Eating Out

You have choices, be wise. You can bank some calories so you stay at maintenance for the week or even a slight deficit. You can easily order something a little lower in calorie at the restaurant, or fill up on veggies at the pot luck. Have a dessert, have a few drinks. It ain't no thang.

for the restaurant u can look up the calories online and pick what u want to eat before u even get there. then u know how many calories u have left for the rest of your day. pot luck just stick with small portions.

i have more than 40 to go (and have lost 34 so far) and eat out all the time LOL (like pretty much every day the past few months, at least it seems that way)

I dont know what calorie limit you are at, but i eat anywhere from 1400-1700ish. you can look at my diary if you want, its open. some places have nutrition info online which is great. the local places usually dont (at least not here) and I will recreate whatever i eat as best i can in the recipe builder (esp if its somewhere i eat frequently).

for a pot luck, id bank most of my calories for the day and just pick and choose. even if you eat over your calories, you're probably eating at or under maintenance, so no harm no foul.

depending on how your body reacts to sodium, you may have some fluid retention/water weight for the next few days- its not real weight, and falls off easy, so dont worry about it.

We eat out a lot and I have learned to plan ahead. Always plan ahead. For the restaurant know ahead of time what is on the menu and make your choice before you go. Stay within your calorie goal. Also don't be afraid to ask for food to be modified to how you need it. Easy things like grilled instead of fried, salad dressing on the side (you control amount that way), substitute steamed vegetables for sauteed ones. Restaurants will accommodate you if you ask nicely. Also I stay away from the bread. Now for me this is a toughie as I love the rolls and bread but I set a goal of ONE and stick with it without any butter.

The potluck... portion control. Take all your favorites but take a small amount. 1/4 cup gives you the flavor and then EAT SLOW. Seriously, eating slow will make you fill up and you will savor each bite. When we gulp and rush we don't get the goodness of the hard work of the cooks. And drink water. Plenty of water. And when it comes to the sweets and desserts, just one dessert and enjoy it.

You can do it. Do your best and call it good no matter what. You are just starting and it is tough. I remember.

If you're gonna eat out you might as well indulge a little! One bad meal won't ruin your diet, just like one good meal won't make you healthy and thin. Just don't over do it, a 3k calories meal WILL hurt your diet.

My advice is to fill up on some veggies before leaving, something fulling like broccoli or radishes. This will help you not overeat once you get there. Just have a big *kitten* salad, then go out and order whatever you feel like.

I'm from your province and I'm familiar with the restaurant, and there are lots of good options there (and it's in the MFP database already mostly too.)

I get the ahi tuna salad usually for around 700 calories. With a cocktail it definitely means I have to eat light the rest of the day but it's delicious and worth the calorie shuffle.

As for the potluck, fill up on the low-cal stuff (vegetables etc., lean protein) and take only small amounts of the high calorie stuff. Split dessert with someone so you can have a taste without getting out of hand.