Social Activities - should I stop?

Francl27

cthakkar1985 wrote: »

I was never planning to completely cut out social interaction, just minimize a lot until I reach my goal. Recently, I spent ~6 months limiting social activities to once/week and I lost 50 lbs and was basically at my goal weight/best shape of my life. It was well worth it. Since then, I relapsed a bit and gained some of that weight back - mostly because I started going out 2-3 times/week and lost track of my diet. Thanks all for the advice - I think I'll go back to going out once/week and plan accordingly for that day (more exercise/save calories/etc.). I think that's a good balance.

Yeah but then what's going to happen when you reach your goal? Maintenance is not that different. Yeah, you'll have a few more calories to eat, but still not enough for half a pizza and 4 beers. So unless you're ok with limiting your social interactions forever (which is sad, IMO), you're better off learning moderation now.

cthakkar1985

Francl27 wrote: »

cthakkar1985 wrote: »

I was never planning to completely cut out social interaction, just minimize a lot until I reach my goal. Recently, I spent ~6 months limiting social activities to once/week and I lost 50 lbs and was basically at my goal weight/best shape of my life. It was well worth it. Since then, I relapsed a bit and gained some of that weight back - mostly because I started going out 2-3 times/week and lost track of my diet. Thanks all for the advice - I think I'll go back to going out once/week and plan accordingly for that day (more exercise/save calories/etc.). I think that's a good balance.

Yeah but then what's going to happen when you reach your goal? Maintenance is not that different. Yeah, you'll have a few more calories to eat, but still not enough for half a pizza and 4 beers. So unless you're ok with limiting your social interactions forever (which is sad, IMO), you're better off learning moderation now.

That's a very good point. I guess I made the same mistake last time when I reached my goal weight and relapsed because I started going back to my old habits. I think I need to figure out what permanent life style changes I can make instead of temporary fixes. I can't stop living my life because I'm trying to get back in shape. I think the best solution is engage in more physical/outdoor activities that don't involve alcohol and greasy food + moderation when I am in those situations. Because ultimately, what's going to happen once I reach my goal weight - I can't switch back to the old lifestyle and expect to stay in shape.

Lounmoun

cthakkar1985 wrote: »

I was never planning to completely cut out social interaction, just minimize a lot until I reach my goal. Recently, I spent ~6 months limiting social activities to once/week and I lost 50 lbs and was basically at my goal weight/best shape of my life. It was well worth it. Since then, I relapsed a bit and gained some of that weight back - mostly because I started going out 2-3 times/week and lost track of my diet. Thanks all for the advice - I think I'll go back to going out once/week and plan accordingly for that day (more exercise/save calories/etc.). I think that's a good balance.

Once a week sounds like a reasonable amount of socializing like that to me.

alvin_grung

I hear you. I always tell people that summer is far worse for me than Xmas. Parties, barbeques, potato salad, pasta salad, steaks, burgers and drrrriiiinks way too often. My big commitment is to log, log, log when the season rolls around this year - that's usually been when I've stopped coming on here and back comes the weight. So many outdoor activities to get engaged in to account for the odd binge and if I log and deficit a bit on the other days it shouldn't be a problem. That's the plan, anyway.

rosebarnalice

A trick I use is to take a picture of everything I eat or drink. It helps me log more honestly, and gives me that "stop and think moment before eating that 3rd piece of pizza or ordering that 3rd beer. At first, I was self-conscious about snapping the pics, but food porn is so commonplace now that nobody really takes notice when I snap a shot of my beer and wings!

tulips_and_tea

cthakkar1985 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

cthakkar1985 wrote: »

I was never planning to completely cut out social interaction, just minimize a lot until I reach my goal. Recently, I spent ~6 months limiting social activities to once/week and I lost 50 lbs and was basically at my goal weight/best shape of my life. It was well worth it. Since then, I relapsed a bit and gained some of that weight back - mostly because I started going out 2-3 times/week and lost track of my diet. Thanks all for the advice - I think I'll go back to going out once/week and plan accordingly for that day (more exercise/save calories/etc.). I think that's a good balance.

Yeah but then what's going to happen when you reach your goal? Maintenance is not that different. Yeah, you'll have a few more calories to eat, but still not enough for half a pizza and 4 beers. So unless you're ok with limiting your social interactions forever (which is sad, IMO), you're better off learning moderation now.

That's a very good point. I guess I made the same mistake last time when I reached my goal weight and relapsed because I started going back to my old habits. I think I need to figure out what permanent life style changes I can make instead of temporary fixes. I can't stop living my life because I'm trying to get back in shape. I think the best solution is engage in more physical/outdoor activities that don't involve alcohol and greasy food + moderation when I am in those situations. Because ultimately, what's going to happen once I reach my goal weight - I can't switch back to the old lifestyle and expect to stay in shape.

Yes, NOW you've got it! I was going to post a counterpoint to your previous post, but @Francl27 beat me to it! Learning balance and moderation now is the key, otherwise you just set yourself up for an endless cycle of yo-yo dieting.

Also, per your OP: "but 9/10 times I can't control myself" - YES, yes you can. You CHOOSE to do so and I think you're now starting to see that. It's all about mindset, first and foremost.