Potlucks and dinners with friends

My number one strategy is to avoid going to potlucks or to friends houses for dinner. But....If you don't want to appear anti-social, always offer to bring one or two dishes of food that you CAN eat. If you can't resist the other foods, take only the smallest portion or a couple of bites and even then you might get away with pushing the high caloric food around on your plate. Eat very slowly so you always have some food on your plate and no one pushing more food on you.

Always bring a healthy new dish to share and be excited about it but if there is a favorite item you must have, have it. Sometimes if you mention a good walk after dinner at least 1 friend would love to join you.

Well, there are some strategies you can use. Some (including "don't go") have been mentioned:

1) eat low-cal during the day before the potluck
2) portion control at the potluck

I might also suggest

3) exercise and lift weights before the potluck

I figure, if I give my body something to DO with the calories (like, say, build muscle) then it's a good thing. And when you exercise, you earn more calories to eat both during the day BEFORE you go to the potluck (thus, you don't show up ravenous) and when you get to the table AT the potluck.

It's a pretty glorious thing to eat guilt-free because you took a long walk with the dog during the day, or because you hit the gym for an hour.

Hello,

My friends and I like to get together and have potlucks, cook together, or go out for a meal. Does anyone have suggestions as to how to go to these events and 1)not be tempted by all the food and 2)not seem to be dieting? I love cooking with friends, but sweet potato gnocci in a butter, maple, sage sauce isn't exactly low calorie.

Thanks

You don't necessarily have to only eat low-calorie foods to lose weight. It's about the big picture: How many calories you are taking in every day or every week versus how many you are using. Having a few bites of gnocchi and some other high calorie foods will not derail your weight loss efforts. Here are a few suggestions that might help:
1. At a potluck, fill your plate up with fresh vegetables and other lower-calorie stuff and save 25% of your plate to sample some of the heavier foods.
2. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly. Put your fork down a lot.
3. If you don't LOVE the way something tastes on your plate, don't eat any more of it.
4. Drink a lot of water or iced tea throughout the evening.
5. Don't show up starving.
6. If you're going out to eat, check out the menu online beforehand if possible and find some options that aren't total diet-busters.
7. Enjoy your food and have fun. Don't stress out if you go over your calorie limit from time to time. Weight loss and healthy living is all about the big picture.
I hope this helps! :-)

You can't hide dieting at these events I find. There's always someone who notices your portion size or that you don't partake in everything.

That said, here's what I do to balance these occasions:
- exercise that day to earn some calories
- eat light, but I always eat a healthy veggie soup/dish right before I go so I don't arrive super hungry and get tempted
- I make sure I am always helping the host before/after so I spend less time staring at the food