Bad Weekend

Maybe try going on a fast.

That way you won't be tempted to overeat, or pressured into it either.

When asked to eat simply state: "No thank you, I'm currently on a fast to help with my overall health and new me."

It will allow a break in a pattern of years of overeating at such events. It will also give you confidence in that you control your food and not that your food controls you. Yes if you've never done a fast before it will be extremly difficult. But always remember you control you. To me fasting is more of an emotional clarity thing than anything else.

I'm not sure if you will be able to do this or even want to. However you asked for options and if put into your position this is one I personally would consider. Good luck.

When I have a party to go to, I normally drink water so I don't drink my calories. As for food, I have very very small portions of everything I want. Doing this I get to have everything and do not feel like I did without, it also fills me up. The other thing is people don't look at you as funny. Condiments can be the worse but mustard is usually 0-5 calories and my preference so I'm lucky there. The main thing is just enjoy yourself, small portions can stop you from going over too far....also it may help if you have your maintenance number in your head, then just make your goal under that.

There was actually a Hello Healthy blog post about BBQ's the other day: https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/2014/06/best-choices-at-backyard-bbq/

It's times like this that we have to remember: this is not a diet, but a lifestyle change and these sorts of events will happen (and they will usually happen together!)

It's been said before - but drink water or other low/no cal drinks (like diet soda for those who have it) partly because you don't want to drink your calories and partly because it will help you feel fuller. And pull out the old tricks: pick up a smaller plate if more than one size is available; put the salad/veggies on first; get the leanest bits of meat available and avoid high calorie dressings.

For the Indian - pick dry meats like tikka kebabs if you can or tomato based sauces. A vegetarian dish with a tomato based sauce should be relatively low calorie for example, and go easy on rice and breads. Don't pile the plate high and eat slowly.

The main thing is to eat in moderation (but shouldn't be doing that anyway?) and have fun! Do a bit more exercise if you can or if you're worried about it, but in my opinion as long as I'm not doing it every week I just relax and have an evening off (well, half off!)

Lisa x

For the barbecue I think you know what to do - chicken, seafood, lean meat and salad. Limit dressings, bread, crisps (chips) and puddings - or avoid if you cannot just have a taste of something without wanting to devour the whole thing ( like me with a bag of good potato chips or cheesecake!!).

For the indian food, same rules apply really - the rice and lots of the dishes will have been made with oil but also dressed with ghee ( clarified butter) so can be problematic. But you can often manage to see that oil and not put it on your plate as it tends to collect around the edges of the dishes. However Indian buffets tend to have tandoor cooked chicken and sometimes other meats without sauces so you could major on that with perhaps a spoonful of one or two of the prepared dishes for their delicous flavours.

Or you could reason that its just a weekend - two meals - so perhaps look up your maintenance calories and put that figure in your head, so you don't feel like you're failing. Eat lighter for the other meals, incorporate a good long walk or other exercise on both days and subsequently. And perhaps the scales will not budge as much next week as you would like, but hopefully you'll have had a great weekend with some delicious food and great company.

Its not a sprint, and you want to enjoy life's pleasures when they come along (in moderation) so I truly hope you enjoy your weekend.

Alcohol is the one to avoid as it normally leads to bad food decisions.

Very much this :laugh:

BBQ is easy as others have said, I BBQ with friends nearly every weekend at the moment and eat nice lean meats, maybe a small treat if it fits into my macros.
Can't really advise on Indian food as I don't eat it but in general just remember; you're not depriving yourself, you're making a choice of what to eat to fit your lifestyle. You're not on a diet, you just choose to eat well.