungry. That was not a good strategy for me.

Now I eat normally like I do any other day and it helps me be more choosy.