Wednesday, 13 February 2013

Eating out and staying on track

Eating out has always been a big part of my life, all celebrations big and small...meeting friends, going out with work colleagues, celebrating birthdays/special occasions and how can I forget my weekends :) this was horrible for my weight loss plan somehow I could never fit eating out in my plan, so my weight loss plan would always go off track. How many times could I be calm about my derailed plans???
To avoid messing up my plans I decided to avoid eating out completely, again this did not work. How long could I stay away from all the fun? How long could I not be a part of things I loved? That’s when I realised eating out was more about hanging out with friends and family, having some fun while eating good food...notice how food was the last thing in my list....
So now I had to make a plan that includes all the fun and still keeps me on track...don’t worry I'm not saying I would eat unhealthy nor am I saying I will drag everybody to a place serving only salads (I wish I could...)
The best thing would be to eat as healthy as I possibly can, I usually do the following things

  1. Eat a little at home before I leave, I never reach a place hungry (I will eat an apple, maybe some carrots...) 
  2.  I start of by ordering green/herbal tea and end with green/herbal tea (if available)
  3.  I don’t eat till I'm full, I might stay a little hungry (especially if there is no healthy option), I will go back home and eat something. I ask for my meal to be split into takeaway and eat in.(Initially I would feel awkward but now I'm used to it, takes some time) 
  4.  The other very important thing is I will look at the menu online, these days you can find lot nutritional information about restaurants and their menu, so usually I have an idea of what I would be eating. 
  5.  Sometimes you might not find the information online but you can look for information on similar stuff in such cases I stick to average :) 
  6.  I avoid dessert, usually prefer frozen yoghurt or if I really want to have something I share it...
  7. Sometimes even after all this I might eat a little more than planned, then the next step is to increase my workout a little for the following week..

What do you do when you have to eat out? If you have some good tips let me know I could add them to my list...

Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 
Tanvee
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10 comments:

  1. Madijo @ Fixing Me13 February 2013 at 23:27

    I dont actually like to socialize in public, but I used to do drive thru a couple/too many times a week.

    When I started my diet, I cut out all junk food (obviously), and I stopped visiting family. Who has better food than your mom? I finally gave in, and strangely, I started doing almost exactly the same things you have mentioned.

    I eat a little something, I do a calorie count on what she is planning to make for supper, totally do not eat dessert, and drink lots of tea! Before, during and after.

    This week I did take out, for the first time in 3 months! I ordered from the kids meal, ordered the veggie burger, ate 4 fries and gave the rest to my son.

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    1. Tanvee15 February 2013 at 08:24

      Hi Josee,
      How long can you stop visiting family or friends..I tried that but it just did not work for me....looks like this plan works for both of us :) take out for the first time in 3 months...wow thats great :)

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  2. Unknown14 February 2013 at 00:56

    Hi Tanvee! I don't eat out as often anymore. Sometimes, if we are at a restaurant I don't really enjoy, I just drink ice water while everyone else eats--because I don't have to eat to enjoy others' company. Other times, I order a small bowl of soup. If I really did want to enjoy the restaurant and plan to eat quite a bit, I budget extra calories for that by saving some calories from previous days and then not eating anything else on the restaurant day. Overall, this plan works pretty well.

    :-) Marion

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    1. Tanvee15 February 2013 at 08:11

      Hi Marion, the only way for me to socialize a lot of times is eating out, I agree with you about not having to eat to enjoy others' company but doesn't always work for me and I can't always pick the restaurants..so sometimes I do land in places I would prefer not to go, budgeting extra calories is always my back up plan for the just in-case days :)

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  3. PlumPetals14 February 2013 at 12:39

    Looks like a good strategy!
    I don't eat out anymore, and I've become quite picky about the restaurants that I go to. I've got 3 that I feel are 'safe', one of them I actually go to quite regularly because they are absolute saints at preparing my food the way I want it. I miss the going out/social aspect of it, but I don't miss eating restaurant food at all (ok, I also miss the not having to prep, cook, and clean part of eating out too, hahaha).

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    1. Tanvee15 February 2013 at 08:15

      Reading through all my comments I'm realising I do eat out more than all of you :) and I usually don't pick the restuarant, if it is me deciding then we go to healthy places..but that is rarely the case..I don't think I will really miss eating out but it's just something all my friends do when we meet..so even if we meet for a movie it is always followed by a meal :D. I have no choice but to make the best out of the situation I'm in :)

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  4. Unknown14 February 2013 at 15:43

    Hi I nominated you for a Liebster award! Check out my blog post to get details. I nominated you because I think you should have more readers, given your great blog content and your own success.

    :-) Marion

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    1. Tanvee15 February 2013 at 08:20

      thank you for such a sweet comment and for the nomination :)

      Delete
  5. Gwen15 February 2013 at 01:31

    I just don't eat the starch. Since the MSG sprayed on most non-organic produce means I can't eat salads out, if it's lunch I get a sandwich or burger without the bun. I get onion rings instead of fries, BUT only eat four of them. If it's dinner, just the meat and some steam veggies. If there is a dessert I can't resist, I get 2 bites. and not gynormous bites.

    AND, most importantly, I instruct the waiter/waitress to tell the cook/chef to not add any salt to my food. I can't guarantee they follow my directions, but I feel good knowing I've done all that I can to do the best that I can, without feeling deprived. It's GREAT to not leave a restaurant stuffed!

    It works! :)

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    1. Tanvee15 February 2013 at 08:19

      Hi Gwen,
      thank you for comment, If we go to a place with burgers I also have the burger without the bun(though I really really always hope we land up in a place with other options)..no onion rings for me (I love them...but no!!!) so I'm always hoping I can get some grilled meat with veggies or baked fish with veggies...
      Yes and it is good not to leave the restuarant stuffed

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