Tips on eating at friend's houses... ?

anjukins

Hi!

So... i had a difficult evening, staying within my calorie goal while visiting a friend's house for dinner. I'm curious if anyone has tips on eating out, or eating at other people's homes, and not being rude while maintaining your calorie goals. I was trying to surreptitiously add things up on my phone, but we were out of range and it wasn't working. Also, i couldn't weigh anything... i figure eventually i'll know exactly what 50 grams of grated cheese looks like (anyone want to help me out with this one?) but i really had no idea what i was doing... and almost went over (avocado and hard cider, damn you and your tasty awesomeness!) ... i had my husband drop me off a mile from home so i could at least squeak in a little exercise, but...

does anyone have any advice on this subject? i felt like i was drawing so much attention to myself, jotting things down at the dinner table... it was really awkward and sort of embarrassing.

thanks, xoxo!!

Buhbeee

My answer is what works for me: I make sure to contribute a side that I know the calorie info on. Then, I can have as much as I want. Many times, people end up asking for the recipe!!!

iheartyarn

I have been measuring my food for a month now and I feel like I have a good idea of what a cup of something looks like, so I would just estimate. I would just eat as mucb like at home as I could, eat lots of veggies and less of the main dish.

whatwentwrong

i'd probly just estimate everything and go for a small portion, and if i go over on something, then oh well it sounds like you were eating at buffet-style or something, but if i served someone a sit-down dinner and they immediately got their cellphone out, they'd get a really weird look from me :P

DannyMussels

As long as you stick to lean meats and veg, I'd say you're pretty safe.

Avoid sauces, anything too sweet, and stuff like pasta, bread. That'll keep your calories low.

I have plain everything when I'm out eatin, skip things altogether.

Then again, I'm a rule-breaker.

fitplease

If it were me, I'd try to save some extra calories in my day for dinner. Or, I'd make that my "day off" for the week, and try not to go crazy.

Also, try not to have seconds.

brucedelaney

I have had several days over the last week that this has been an issue for me, the best you can do is guestimate. Even knowing that I keep track of everything I eat in my own house, I'd still find it strange to see someone writing down food and/or measuring it at a friendly get together.

Even though I know I went over on those days, and you may have too. Try to remember this one little factoid in your mind. It takes a surplus of 3500 calories above your daily maint calorie goal to gain a pound of fat. For some that can be as much as 4500 calories more then your normal Daily Caloric Goal.

The Scale may not look pretty the next day but that's just water weight and will go away in a few days.

In short, I enjoy an occasional meal out. I know it will help to increase my metabolism and I also know that it's NEARLY impossible to destroy a good nutritional plan with one meal.

MisterDubs303

Unless you do this 3 times per week, just plan for it. Work in a little extra exercise and fewer calories on a few other days during that week. Your planning can help you be less distracted, and prevent your host from feeling like they need to second guess even having you over. Going under on your net calories for a couple of days so that you can go over on a day that you spend with friends for dinner is not going to hurt in any way other than disrupting your habits a little. But plan for it and it will be part of your plan. Does your new lifestyle allow for dinner with friends even if they provide a meal that is not designed with your plan in mind? I hope so. Keep it reasonable, but enjoy yourself. Live life, or this is nothing more than a project that consumes your life, and eventually you may resent the rigidity. Do it perfectly 90% of the time to allow for these occasions 10% of the time.

anjukins

hmm... i haven't taken a "day off" yet... but i've only been at this for a week and a half, so... hah!

i did my best... it was tacos, and like i said, i'm still learning what has high calories-- this might be stupid but i had NO idea how caloric alcohol was! and the avocados... and the beans... and corn chips!! woah! luckily i didn't really eat much. i ate one taco, and then a bite of one of my husband's four (6', 145 lbs, he can have as many tacos as he wants, hah!) but with the beer and the sweet potato fries (holy crap) it was still a 600+ calorie dinner. i did sort of prepare, though... so i was ok. but barely.

thanks for the pointers, guys.

AdAstra47

With people I know really well, especially people who are also trying to be healthy, I'll explain what I'm doing and even let them demo the app. "Here, try it, look up this broccoli, see what it says..." Sometimes people will even start asking me to look up various things for them, and it can be a good conversation starter. If you talk about what you're doing, it doesn't look like you're just typing on your phone & being antisocial.

If you're not comfy with that, just try to guesstimate how much of each thing you're eating and make mental notes so you can enter it later.

Also, I have a very restrictive diet (nothing containing wheat or grains or sugar) so I make sure to bring a ziplock bag of protein powder in my purse. That way, if there's not much food there that I can eat, I'll just pick at the food, and add the protein powder to my drink as a supplement. You can do it openly & explain it away as "doctor's orders, it's just a supplement, don't mind me..." Or, if you'd rather be more discreet, you can sneak into the bathroom at some point & mix it up then.

TrekkerCynthia

You have already received some good advice. One of the reasons I've become such a yo yo dieter is that I have the old "all or nothing" mindset, so if I have a "bad" night or day or meal, it blows it for me for a while. It somehow means I don't have to track for a while. I need to learn to get right back on after a night out, or dinner out, or holiday meal. As I'm sure we all know, one meal is not going to cause a gain or prevent a loss if you've had a good week otherwise.

However, there is some planning you can utilize. As has already been suggested, get in exercise that day before the event if possible, eat lighter than usual during the day. I even make sure to eat something like carrots or other raw veggies right before leaving along with a glass of water so I'm not so hungry and can make better choices.

engineman312

someone explained it to me as a tablespoon is about the size of your thumb, and a cup is about the size of a tennis ball. a few others too, but i don't remember them

smileyk003

Hi!

I struggled with this for a little while, but found some things that worked for me, I hope some of them help you:

*I am pretty open with all my friends and family that I am trying to eat "Healthy" I find most people are pretty supportive and tend to make an effort to serve foods that they clearly put some thought into for my benefit or they are not offended when I don't take a third helping of the super cheesey and delicious Lasagne.

*I offer to drive each time we go out - It limits me to 1 glass of wine and makes my husband extremely happy - win win I then drink water the rest of the time

*I try to make the best choices available ie: Fill up on salad so I only eat a small serve of main, choose lots of greens and only a little cauliflower in cheese sauce etc

*Allow myself atleast a little bit of eveything so that I still get to enjoy the night and all the beautifull food

*watch what I eat the night before/day of a night out and it helps me feel like I earnt the right to relax

*relax - Its only one meal, in the scheme of things it is not going to create havoc

These ofcourse only really help if you dont eat out too often - We used to so I started steering catchup with friends towards more active past times.

Good luck!

And thanks to everyone else, Im loving reading all the tips!!

Kylie.