Anxiety when eating out

Don't track the spike days! Part of what makes them enjoyable is not having to count. I eat what I want when I want on that one day per week and I have found that I am paying more attention to my body when it signals that I am full or something doesn't agree with me.

Case in point, this past Saturday was my cheat day (my diary is blank on cheat days.) It was my FH's turn to pick the cheat day main meal because we rotate each week (last week I picked, this week he picks.) He wanted Publix spicy fried chicken wings and a large meat lover's pizza from our local pizza place. When we last ordered the same pizza, roughly 3 weeks ago, I put down three slices in one sitting by myself. This time I finished one piece and then my stomach couldn't take any more.

Use your "spike" as a day to relax and enjoy food without counting or worrying. As for the road trip exercise thing, it doesn't sound like there is much you can do unless you commit to using the hotel gym and/or taking a walk (if you're in a safe area.) I try not to be hard on myself during vacations since a lot of the time you are stuck with what everyone else wants to do or where they want to eat. I just get back to work when I get home.

Relax. There must be something on the menu you can choose that would be healthy.

bump

Wow I agree with everyone saying you need to relax. Life is about enjoying yourself, not worrying about how much butter the cook put in the mashed potatoes. A road trip with family should be a time when you kick your feet up and say to hell with worries and stress...well besides gas money lol. Just breathe, relax, and have fun. If going out has you THIS stressed you, then you need to take a step back and check yo self.

Yes I do, i start doing the calculating of what the H$% am I going to eat at that place and I usally end up with a plain salad, grilled chicken and water

You don't have to take your scale and look "mental." Here are some rough "measures."

1/2 c. cooked cup rice ---- tennis ball
1 pancake (1 ounce or 5") ---- compact disc diameter (CD)
1 piece of cornbread (2 ounces) ---- bar of soap
1 slice of sandwich bread = 1 ounce, larger loaves = 1-1/4 oz.
1 cup of pasta/spaghetti (2 ounces) ---- a fist (not pro-wrestler)
1 cup of cereal flakes (1 ounce) ---- a fist

Vegetables
1 cup green salad ---- baseball or a fist
1 medium baked potato (1 cup) ---- baseball
1/2 cup cooked broccoli ---- tennis ball
These are a 1/2 cup serving ---- 6 asparagus spears; 7 or 8 baby carrots; 1 ear of corn on the cob

Fruits
1/2 cup of grapes (15 grapes) ---- tennis ball
1/2 cup of fresh fruit ---- tennis ball
1 medium size fruit ---- tennis ball
1 cup of cut-up fruit ---- baseball
1/4 cup raisins ---- large egg

The Milk Group
1 1/2 ounces hard cheese ---- 9-volt battery or your index and middle fingers
1 ounce of processed cheese ---- your thumb
1 cup of ice cream ---- baseball

Meat and Beans
2 tablespoons peanut butter (= 2 oz. meat) ---- ping-pong ball
1 teaspoon peanut butter (= 1/3 oz. meat) ---- fingertip
1 tablespoon peanut butter (= 1 oz. meat) ---- thumb tip
3 ounces grilled/baked fish or chicken ---- checkbook
3 ounces cooked meat, fish, poultry ---- your palm, a deck of cards

Fats, Sugars and Sodium
teaspoon butter, margarine ---- stamp, the thickness of your finger or knuckle to thumb tip
tablespoons regular salad dressing -- ping-pong ball

Snack Foods
1 ounce of nuts or small candies ---- one handful
1 ounce of pretzels ---- two handfuls
1/2 cup of popcorn ---- one man's handful
1/3 cup of popcorn ---- one woman's handful

Serving Dishes/Utensils used by restaurants
1/2 cup ---- custard cup or mashed potato scoop
1 1/2 cups ---- large cereal/soup bowl
1 1/2 cups of pasta, noodles ---- dinner plate, not heaped
1/2 cup of pasta, noodles ---- custard cup or mashed potato scoop

People telling you to relax isn't going to make your anxiety any less.

I'll give you a couple of strategies that worked for me on my way to losing 17.2 lbs since January 9th. I too was afraid to eat out because I thought after all that effort, I would gain the weight back. So here is what I decided to to (bold move but it paid off)

1. I decided to have a "free" meal which meant that I could eat anything I wanted guilt free.

Did I gain weight? Yes.
Did it bother me? At first yes, then something great happened. 3 days later, I was back at the same weight as prior to that "free" meal. Lesson, eating out was no big deal becasue I felt that I could lose it again. This gave me a great sense of feeling like I could eat anything and I would be ok.

If you don't feel confident to try this yet, then consider ordering grilled chicken, tomato slices and grilled or steamed veggies. Eat a small portion of fruit (berries) for desert if you're craving something sweet.

The thing about the free meal is you literally most of the time even though you gained weight on the scale actually gained any weight. Most of it is glycogen stores getting refilled and then just pure waste weight that you'll excrete later. The free meal is a spiking method that some of us do on a weekly basis. It keeps the metabolism high, refills your glycogen stores in your muscles, and allows you for a monster work out the day after.