Do you stick to calories for social events?

Deena_Bean

I don't focus on it. I decide what I'm going to do when I get there and that's worked well for me. I usually eat outside of my norm, but I never have regrets about it because I am "good" about bouncing back to the norm. Plus I don't give it much thought aside from logging it. It's life. I'm gonna live it, log it, and forget it. Tomorrow's a new day, baby.

fatfrost

I track, not count. There are some situations where I know I am going to go over and it's fine. What happens on a particular day isn't super relevant. What happens over the course of a week or a month is. And if you stop your count for day, then you don't really have an accurate picture of what happened during that week or month. On certain days, I've gone over by several thousand calories (mostly due to alcohol). But knowing that helps me get my butt in the gym, on the track and eating better the rest of the week.

sophayz

i don't deprive myself, i eat what i want when i am hungry i just make sure i don't over do it . i sometimes go overboard but whatever i am active when i am there socialising , dancing of playing with the kids so i end up spending probably all those extra calories

enjoy life !

plus a cheat day / meal once in a while is proven to help regulating your hormones in weightloss . one meal wont make you gain weight .

chloeealicee

nope nope nope NOpE

cwolfman13

No, I have a good time on these OCCASIONS. You didn't get to the point where you need to lose weight because of a birthday party or a holiday or a vacation or whatever...you got to this point because you treated everyday like an occasion.

Now, if you have social events all of the time, then they really cease to be occasions and you'd likely have to reevaluate.

yasminara

You don't have to count it, but remember to watch portions! I myself love potato salad but mentally tell myself not to have more than a cup (estimated of course). I also only get some pieces, similar type of plate I would have on a diet--you know what it looks like! I also stil to plain liquor, no beer or mixed drinks!

But I like to taste everything...so sometimes I make a mistake! I just drink a lot of water the next few days, and workout accordingly. We have to have fun sometimes!

CLDeyette

My hubby and I went to a function last weekend and this is what I did:
I exercised that morning (adding calories to the bank)
Ate a lite meal before leaving (so that I wouldn't be "starving" by dinner-time)
Brought my own beer, Budweiser Select 55
At dinner I chose smoked pork, fresh fruit, and OMG! They had potato salad! I love potato salad!!! So I unapologetically dished some up. 6 beautiful, lovely, scrumptious bites. And you know what? I was fully satisfied with that and had a fantastic time.
Don't stress over the little things, have fun and move on as the others have been saying.

invisiblelo

what great informative replies! I think I am going to reduce my calories 2 days before and save up some in the bank. Beer would normally be my drink of choice at a BBQ but I will stick to the vodka and watch what I eat! I'm thinking fish and salad. I can do this!

MyChocolateDiet

usually i manage to. sometimes even without trying.

JustinHastings

I always plan in advance for social events so I can make sure to really enjoy them. The last thing I want to do at a barbecue or holiday dinner is worry about how many calories I'm eating. Here are a few of the tips I use to make sure I don't do much, if any, damage:

- If an event is at night, I'll create a calorie sink for the day by eating only low-fat proteins and vegetables before the event. I like to give myself 1500-2000 calories for the event, so I can eat a lot, including dessert, and still be reasonably close to my calorie target. So if I'm shooting for 2500 calories a day, I'll eat 500-1000 calories worth of protein and veggies prior to the event to keep hunger at bay until the big meal.

- If an event is during the day, I pretty much do the same thing, except I'll usually try to estimate how much I actually ate at the event to see if I can eat more afterwards If I can't do this, I just eat according to my hunger, mostly protein and vegetables.

- I focus on getting plenty of protein at the event, preferably starting my meal with meat and plenty of vegetables. This helps to ensure I'm eating foods that will make me feel satisfied, and therefore less likely to overeat when dessert comes. I can do some real damage when a bunch of delicious desserts come out, which brings me to my next point...

- Stick to eating the foods you love, without trying to eat every food option that's available to you. When you have a lot of choices in front of you, you tend to eat more calories. So limit yourself to eating what you really enjoy. For example, if dessert comes out and there's ice cream, chocolate cake, cheesecake, cookies, pie, candy, etc., choose your favorite 1-2 desserts and enjoy them. If you want to taste everything, chances are you'll consume more calories than if you just eat a good portion of 1 or 2.

That's all I can think of for now, but this is a big topic for me because I come from an Italian family that put out a TON of food on holidays, and I've had to learn to enjoy myself and indulge my love of food without sabotaging all my fitness efforts.

Effalunt

I do my best to track, although I allow myself to go over if there is something to eat that really speaks to me. I do try to eat more of the veggies and bring soda water with limes to keep me out of the pop. I also get a good workout in before I go to give me a little more wiggle room.

I feel like I need to track consistently, even on the days I know I will be a little over. I know that if I get out of the momentum of tracking and really paying attention to what I put in my body, I could easily slide back into the habits that caused me to gain weight in the first place.

thejocool

I track the other two meal and try to be as most reasonable as possible on those 2 but for the meal included at those social events (ex:supper) I eat normally like everyone else, have 1 drink and that is it. A little sliver of whatever is offered as sweet and I'm ok. I find anyway that most of the time I'm not that hungry because my stomach is not used to have a pile full of food anymore.

Amanda_Gx6

you didn't gain the weight after attending one bbq. eat, drink, have fun, get back on track the next day. throw in another work out. go for an extra walk. DRINK A LOT OF WATER.

shoing

Just make good choices. I tend to leave off the bun saves upwards of 200 calories right there. Choose proteins, fruit, veggies, have a drink or two. Exercise to have some extra calories that morning. Have fun if you go over it's one day. Have a great day with family & friends.

photochik71

I'll eyeball portion sizes and log it. Doesn't matter what my intake is for that day. It all evens out over time.

nomorebingesgirl2014

Bump

mzfrizz15

IF I know about the event ahead of time, I'll skimp a little on calories 2 or 3 days beforehand. If not, no big deal. Just means more exercise for the rest of the week if I'm not injured. I try to enjoy myself when I'm out.

Lelah77

Yes. I log. I need to log. I don't stress about the calories, either, though. I have been known to take pictures of my plate so I can log it later. I agree that an 80/20 lifestyle works, but I need the consistency. I also concur that I am choosy. I can have chips, brownies, etc. any ol' time. I save myself for unusual, rare, and favorite dishes. I eat very light before I go because in my experience I gorge regardless of whether I ate before I left the house or not. For example, I went to a grad party last Saturday. I had a realllllly light breakfast & lunch. I saved 1200 calories for the party. I went over by 200 and I absolutely pigged. So, for me, it was delicious and guiltless. I don't see 200 cals as a devastating overage.

Go, enjoy. Figure out what system works for YOU.

Camo_xxx

I don't count calories at events but I DO stick to my life style of eating only whole foods in my portion size and that tends to keep the calories in line. I find that it in no way interferes with my enjoyment of social life. fwiw i didn't vary my eating style during a 3 week vacation and I still maintained my desired fat loss and didn't count or log a single day.

kate1337

I definitely stick to my calorie intake during social events. Not to sound rude, but to your body calories are calories. Your body does not say "oh it's a special occasion so we won't count this cupcake". Try to stick to the vegetable platter. And find a dessert buddy that you can share a pre-cut piece of dessert with when you can't pick your own serving size. Hang in there and stay strong! I know it's tough. But I'm sure your family will support your decision to eat more healthily.

colors_fade

For social situations, no. Absolutely not.

First off, I recognize that my fitness journey doesn't need to be in anyone else's face. It's annoying as hell to invite someone over to your place,and all they can talk about is their diet, and they're weighing everything, and not eating stuff because they are "on a diet", or whatever.

My wife and I have a rule - when we go to someone's place, we eat the food. It's courteous, and fun, and it's one meal. It certainly won't kill me.

And second thing: this is part of the progression of transitioning to a more fit lifestyle: learning to eat without weighing and counting everything.

This past week I went on a 4-day vacation. I didn't even attempt to count a single calorie; I didn't weight a thing. Instead, I made smarter eating choices (I'll take the 10 oz. Ribeye instead of the 16 oz., thanks, and a salad instead of fries), but I enjoyed myself. I didn't restrict a single thing. I exercised every day, ate whatever I felt like, but was smart about portion sizes and other choices.

I came back from vacation my same weight. No gains. I was ecstatic.

This is what maintenance should feel like. No stress; just eating normal.

Treat a social situation like a chance to exercise your ability to eat at maintenance and be a normal person. No dieting, no counting calories, no weighing anything. Just use it to practice portion control, and make good choices.

Have some booze. Have some BBQ. Enjoy yourself. Realize it's one event, one meal, and not the end of the world. And move on.

This is part of developing a healthy relationship with food.

loribethrice

I stick to water so that I am not getting liquid calories and if I am going to eat foods where I don't know the calories I try not to eat a lot of it. If I know I'm going somewhere with a ton of huge calorie foods I will eat beforehand so I know how much I ate.

ChaseAlder

Nah. If I stuck to my calories every single day of my life, in two years I will be smokin' hot and I will have suffered through two years of family events while everyone else indulged and enjoyed themselves. I just try to pull a long run on those days, then it's not so bad. You gotta live, too.

ElliInJapan

I usually go over, but I try to be careful with my choices so I'm not way over. I keep an eye on my drinks, try to have small portions of dessert and rice/bread, and aim at eating more vegetables and meat/fish. I also often have a small plate of salad before the main meal to fill me up. I don't stress much about it though, if I want something, I'll have it. It will even out in a few days.

What I don't do is trying to stay low during the rest of the day or the days before/after. I've done it in the past and it never went well... If I eat too little during the day, I'm miserable all day long and by the time I get to the event I'm starving i.e. controlling myself is harder. Similarly for the days before or after. I'm already in a deficit and it's hard enough to keep it as it is. I find there's no reason to create a bigger one. In a few days the "damage" from the excess calories is undone.

What I find most dangerous about such events is the demoralizing, thinking that you messed up your diet and making this an excuse to go back to old eating habits. I used to do that a lot in the past, but I'm handling it way better now. This is another reason why I get back to normal without becoming stricter with my food the next day. It's a just bump on the road, but once you pass it you keep going at your normal speed.

FeraFilia

For special events, I don't worry much about the calories.

I'll eat 100 or so below my limit for a few days before, and a few days after, and I try to make decent choices... but I refuse to let the weight loss rule me to the point I can't enjoy spending time with family and friends.

Eating a cupcake at a cook out isn't going to make you gain everything back.

I consider it part of the learning experience of this. I will not be a hermit for the rest of my life, I'm not always going to have my food scale and measuring cups, I'm not always going to be the one to prepare my food, and I'll have to learn how to deal with social food situations after I hit goal. I need to change my relationship with food, yes, and that includes learning how to indulge in moderation.

Sadi_Kalen

absolutely not. one of the things i promised myself when i started this lifestyle change waz that i would not do this to myself. this is a forever deal for me. if i can't have the occasional treat meal or a blow-out day every now and again where i don't log obsessively then that's what this will become for me. an obsession, not a healthy lifestyle change.

the biggest changes i've made are - cutting out excess sugar wherever possible, drinking LOTS of water daily, exercising and changing up my walks (i walk to lose weight) so i'm challenged by different terrains and of course this - spiking my metabolism every now and again by having the occasional treat meal or treat day. i have now had 5 "cheat" days and the odd treat meal over the last 10 weeks and i've still lost almost 18 lbs.

yc4king

Yes I count. I pull out my phone and enter things before I eat them, and if people ask what i'm doing I tell them. Sometimes they roll their eyes, sometimes they laugh, and sometimes they are supportive. In the end I don't really care what they think about it. My health and eating choices are my business and i'm not going to stop doing what works for me to make other people happy. That way fatness lies...

Some people say it's rude to not eat at an event. I say it's rude to expect me to eat like a glutton just because you prepared the food.

This doesn't mean I won't occasionally decide "today it's ok to go over by 500 calories", but I certainly don't do that every time somebody throws a bbq.

cherrilovee

If I know that I'm going to go to a social event (example: wedding) later that night, I'll have a lighter breakfast & lunch to allow myself a larger dinner. Even better, hit the gym earlier that morning and you'll have even more calories that you can eat.
OORRRR you can just not give a crap because it's ONE day. We didn't put on all this weight in one day, so ONE day won't kill you. :)Enjoy the party! Whatever you choose to do with your calories, have fun!

SnuggleSmacks

Since I don't plan to forgo treats at holidays and events for the rest of my life, I don't see the point in doing so now. Part of this journey is establishing a healthy relationship with food, and it's hard to do that if you're not eating as you plan to eat for life. Also, I enjoy sanity and do not enjoy deprivation, and watching other people eat things that I "can't" would just make me miserable. Having a reasonable portion of whatever I want just makes much more sense to me.

JazzFischer1989

Nope. I only get to enjoy those types of things once in a blue moon so I just try to enjoy myself.