Work Lunch- Eating Out

JusDiana

Hi All,
I'm just looking for support. It seems silly, but I'm dreading eating out for a work lunch today. It's a going away party for a colleague and I should go but since I've been keeping my calories in check I really hate eating out. You never know for sure how many calories you'll be eating- I'm down 30 lbs so everyone at work knows I'm trying to lose weight and if I just order a garden salad there will be lots of comments about it.
What does everyone else do when you end up at a restaurant? I know I can't avoid it forever. haha

MikePTY

Obviously our healthy habits are important, but we also have to function as normal humans in society sometime. Especially if you have made progress already, I don't think one lunch out is going to kill it. You should enjoy it, and not worry too much about it. I'd suggest eating at maintenance today. So give yourself back your deficit calories to choose something you wouldn't normally choose. It won't set you back (except for possibly a small temporary bump on the scale from water weight), and you'll get to enjoy the time with your colleagues with less stress.

It's also important during our weight loss to develop a healthy relationship with food, and part of that is being able to eat sometimes outside of our goals and not have it totally derail us.

Kathryn247

One lunch out isn't going to ruin your progress. If the scale jumps tomorrow, remember it's water weight from the salt, which will go away in a few days. A lot of places have salad with grilled protein, that's usually a good choice depending on what else is on it, and if you get the dressing on the side.
Dealing with co-worker comments about what you eat is a different issue, there are lots of threads on here about that. You can just not respond, or you can come up with a response, like "I like you guys, but not enough to derail my hard work."

busyPK

Do you know where you are going for lunch? Look online and pick something out. Lean meat, fish or grilled chicken with veggies won't derail your progress.

seltzermint555

I usually just focus on meat and veggies and try to avoid the bread, chips, etc. I am not a low carb eater by any means but when it comes to restaurant meals I find that is the best way for me to stay within my goals.

Hulkfan1

I would look at the menu online for the restaurant the night before so I can plan my eating and make any adjustments to the rest of my meals of that day to compensate for the spike (in most cases) of my calorie intake for that meal.
Many restaurants offer lean meats and veggie somewhere in the menu.
I would recommend not stressing too much about it. Have some fun! ☺

guitargirl55

I have the same problem! It is so hard eating out. We also have a lunch potluck once a month, and that is ROUGH.
I agree with those above - look up the restaurant and see if you can find something and know your order before you arrive. Sometimes a sandwich is less calories than a loaded salad, and doesn't look as much like diet food.

Also, if you want to get a salad because that is what you need to stick on your diet - do it!

I used to be ashamed of my dieting because people would judge me and say things like "is that all you are eating?" "Well someone is trying to slim down," or "Come on, treat yourself!"

Ignore them because you know your diet, you know your goals, and you have already lost an AMAZING 30 lbs! So whatever you are doing is clearly working, and to be honest they are probably just jealous of your success. Be proud of your progress not ashamed of it.

The other tip I have is to do the split. A lot of times, I will get grilled chicken, or steak, or even pasta and just split it down the middle when it arrives. I eat half at the restaurant, and take half home to eat for lunch the next day. That way you get two meals (one for free!) and have a reasonable calorie count.

Good luck!

cwolfman13

A lunch out isn't going to derail 30Lbs of weight loss...it's just lunch.

dhiammarath

I ate a whole (thin crust/GF) pizza at lunch yesterday for my welcome to the team lunch and had a decent dinner (though the hubs helped by making it a fairly low-calorie dinner) and I didn't gain but 0.6lbs (and I attribute that to many factors outside the whole pizza I ate), and I've done this often enough to be comforted in historical data that one day here and there doesn't affect the overall trend. However, I also remember when I was afraid it would, and it's hard to push past feels even when data is right there. But it's true what someone said above: you gotta also live life. If you are a little slower getting to your next goal but you enjoyed yourself, that's okay!

What I try to do for big work events is be extra diligent around the event and not worry too much at the event. I try to stick within a reasonable calorie range (for example, with a smaller dinner, that whole pizza fit into my date with no going over -- now I did to some bonus exercising to try and buffer with some extra calories burnt), but at the end of the day, if I go over a bit, that's okay. I can make it up over time or just chalk it up to life.

Looking at weekly calories can help too. So that one day can just fall in line with your overall weekly goal.

Good luck!

88olds

JusDiana wrote: »

there will be lots of comments about it.

Bring it on. If you want to get to goal and stay there you need to be able to go your own way.

Back_4_more

What's wrong w/ the garden salad and why worry about what they say? If they know your way of eating then who cares if they comment.

Mbierschbach

Ahhh how restrictive it must be to GAF about what people think. I gave that up years ago.

Seriously - eat exactly what you want and own it like a badge. Silently judge the 2300 calorie lunch your coworkers are eating and be confident in your own choice. I had to go to a work lunch at a Cracker Barrel (meh) this week. Turns out they had a great low cal menu with whole foods I would've ate anyway and it was pretty a la carte. Some grilled chicken tenders, steamed broccoli, and apple slices. I was full and proud of myself for making solid choices at a place that could've been a day's worth of calories. Did I GAF what Doug thought of my choices? Not so much.

Enjoy your 2000 calorie lunch there Doug. I'm going to feel awesome about walking out of here unscathed.

Terytha

Feel free to shut down comments with "I'd rather not talk about that."

It's pretty freeing.

seltzermint555

Mbierschbach wrote: »

Ahhh how restrictive it must be to GAF about what people think. I gave that up years ago.

Seriously - eat exactly what you want and own it like a badge. Silently judge the 2300 calorie lunch your coworkers are eating and be confident in your own choice. I had to go to a work lunch at a Cracker Barrel (meh) this week. Turns out they had a great low cal menu with whole foods I would've ate anyway and it was pretty a la carte. Some grilled chicken tenders, steamed broccoli, and apple slices. I was full and proud of myself for making solid choices at a place that could've been a day's worth of calories. Did I GAF what Doug thought of my choices? Not so much.

Enjoy your 2000 calorie lunch there Doug. I'm going to feel awesome about walking out of here unscathed.

I love this, and agree. I've had so many fajita plates with water to drink and felt honestly great about it while friends had queso-covered burritos and margaritas & frozen horchata cocktails.