How do people manage being invited out for dinners

returnofwhiterabbit
returnofwhiterabbit Posts: 25
in Food and Nutrition
I was wondering how people manage sitauations like that? I've been invited out on a work social, one of the Naval Officers I work with is leaving, and in typical run a shore style curry is the name of the game. Does anyone have suggestions of what they do in situations like that? I figured i could just order some rice and some meat without a sauce but tips would be appreciated!!!!


:drinker:

Replies

  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    I usually eat before I go out so I'm not hungry, then have something small and take a long time to eat it. Another tactic is to drink plenty of water and skip the bread and desserts.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    I'd go easy on the rice and breads!

    How often does this happen? If it's only once in a while, then just relax and enjoy it. If it's every week then you might need a strategy.
  • returnofwhiterabbit
    returnofwhiterabbit Posts: 25
    Only once in a while when someone is leaving the office! Usually if I'm just going out with my normal friend I say i'll just meet them for a drink not dinner because i'll have eaten dinner with my son but its a special occassion meal so i really wanted to go.
  • duckiec
    duckiec Posts: 241 Member
    All depends on the event, place, company.

    Family - immediate and some extended, average dinner- I may not order anything and just eat off kids' plates, or get a side I want with their meals (they never finish anyway). I eat before, or after, or do my research and plan what to have in advance.

    Groups (friends, co-workers, social requirements) - If its a place I want to try, I don't want to deal with the "aren't you eating anything?" comments, I consider it a cheat meal and enjoy within reason. Not a free-for-all, I generally dont order something horriblly off macros, but I'm not as restrictive. Its usually a weekend, too, where I'm more active, and make sure to get a good workout in that day or the next.

    Weight loss and management isn't about hiding, avoiding social interaction (which so often centers on food), or "all or nothing" - its about making choices on when the food is wanted and worth it, and when it's better to get something before you go, or at home. Enjoy!
  • TheNavet
    TheNavet Posts: 162 Member
    Eating something before definitely works wonders if you want to enjoy something in smaller portions. Afterwards, depending upon your weekly calorie budget, you can try to 'save' some for your dinner - by eating a bit less throughout the week.

    I typically try to always have a thousand calories left when I dine out, but I'm also a maintainance, which leaves me with +2000cals on a daily basis~
  • willdob3
    willdob3 Posts: 640 Member
    Restaurants are pretty easy.

    Going to an event with planned meals where everyone gets the same thing, a choice of 2-3 entrees, or where people bring food are a challenge. I assume (usually correctly) that none of the foods at these events will meet my high dietary standards. When I had weekly free meals I might or might not use one for something like this. Usually not because the food was not usually worth wasting a free meal on, IMO. lol...

    I would try to find out what the food choices will be & make sure I ate before going or brought my own food, depending on where the event was.

    I agree that one should not avoid social occasions because one is dieting. That said, letting these events mess with my fitness goals is not an option.
  • BHKLEIN
    BHKLEIN Posts: 104
    If you want to go just eat less or order the healthest thing on the menu. If you don't want to go, don't.... people understand and if they don't it's on them and not you! I like to eat so I almost always go to dinner if I'm invited, but that doesn't mean that I have to eat everything on my plate or eat 3 rolls, pasta and calorie filled drinks. :wink:
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    I'd go easy on the rice and breads!

    I've found this to be easy and effective in most scenarios. Heavy pasta and you're down to just limiting serving size.

    Depending on your objectives, going 1000 over target will probably put you 1-4 days behind. No biggie unless this happens every few days.
  • returnofwhiterabbit
    returnofwhiterabbit Posts: 25
    Thanks for the advice everyone! :happy:
  • glin23
    glin23 Posts: 460 Member
    If you want the long version it depends on the dinner. Sometimes I treat it as a cheat day (planned or otherwise), if it's planned, I'll try to eat less on the days preceding and following the cheat day, if not, I'll eat light and exercise more afterwards. For example I had an unplanned meal out last night. So in the days following I'll probably eat less. You could also eat a light meal before hand or just eat small portions during dinner.
  • lattarulol
    lattarulol Posts: 123 Member
    You want this to be a lifestyle change, not a diet. Avoiding social interaction because you are scared of food shows that you do not yet have a healthy relationship with food. You must enjoy your life too. Our society is very food-centric so most activities/social gatherings will involve food of some type.

    If we are going to a restaurant I will look at the menu ahead of time so i don't feel pressure when ordering. If it is more of a spur of the moment thing, I hope the restaurant has the calories on the menu (I live in CA so this is 90% of places). Otherwise, I make the best choice I can - eat the patty, not the bun. Only eat half of whatever is brought and save the rest for lunch the next day.

    If there are no food choices to be had, I just eat a reasonable portion of whatever is served. No one likes someone that thinks they are too good for the food being served.
  • glin23
    glin23 Posts: 460 Member
    You want this to be a lifestyle change, not a diet. Avoiding social interaction because you are scared of food shows that you do not yet have a healthy relationship with food. You must enjoy your life too. Our society is very food-centric so most activities/social gatherings will involve food of some type.

    If we are going to a restaurant I will look at the menu ahead of time so i don't feel pressure when ordering. If it is more of a spur of the moment thing, I hope the restaurant has the calories on the menu (I live in CA so this is 90% of places). Otherwise, I make the best choice I can - eat the patty, not the bun. Only eat half of whatever is brought and save the rest for lunch the next day.

    If there are no food choices to be had, I just eat a reasonable portion of whatever is served. No one likes someone that thinks they are too good for the food being served.


    This is great and if I need to be honest, since I've joined MFP, I've lost sight of this because i was obsessed with keeping things within my calorie count, which is/was undermining my mental and emotional health. I'm Asian in in addition to food playing a decently large role in social gatherings, it's basically considered rude in my experience to refuse to eat. So it's a balancing act. You're changing your lifestyle, but that doesn't mean you should become a recluse.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    It is one day of many days...I just enjoy myself. Keep in mind that your calorie goal has a huge deficit from maintenance built in...going over, even by a few hundred calories is still going to leave you at a deficit; people tend to forget that and get all bent out of shape for no reason.

    Just enjoy yourself...part of what you should be doing here is learing how to eat and how to properly fuel your body both in RE to quality and quantity. Are you going to avoid social occasions ther rest of your life? My guess is no...so it's best to start learning now...there's always going to be holidays and birthdays and random BBQs, etc...that's life. Just keep in mind that those are "occasions" and not every day. If it helps, think of it in reverse...if someone eats some broccoli on occasion and goes for a run...but they generally eat like crap and don't exercise most of the time, does that make them healthy and fit? Hardly...same goes for the other way around...if you're getting your nutrition on and your fitness on most of the time, it really doesn't matter if you go enjoy "occasions."

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