I'm going to the beach tomorrow and I'm scared!

I'm on a 9 day streak of being on or under my goal calories. Tomorrow I'll be going to the beach with friends and I'm afraid I'll mess it all up and eat or drink too much. Ahh :(
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Replies

  • CatherineLaurel
    CatherineLaurel Posts: 197 Member
    @cwolfman13 @cmriverside thanks for the input! Not stressing about it is something I have to teach myself as an impatient person.
  • cecsav1
    cecsav1 Posts: 714 Member
    I'm going in the opposite direction. Keep your goals in mind and prioritize your health and fitness over a couple drinks. Plan ahead and know exactly what and how much you're going to consume. The key to making a successful lifestyle change is to train yourself to make sacrifices on a daily basis. There's always going to be something going on that can derail your progress. A day at the beach, a birthday, a holiday, someone brings donuts to the office, the grocery store's giving away free samples...
  • st476
    st476 Posts: 357 Member
    cecsav1 wrote: »
    I'm going in the opposite direction. Keep your goals in mind and prioritize your health and fitness over a couple drinks. Plan ahead and know exactly what and how much you're going to consume. The key to making a successful lifestyle change is to train yourself to make sacrifices on a daily basis. There's always going to be something going on that can derail your progress. A day at the beach, a birthday, a holiday, someone brings donuts to the office, the grocery store's giving away free samples...
    I agree. What do you mean you're scared? It's something you can avoid. Pack a lunch, or google some places around there that you can eat at and plan what you're going to order. If that doesn't work out, you can always make better choices no matter where you're eating. You don't exactly have to be strict with your diet tomorrow, but I don't think you should see it as an excuse to go overboard.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Walk, swim, volleyball be active
    Eat wisely and have an ice cream
    You'll be fine ..,it's about living while you drop weight

  • CatherineLaurel
    CatherineLaurel Posts: 197 Member
    @st476 I just mean what if my.friends want to eat at the seafood joint there? I have to sit and watch? There's no way I'll be able to do that and I know they don't have calorie info there. Or what I just say f it and drink a lot! That's what I mean by scared.
  • CatherineLaurel
    CatherineLaurel Posts: 197 Member
    @lorrpb yes!
  • CatherineLaurel
    CatherineLaurel Posts: 197 Member
    @Sued0nim Frisbee and strolls along the beach definitely won't hurt :)
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    It's one day out of thousands! Have fun!
  • hekla90
    hekla90 Posts: 595 Member
    I'm vegetarian so I definitely get being the odd person out at social functions. It's definitely possible to sit and watch people eat at a restaurant- I do it all the time. I promise it won't kill you lol. Order something that fits into your needs. Order something without sides, order a few sides (what I end up doing a lot). But, if it's more important to socially eat- just be okay with it. There's nothing wrong with that either. Also know it's totally possible to eat healthy and have fun. When I go out with friends it's to spend time with them, if we're at the beach I'm doing fun beach stuff- food isn't the fun part of that for me, I can do food whenever I don't go to the beach everyday.

    Ultimately, it's really about deciding what's important to you or deciding you don't mind overeating for one day. I also usually bring vegetables to grill and make veggie kebabs. They're healthy and not loaded with calories. Personally I hate how I look after eating a ton in a swimsuit so I usually just choose to drink calories at the beach instead anyways lol.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    cecsav1 wrote: »
    I'm going in the opposite direction. Keep your goals in mind and prioritize your health and fitness over a couple drinks. Plan ahead and know exactly what and how much you're going to consume. The key to making a successful lifestyle change is to train yourself to make sacrifices on a daily basis. There's always going to be something going on that can derail your progress. A day at the beach, a birthday, a holiday, someone brings donuts to the office, the grocery store's giving away free samples...

    I know a lot of lean, healthy, and fit people...among them are a few professional athletes...they all know how to balance out that with also taking time out to live life and enjoy themselves...they don't go around torturing themselves with "sacrifice" every day. Special occasions are just that...they are irrelevant to the greater whole. This is about what you're doing most of the time, not about those handful of special occasions during the year.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,052 Member
    cla11b wrote: »
    @st476 I just mean what if my.friends want to eat at the seafood joint there? I have to sit and watch? There's no way I'll be able to do that and I know they don't have calorie info there. Or what I just say f it and drink a lot! That's what I mean by scared.

    Eat at the seafood joint. If possible, look at the menu online & decide what you'll order (something reasonable, but you can decide whether it's worth going a little over your regular goal or not). If you know what's on offer, you can look up similar things on the MFP database ahead of time (pay more attention to the higher-calorie similar entries, because some are lowballed), and have an idea of the calorie level.

    I'm a vegetarian, so I can't tell you which seafoods are lowest calorie, but it's a good bet that it'd be good to avoid deep-fried options! ;) When I go to seafood restaurants, I usually eat a salad, or a combination of side-item veggies, but I know there are relatively lower-cal seafood options.
  • frankiesgirlie
    frankiesgirlie Posts: 669 Member
    cecsav1 wrote: »
    I'm going in the opposite direction. Keep your goals in mind and prioritize your health and fitness over a couple drinks. Plan ahead and know exactly what and how much you're going to consume. The key to making a successful lifestyle change is to train yourself to make sacrifices on a daily basis. There's always going to be something going on that can derail your progress. A day at the beach, a birthday, a holiday, someone brings donuts to the office, the grocery store's giving away free samples...


    This^^^^^
    It doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself, but have a plan.
    Have a burger. Skip the fries.
    If you're going to drink alcohol, decide ahead of time how many you're gonna have. Whatever you decide to eat and drink, keep it to yourself and don't talk about it to your friends. If you advertize, believe me you'll get resistance from your them. Otherwise, nobody Iis likely to notice what you do or don't eat or drink.
    Mainly concentrate on portion control and don't obsess!!
  • CatherineLaurel
    CatherineLaurel Posts: 197 Member
    @gena575 I'll have a look at the nutritional information of other restaurants and as
    @frankiesgirl21 skipping the fries is a golden idea
  • CatherineLaurel
    CatherineLaurel Posts: 197 Member
    I really appreciate everyone's input on this
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    If a day at the beach causes you this much stress then I would rethink your current plan. This is supposed to be a lifestyle change. I can eat in any situation because I learned all the tools needed for success. If your getting this worked up about going to the beach then you may still have some work to do.
  • CatherineLaurel
    CatherineLaurel Posts: 197 Member
    edited July 2016
    @zoeysasha37 I appreciate your concern, but I think it's a completely normal thing to be thinking about how I'm going to treat my first holiday since I joined MFP.

    Sincerely,
    A newbie
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,052 Member
    If a day at the beach causes you this much stress then I would rethink your current plan. This is supposed to be a lifestyle change. I can eat in any situation because I learned all the tools needed for success. If your getting this worked up about going to the beach then you may still have some work to do.

    It seems to me that OP knows that she "still has some work to do", in terms of developing some strategies, and has started this thread in order to "learn all the tools needed for success".

    While she sounds a little stressed, it seems normal to feel a bit anxious the first time one faces a specific challenging/tempting situation for the first time after committing to one's lifestyle change.

    Most of us have gone through this, and lots of us have succeeded. I'll bet she can, too. It's smart to get tips from others.

    And @cla11b: If, for some reason, the first go has some bumps in the road, don't fret about it. Just log whatever you eat (estimating from the MFP database if necessary), think about how you'd handle a similar situation next time, and go on with life. The majority of our days determines the majority of our progress. No fears!
  • CatherineLaurel
    CatherineLaurel Posts: 197 Member
    @AnnPT77 You are so eloquent. Thank you :)
  • killdontmurder
    killdontmurder Posts: 142 Member
    Have a great time, try not to let it stress you out. Why not pack a lunch or better yet, pack lunches for everyone and have a picnic at the beach.
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
    cla11b wrote: »
    I'm on a 9 day streak of being on or under my goal calories. Tomorrow I'll be going to the beach with friends and I'm afraid I'll mess it all up and eat or drink too much. Ahh :(

    One day is not going to blow your goals. What you have to remember is this is a lifestyle change not a diet. If you look at this as a diet you will fail. The reason diets suck and fail is that you're constantly miserable you give up the things that you enjoy and you can't do that long-term.

    At the end of March I weighed approximately 250 pounds. went on vacation for 4 days ate too much drink too much. One or two days I probably drank my calorie limit. Current weight 224 pounds. Have fun at the beach and enjoy. remember this is a long-term Journey not a quick Sprint.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    I'll echo a few ideas I see up above because they're good input...having a look at the nutritional values for similar restaurants is a great idea. I've been at this for nearly 4 years and it's something I still do very frequently. It gives you a good idea of your options. Luckily seafood, if you make good selections, can give you a lot of bang for your buck nutritionally, and be some of the lowest calorie meal options, too. It sounds wonderful, honestly...I love seafood! Bring on the shrimp!
    Having said that, I wouldn't worry as much about food, though...you'll be at the beach! Sand, waves, volleyball...chances are you're going to burn a lot of it off anyway. Just stay active and have fun!
    Above all, it's possible you might make a choice or two you wish later that you hadn't. If you do, it's okay. Don't dwell on those things...just forgive yourself and move on. It's one day, and just let it be that. Good health is our lifelong journey.
    You'll get the hang of it. :-)
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    edited July 2016
    cla11b wrote: »
    @st476 I just mean what if my.friends want to eat at the seafood joint there? I have to sit and watch? There's no way I'll be able to do that and I know they don't have calorie info there. Or what I just say f it and drink a lot! That's what I mean by scared.

    You are in control of you. It looks like you're going to try to find comparable nutritional information for the food, but what about the drinking?

    If you're scared you're going to throw in the towel for the day and drink a lot . . . well, don't. Decide that you're not going to have any drinks with calories, or maybe just one, and stick to that decision. I consider nearly any drink with calories a treat, because I almost always drink only water, tea, and coffee (with a tiny bit of plant milk). On occasion I'll have a kombucha, but that's not more than 60 calories. So, if I'm going to have something calorific to drink, I make the conscious decision to do so, while fitting it in as a treat - that is to say, only occasionally and I savor it.

    So have a drink or two, but if you decide to drink a lot, that's a decision you're making as well.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Oh yeah I went to the beach today and drank a bunch of beer and ate food. Definitely not in a deficit. It was fun though and I played volley ball and walked a bit so...meh...worth it.
  • allenpriest
    allenpriest Posts: 1,102 Member
    If you get close enough to a hungry shark you can go on the accelerated loss program! :)

    Just kidding. Pre log so you have a plan then relax and follow your plan even if it is maintenance or over.