Tips for staying on track?

ajc1309

Over the Christmas period I've put on about 20lbs, I've been trying to lose it since new year and I was doing well but then completely fell off the bandwagon and went back to eating badly. My biggest problem seems to be when I go out to eat with friends, after a night out I just lose control again! I'm back to calorie counting again now and I just want some tips on how to stick with it.

I have previously lost 50lbs so I know I can do it.

tinkerbellang83

What do you consider eating badly?

My tips from my own perspective:

• don't set an agressive weight loss rate, slow and steady wins the race. A lower loss rate is more likely to be sustainable.
• eat food you enjoy, restricting food types is not necessary - everything in moderation is the easiest way,
• plan in advance, if you want to go out for pizza with friends do it, but log it all and make it fit your calorie goal. I use a weekly planning sheet and factor in my nights out or eating out at restaurants/takeaway.
• one night out isn't going to end your weight loss, it may stall it a little but it's not the end of the world. Most of the gain you see after a night out is water retention not actually fat going back on.

pamfgil

Log everything, check what you eat and drink with your friends, see if there are any foods that make you more likely to over eat. You need to be prepared to resist any social pressure to consume the same as your friends if need be.

LivingtheLeanDream

Plan ahead for those nights out by increasing your deficit on the days leading up to it so when you do splurge you are still having an overall deficit for the week. It really is the only way to stay on track imo.
Even at maintenance I still do this, I plan for my weekend when we eat richer food or takeaways, shaving a few hundred cals off Mon to Thurs sorts that problem easily

We can't say we're still holding on to Christmas weight now that its March. But yes, all of us can fall off the band wagon at times but the important thing is getting back to logging asap and being more mindful of what we're eating.

All the best.

kommodevaran

I'm guessing that a restrictive behavior and an all-or nothing mindset is what sets you up for failure. Don't go on and off tracks and bandwagons, - "doing well" is diet talk for "soon to fall off". If you think of your normal/preferred diet as eating badly, it creates a mental concept of yourself as someone who behaves badly, which you don't, and as someone who is not in control, which you are.

Do as previous posters have suggested.

TimothyFish

When I eat out with friends, I still watch what I eat. I try not to make it obvious that I'm doing that, but I do. Most restaurants will give you 2-4 times as much food as you need. If this is the case then I make sure to leave half to three-quarters of what they bring me on the plate. If I know where I'm going to be eating beforehand, I check their menu online before I go so that I know about how many calories there are and I choose what I order based on that. I may even skip a meal before going out or make sure that I workout before hand.

Something else that some people do and that I have tried with occasional success is that after they have a big meal they don't eat another meal until they are hungry again. So, if supper is huge, you might skip breakfast and maybe even dinner. By the time supper the next day rolls around, you may be feeling hungry again. You would eat the same as you normally would for supper. The problem is that since you know you didn't eat breakfast and dinner you may feel like you should be able to eat a big supper, but that would defeat what you are trying to do.