Losing weight when lots of dinners/parties???

[UncleBunclesHouse]

I’ve realised I spend all my time ‘recovering’ from the latest business trip including nightly dinners out, constant birthday parties etc where I think ‘I will eat what I like because it’s a treat/special occasion’ . But it’s so frequent that it’s not really! First world problems I know…

How do I manage this when I LOVE food 😕 and have no off switch?!?

You need to set up some rules for yourself.
Ie if it's buffet type party, you can have anything you want, as long as it fits on one plate. Any dessert that you want, but only one.
Dinners out - order only main, no starters or desserts (I never understood the point of starters - eating food before you eat food??)

So something along those lines!

I like these ideas thanks @OwlsDance

I could have a coffee if others have dessert, starters maybe some olives - when it’s a business thing I’m conscious that I need to be sometimes doing the polite thing for the company I am with in regards to courses!

Eat a plate of broccoli/ greens before going out. Then go eat whatever you want. You will simply eat less!

Cut down/ out alcohol. Easiest way to lose weight by far. Drink coffee and tea black.

Alcohol is the key for me in these situations. Apart from the extra empty calories, my willpower goes right out the window when I've had a few drinks.

I totally get this, I'm currently on a bit of a fitness kick after my weight crept up by half a stone.

One of the hardest things to navigate is a change in routine, or nights out/dinner out, quite frankly we've just had to stop,or account for them in daily calories, and exercise.

So, for example, if there is a night out, coming up, which will involve having four drinks, then I would go to gym in the morning, and then go to gym in the evening before the night out, and then shower. I'd also probably cut out lunch.

It might sound a bit drastic, but it's the only way, particularly when the occasions come thick and fast.

Also, not drinking would be massively helpful, so if you can get away with that somehow!

The good news is, I'm nearly back, down to 8 1/2 stone!

a pilot friend who travels a lot always has veg soup for starter if that’s an option or veg starter.

no fried food.

eat more fish

only eat half the portion.

don’t have pudding.

have a side salad as a starter.

you have to as the PP said set some rules an easy one is eat half the plate.

have a white wine and soda

drink more water than wine.

Everything in moderation. In other words, be aware of the volume you are eating. Stop when you feel satisfied rather than when you feel full. Avoid bread so you can fit more of the good stuff in. I like that someone suggested coffee when everyone else has dessert; just avoid coffees with syrups, as these can easily make your coffee a three-hundred calorie drink.

For me its picking the better option for me

If its an obligatory 3 course type thing where everyone else is having a starter and you would feel awkward - take the soup or the salad starter

Choose a main wisely, steak or fish as plain as possible - ask for sauce on the side , ask for a veg or salad side or plain boiled potatoes

Go for a dessert without pastry

When eating out as part of work, its not a treat, you are just refuelling

Buffets and parties, fill the plate with salads and pickles and take proteins which arent covered in pastry - leave the sausage rolls behind. Eat the quiche fillings, leave the pastry. Pick stuff thats not bite sized that pops too easily and mindlessly into the mouth. Take a rice dish over the pasta smothered in mayo Take just one dessert

I find that as long as I have more veg/salad/fruit on my plate then beige carbs I can get happily full, not feel Im missing out and keep on track . If I go for the beige carbs - all bets are off and I over eat. But thats me, I know bread, pastry and biscuits/cakes bypass my off switch. I can stop at 4 wee sausages, add pastry ie mini sausage rolls and a dozen will be down my neck

Wine is very calorific so if you are having a drink, switch to a Gin and slimline - more slim then gin and have just slimline every other drink - no one will notice

my rules are:

if it’s work I don’t drink more than one glass of wine. I find the only people that notice are the people doing the same.

no bread and a butter and no pudding.

Where possible I order two starters rather than a starter and a main. If not I just eat half of the main course. People rarely notice.

with friends it’s harder but again I just tend to eat half of what’s on my plate.

If you have no off switch once you've started eating and have the sort of lifestyle and temperament that make constant, daily moderation difficult, a variation on 5:2 intermittent fasting might work. I lost of lot of weight doing that and go back on it and do fast days when I've been overdoing things. What I like about it is that you aren't constantly thinking about what you're eating (although I minimise v calorific food)

I think you also have to try and get away from thinking the meal/food/free booze is part of the treat. Have the nice hotel stay as the treat, or the chance to nose around somewhere new...the food is fuel, probably very nice fuel, but have a bit not the whole full 3 plates.

So it seems it’s not the dinners that are the problem

I’m on a business trip now and trying to think more about my intake. Just from meeting room offering, I’ve so far had:

A chocolate croissant
a small bag of sweets
half a danish pastry
two mini chocolate biscuit bars

It is all just THERE and I take it almost without thinking- wasn’t usually because I was hungry but more bored.

thanks for all the tips so far on dinners and parties…any equally great suggestions on ‘background snacks’ would be appreciated!! 🙈

Background snacks...

I had a job for a couple of years that involved driving between different schools. I put on half a stone and said it's the driving. Till a friend reasonably nicely pointed out I was snacking away in the car. Pack of crisps, biscuits, sweeties etc etc.

I gave myself a no snacking in the car rule and lost the half a stone. Still rarely snack in cars.

No snacking in meetings. 'No thanks' and have a drink instead if you are bored. I rarely have biscuits in meetings now, only if they've run on into my lunchtime and I'm getting hangry, and I have some very boring meetings, so if I can do it so can you.

I make sure I've had a proper protein breakfast and that usually keeps me going till lunchtime. Or porridge keeps me full too. I'll take a banana and eat that if I know I'm going into a long meeting that might overrun ... I eat it before the meeting otherwise that would be weird.

It's a mindset thing, you have to be able to honestly say - I'm the kind of person who doesn't snack between meals.

I use a delay don't deny technique. Tell yourself you can have whatever you want but only on your last day/meal whatever. Until then it's 3 healthy meals, tea/coffee/water no seconds, sweets or snacks at all!!!

If it's expected you drink then decide which ones you count as 'healthy' red wine, slimline gin and tonic etc and stick to one or two of those only. Don't forget you can go all out on the last meal so you don't need to NOW!

Another approach, intermittent fasting. Eat nothing or super healthy and light for breakfast and lunch and 'normal' indulgent for dinner and drinks. If you eat e.g. half as much as normal for the first two meals then you've got a whole meals worth of calories spare for dinner.

I don’t drink really, and that isn’t an issue for me- I can have one glass or none and be fine. It’s ‘bad’ food that’s the problem

I share your lack of will power, especially when biscuits are right there. Whenever I work from home, pick all day long.

I think I might need to go cold turkey on sugar, I think I have a problem 😕 I feel sick and disgusting but would still eat more if it was in front of me!

There's no such thing as "bad food" :)

Brilliant that you have thought about this enough to realise its the snacks, the snacks you don't even realise you have eaten

I work in a coffee shop/restaurant and turn a blind eye to those bringing their wee high fibre bars. Here the culture is coffee or tea? CAKE

My tricks - babybels , I usually have 2 about my body or car, sometimes I need them, other times ( mostly) I dont. I say I take them out for an outing :) But there are times Im travelling somewhere and I start to feel peckish , one or two of those and Im back in check and just take the coffee thankyou . I most often take one in the car on my drive in to work if Im not starting till lunch time as I know it will be 2 or 3 hours before I can eat sensibly and if Im feeling starved, sense is away out the window

Even a wee high protein bar in the pocket or hand bag helps. Luckily here we can still vape ( not in meetings or offices ) so a wee toilet break breaks the monotony at times , which probably is of no help to you :)

Just make sure you feel "full" before meetings , that you arent going into lunch starved

Dont be so hard on yourself, most of us are in the same boat, addicted to sugar, more addictive then crack cocaine , and its pushed on us

I go on holiday a lot and try and eat mainly protein, fruit and veg. I stick to champagne or sparkling wine, I used to not have any puddings but now I have them and enjoy them.
I usually have eggs in the morning, often with smoked salmon or fruit and thick yogurt as these fill me up for hours. This may help you to avoid the background snacks.

If anything, that looks easier to deal with because there isn't a "social" element involved. Nobody is likely to care, or even notice, whether you dip into the pastries and biscuits, so if you can develop the habit of just having a cup of coffee in meetings that removes several hundred calories of nutrient-poor food that you didn't even notice you were eating.

Thanks for the advice everyone!