Need tips for social eating!

erinelizabeth882

Hello!

I am in need of tips, support, motivation, etc., over social eating. It's my pitfall everytime. I am doing fairly ok on my own, but when I am with friends I fall HARD off the wagon. For example, the other night I went for pizza with friends. I knew I would be having pizza and left plenty of calories for it and was fine with that for the night. I ended up having one slice of pizza and 3-4 breadsticks. I wasnt still hungry, they weren't even that good, they were just there! Same thing last night: I went over to a friends house after a 5 hour work shift, and had 6-7 of the bite sized milky ways, several slices of garlic bread, and a cup or two of ice cream. I know I'm sabotaging myself and the hard work I'm putting in when I'm alone or in smaller groups, but in the moment I'm just not thinking about it.

Any tips out there for curbing my treat consumption with friends?

jcook0716

The way ive been looking at it is that real life happens...At home and at work its very easy for my to control myself and pick and choose what to eat and what fits in my calories. But at an event or gathering that is alot harder. Everything is okay in moderation. Its not realistic for me to think that im never going to have a burger at a bbq, or a piece of cake at a birthday party....thats just life and i dont want to deprive myself. It just means some weeks i need to work harder to earn back the calories i went over. Always choose the healthier option if one is available to you (IE - I was at a bridal shower, there was hoagie sandwiches, chips, dips and sugary punch etc and then there was fruit and veggie trays and bottled water. I opted for the fruits and veggies and water, but allowed myself to have a few chips and have one cupcake), and make sure your portions are in check. Don't make social eating a daily thing (or even weekly if you cant control yourself). Its all a little give and take.

cj94404

Social eating is hard. Drink a lot of water. Keeps your hands busy. I drank 10 glasses of water at my last social dinner and I hate water!

I can't do mindful eating when I am chatting. So I try to avoid grazing too much or I go to town on the olives or celery sticks.

Last week at a GOT party I brought salad to the pizza party. I had a slice but snacked on my salad.

It's not easy especially if your friends are younger with good metabolisms. They can eat thoughtlessly.

Sarasari

cj94404 wrote: »

Social eating is hard. Drink a lot of water. Keeps your hands busy. I drank 10 glasses of water at my last social dinner and I hate water!

I can't do mindful eating when I am chatting. So I try to avoid grazing too much or I go to town on the olives or celery sticks.

Last week at a GOT party I brought salad to the pizza party. I had a slice but snacked on my salad.

It's not easy especially if your friends are younger with good metabolisms. They can eat thoughtlessly.

This is good advice.

I'd bring something healthy to share if you can, that way you know maybe you can have a little of the unhealthy but it won't ruin you. One slice of pizza wouldn't have filled me up either and I would have reached for multiple breadsticks too. But if I'd brought a nice salad instead I would have filled up on salad, had pizza and salad and been good to go. We did a healthy book club night ,where everyone brought healthy snacks. It was our favorite. I left feeling full, and satisfied. Everyone was really creative and thrilled because we were all trying to be healthier. I'm also all about honesty. Maybe you can't change the whole menu for every party, but I think it's ok to but some feelers out there and see if your friends would be supportive of a healthier menu. If they are your real friends they will get it, you may be surprised by how many of them wanted to make those changes but didn't because it wasn't what was expected or what was the norm. You can always host the next one, with healthier changes and see what happens.

I read an article awhile back about eating before you go so you aren't tempted. I tried that several times. Then I either ate there any way or made it through the party and came home and binged. Don't recommend that.

mmsilvia

This is a huge downfall of mine as well. I do the same as cj94404 and drink lots of water when I am in a social food situation. I also bring gum with me.
Remember life is a journey and we still have to live and enjoy. It's okay to indulgence once in awhile

EmmaFitzwilliam

My first piece of advice is to let go of self-flagellation and being a "food-cop" at yourself.

Tell yourself you're going to eat slowly and actually taste the first slice of pizza and the breadstick. Do you enjoy it? If so, wait 20 minutes, and if you're still hungry, give yourself permission to have a second one.

Take the power of being "forbidden" away from the food, and focus on whether you enjoy it, whether you like the taste, etc. For a pepperoni pizza, you're looking at 250-350 calories per slice. Even if you have 4 slices, that's still only 1400 calories. It takes 3500 calories beyond your burn to add a pound.

Drinking water, staying busy, occupying your hands so you want to keep them clean, and filling up on more nutrient dense choices are all good strategies, but nothing has to be "off the table" if you can learn to moderate your portions.

azulvioleta6

Drink water or ask for a cup of tea instead of snacking on things you don't really want.

For me, the biggest solutions to this problem have been:
1. Focusing on social activities that don't involve food (I dance a lot)
2. Making friends with other fit/healthy people who understand that you have nutrition goals

Roxiegirl2008

I go to a lot of social settings which causes grazing for me. I try to fill up on the veggies. For example if we go to a wings place I will get carrots and celery and then naked tenders. I find that I am filling up on the veggies and will tend to not over eat. Good luck. That can be really hard.

erinelizabeth882

Thanks for all the ideas guys! Grazing on healthy stuff, drinking water, keeping hands busy, and gum are all really great ideas! I need to get back to knitting and crocheting; it keeps me from snacking while watching tv or movies!