Being on a diet is hard, but maintaining an active social
life on a diet can be torture. Whether
you are preparing for a competition, wedding or just trying to get in shape;
social situations present obstacles standing in the way of your goals. If you are like me, you like to spend time
with friends going to sporting events, concerts, wine tasting festivals. . .
you name it. But the problem when sticking
to a low calorie diet or a restrictive diet, as was my case, enjoying these
events can be difficult.
Some of our favorite activities in our 20’s and 30’s usually
involve eating and drinking alcoholic beverages. Over the six weeks I was on a restricted
diet, I definitely struggled when in social situations. One of the most effective ways I found to
make sure I didn’t drink was to volunteer to be designated driver. This was a sure fire trick when going to
concerts or bars, to make sure I didn’t slip up and drink. Just make sure your girls are kicking down
some gas money! When I wanted to have a
drink, I would often have a glass of soda water with lime. And you can ask the bartender to put it in a
regular drink glass so it takes some of the pressure off from your friends. It will look like you’re enjoying a cocktail
and you won’t have to field all the “why aren’t you drinking?” questions.
There were two other big benefits to not drinking that I
always kept in mind. One was that I
always felt AMAZING the morning after a night out because I never had a
hangover. Hangovers were definitely NOT
something I missed. The second thing
that was a hidden benefit to not drinking was the tremendous amount of money I
saved! Especially at ball games and concerts
were drinks are so expensive. Avoiding
alcohol was definitely good to both my waistline and my pocket book!
Without a doubt the hardest part about being on a restrictive
diet was not avoiding alcohol, but rather sticking to the plan and not
cheating. It can be really difficult
when your friends are enjoying all kinds of delicious and forbidden treats
around you, and you are ‘enjoying’ what one might call rabbit food. It can be so easy to just steal a nibble here
and bite there. Often once we start on
that train, it’s difficult to stop. Or
we figure we have already blown our diet for the day, might as well go for the
gusto and start again tomorrow. That’s
just plain dumb. I can quote a bunch of
popular pins circulating Pinterest and
Facebook right now like, “ Nothing tastes as good as fit feels” but a picture
of a toned fitness model covered with spray on sweat isn’t going to inspire me
when I am staring down a plate of onion rings.
So I had to come up with some techniques or tricks that helped me stick
to my plan and succeed.
#1 You’ve got to plan ahead.
I tried to eat at home before I
went out. If I knew I had already eaten
my calories for that particular day or evening, I was less tempted to eat
anything extra. I also tracked
EVERYTHING I put in my mouth. . . umm, blushing. Well, everything I ate
anyways. (Insert “that’s what she said”
joke here) I prefer My Fitness Pal which
you can access online at myfitnesspal.com or as an app on your smart
phone. By knowing exactly how many
calories I was taking in, it made it easier for me to avoid overeating. I often plan my whole day early on in the
morning leaving room to make changes throughout the day. Tracking
your calories online or on your phone makes sticking to your plan so much
easier.
#2 You can call me “Have
chicken breast, will travel.” As often as possible
I tried to pack my meals and take them with me.
If I was going away for a period of time, I would bring a bunch of
groceries with me in a cooler. If it was
just a day excursion I would pack my pre-cooked meals and snacks. When attending family events, barbecues and
outdoor adventures you can bring your food uncooked so you can throw it on the
barbecue with everyone else’s food. One
of the most important things I found was to try and be like everyone else as
much as possible. If you don’t feel like you’re missing something, it’s a lot
easier to stay on track.
#3 Surround yourself
with supportive people! While every one of my friends supports my goals, they are not always the
best influences when it comes to sticking to a strict program. Surrounding yourself with people who have
similar goals or understand your dietary needs (and don’t mind sticking to it
themselves for a little while) can be very helpful. I went to the movies with my girlfriend who
had been on the same diet and she brought me fresh strawberries for a
snack. People like that, really help you
stick to your plan.
#4 Always have a few
tricks up your sleeve, or in your bag. I always carried
various flavors of gum. If you felt the
need to munch, pop a piece of sugar free gum in your mouth. Mint is best because the mint flavor tends to
eliminate that hunger feeling. If you’re
at home (or in public like a few people I know) you can brush your teeth when
the urge to eat hits. A clean minty
fresh mouth will make you less likely to munch. Sort of on the same lines, I found that a cup
of black coffee was really satisfying when I felt the need to snack. Coffee is a strong flavor and I found that
once I was drinking coffee, I didn’t really want any other “flavor.” (For
example: Hot Coffee + Nachos= not the business)
Hot beverages feel satisfying and again the flavors sort of quelled any
cravings I had.
So there you have it, my tips and
tricks for maintaining a social life without abandoning your diet plan. I know it can be hard but you don’t have to
give up hanging out with friends or doing fun things just to meet your health
and fitness goals. It is possible to
maintain both you just have to have a little willpower!
