How do you maintain a social life while counting calories?? Any frequent happy-hour goers?

I’m fairly new to MFP, but I have had dinner engagements, for cocktails I limited myself to one glass of Pinot Grigio which is low sugar, and only 120calories, and ate small portion appetizers that were not fried and met my guidelines for my diet plan. I managed to stay within my daily calorie goals (under actually) and enjoy a nice meal.

One tip I would suggest - look up the restaurants nutritional chart prior to going to a social gathering - decide what you can have and what amount of said items you should allow yourself to eat or drink. (For example, one item has 800 calories, and if this would bring you over your daily goal, you would allow yourself only a portion of that item). Some restaurants may not offer nutritional information online, so you may have to do some of your own investigating on those items through different sources. It sounds like a headache but it does work.

There’s always a way, it just may take a bit of getting used to the extra steps involved in these scenarios.

I think you can find a better balance between "just salad" and "2 drinks, a shared app, a meal, and a dessert." Even at my highest weight, that latter option would make me uncomfortably stuffed. I find that it takes me about a month to get used to eating lower calories, and then I truly don't want the large portions. That doesn't mean I still don't want all the delicious foods, but I find I'm just as satisfied with 5 chicken wings as I used to be with 10, or 2 slices of pizza rather than 4.

I do eat out for dinner a lot. If I know I'm going out, I eat lighter the rest of the day. Most of the time I skip breakfast- the whole "jump starting your metabolism" thing is a myth. It doesn't matter what time of day you eat your calories. I eat a lighter lunch and save most of my calories for evening when I really want them and can enjoy them.

As far as drinks, if it's a situation where I'm just going to have one or two and not even really get a good buzz going, I think it's a waste of calories and will just order a diet coke instead. If it's a social situation where we're going to be drinking a lot (i.e a pub crawl, a night out, etc.) then I'll save more calories for drinks.

You can also spend a bit more time in the gym if you want more calories to eat. If you've currently set an aggressive goal and only get 1200 calories, you might try setting your goal to lose .5 pounds per week so you can get more calories each day and make this fit into your current lifestyle better. Yes, it will be slower, but much better than the on again/off again method where you really don't lose anything in the long run.

Try skipping the appetizer and dessert and just have the meal, or even half the meal. Restaurant meals are usually huge. Two straight liquor drinks aren't that many calories compared to the food you're eating. If you're really craving the dessert, just order dessert or have salad and dessert. If the appetizer food is what you really want, have that as your meal.

Some people have success with doing one "cheat day" or "spike day" per week. You might find that works for you so you don't feel like you're counting/watching every single time you go out.

I'm going to a concert tomorrow and meeting friends for drinks and food first. I plan to get in a good workout in the morning. I'm planning to order a delicious and "unhealthy" appetizer for dinner but remind myself to stop eating when I'm full rather than finishing the whole plate just because. I'll stick to vodka sodas for lower calorie drinks. This doesn't feel like being deprived to me. You have to figure out what you are and aren't willing to give up.

Doesn't it get expensive to eat out to that degree five nights a week?

You could cut eat a fork of the appetizer and the dessert, and knock off about 400 calories right there, probably. That's a lot of eating out. Can you vary the type of restaurants? It doesn't have to be just salad, but some types of cuisine have more calories than others. Can you invite people over on one of those nights and plan a menu that fits into your calories for the day?

The fact that you are at a healthy weight for you is actually very encouraging. It means that even eating out 5 days a week you are able to do it without gaining (as long as you continue to do what you are doing). If you want to lose those seven pounds you'll need to make changes.

ETA: Your title assumes that a "social life" needs to involve eating out. It doesn't. You could invite people to your home and control what gets served. You could also do other things with people that don't involve eating a full meal. Such as coffee, drinks or just dessert. Or something active that doesn't include eating period, such as hiking or bowling, or visiting a museum, movies or show.

OP - I’ve been in your shoes.

If I could go back and tell my 20/30/40 year old self one thing, it would be “learn to cook healthy food.”

You and your boyfriend can have quality time together planning, shopping, prepping and cooking together. And save money.

The second thing I would tell my younger self would be to lay off on the drinks.