Superbowl & other social events?

LGrill27

How do you handle MFP and your social time if you’re a drinker? Weddings, concerts, sporting events, out with friends etc. I’m sure we have all been there, but with me it happens almost every weekend. Monday thru Thursday I have my routine down which I do great. I’m up at 6am for work at the gym by 4pm, no issues and never deviate from my routine. Friday = 50/50 chance for happy hr. with co-workers & Saturday = out with friends most the day. No plans usually go with the flow ending up at some sports bar. (I have no family and hate sitting home bored) Last Saturday I didn’t even track the amount of BBQ wings liquor consumed. With Superbowl this Sunday I think I’m going to have a repeat of last weekend! Do you cheat tracking your points? skip the day? Actually track you had about 40 wings/3 bags of chips & countless beers/shots? Sounds like I need new friends!

mjrkearney

Sounds a bit like you need to figure out how to pace yourself. If you feel like carrying around a notebook and jotting down everything you eat according to brand, type, and sauces, go for it, but it might make a bit of a mess of your day. If you try to slow yourself down, such as by saying to yourself, "no more than one drink per hour" or "just five wings", you should be able to get by with enjoying yourself at the party without having to worry about not enjoying yourself the next morning.

Personally, I don't know who is going to be serving what, so I'm just going to be taking it easy and making sure I'm still coherent enough to drive myself home.

hdjjones

Like in all things, moderation is the key. 40 wings, yeah, a little overboard. Track your calories no matter what you eat. New friends? maybe just new interests would help. Remeber it is a lifesyle change, not a "diet" and there is more to a lifestyle change than just what you are eating.

bostongeek

I track it all, even the bad days. BUT, you can plan for the bad days--if you know you're going to go out and drink a few beers on Fridays, factor that in and maybe have a lighter lunch or something. Eat light on Saturday if you know you're going to go all out on Sunday. I do this mostly with my budget, actually, I know I'll always spend more on the weekends so I watch my pennies during the week.

densta1968

I track it all - the good, the bad, and the OH-my-God-what the hell-did-I-do because I need to be brutally honest with myself. Also, I have been trying to hang with friends who would rather go for a walk or do something more healthy and active because I will self-destruct if left to my own devices in front of junk food and tasty beverages. So, sometimes it's just tweaking the people I'm with and the activities we do that keep me reasonably in control on the weekends. This Sunday I'll probably have a food hangover but I'll log it as best I can and trudge along come Monday morning (after I cry into my Cheerios lol)

Hang in there. You'll figure out what works best for you!

dangerousdumpling

I don't track those days. But also, I don't go crazy and eat whatever the heck I want. I just try to be reasonable and not view it as a time to go hog wild on food. Drinking is not my thing but if I do have a drink I choose something that's relatively low cal. I have one drink and then switch to unsweetened iced tea or water. I know there will be an abundance of wings, mozzarella sticks, desserts, and my own pulled pork sliders on Sunday. I know it will not be a good day for my diet but these days will come up and I'll have to deal with them as long as I live and learn how to be reasonable about food. I can no longer equate an event or a night out with eating unreasonable amounts of food and be successful with weight loss. So I'm working on changing my thinking about these things.
So I guess all I can say is be reasonable, focus on your friends and conversation, and maybe just accept that it won't be a good diet day but it doesn't have to be a total disaster.