I have cut down my eating out habits significantly for this program, I only eat out when it serves a social purpose ie. I go out for dinner or lunch with someone else as an activity. I don’t order in/get take out/or go out for dinner out of convience.
Seriously when I think about it, I make a concious effort to never spend more then 30 minutes in the kitchen preparing my dinner…….this is faster then going out of dinner, picking up dinner or even ordering in. Frankly on most days as you can see by my food log, I don’t spend more then 15-20 minutes in the kitchen. The “convenience” excuse of ordering in, is getting really lame that way.
I am not going to lie, I do miss the large order spare-ribs, the pizza’s, Chinese take out, burgers and fries. Ironically I don’t miss them as much as I thought I would, I have only thought about them briefly a few times and got over it. It surely didn’t “hurt” anywhere not eating my favorite fatty foods. What I mean is, there is not a place in my body I can point to that feels physical pain for not being allowed to have something fatty or binge on something super sized. And it is not like I am not allowed to eat anything at all, so in a sense I am not deprived of something that is required for me to breath in and out.
Eating out can definitely be a pain when you are on a program. The menu is like a hot sausage dangling in front of your face, the portions too large for your need yet right in front of you calling your name. I swear sometimes I figure if the restaurant was real quiet, you can hear my meal call my name.
I have developed a few rules of thumb for myself to aid me in eating out. I am going to write them down, as form of a contract to myself. But also as a flag to those that eat out with me.
Goal: eat in a good way for my weight, but also eat what I like. Depending on the menu, one definitely doesn’t have to exclude the other.
1. Order something good for my weight and what I like to have. This means prepared in as little fat as possible, not containing processed foods (like white breads, white pasta’s, white rice etc) but sticking to whole grains as much as possible. Now this is definitely a challenge, processed and fatty foods are just everywhere.
2. If that is not possible, or what I REALLY want to have is not as lean as I’d like to be. Order or eat moderately. But then compensate with the meals after on the same day or the day after (I may have to go veggie and not go for an additional meat intake), or additional working out. It is a trade off. But the trade off allows me to not have to diet, it allows me to touch and not just to look. I feel it prevents me from wanting to binch on what I can not have, a problem I always had when I was dieting. This is why I am not dieting, and do not feel deprived. And I realize in some weeks this may cause me to not lose any weight at all, or less then I’d like to. That’s a trade off. I want to lose the weight real badly, am I willing to trade off on that eating something I like but will paste the pounds on my hips? Conciously thinking about that choice is important. The mindless eating has to be something of the past.
3. Even the meal that I order I can pick out the real bad stuff. For instance eat the burger, but not all of the bread. Eat the sandwich, but leave the potato chips or fries that come with it. Instead of loading up on fries and meats, I take less of that and more of the stuff that is better for my weight.
4. If fries or foods on my top 10 of bad favorites scream my name, I can have a few, but I just can’t have them all.
5. I will not finish my plate.
6. Eat slowly, and stay aware of the fact that I am eating and when I am full. My brain doesn’t register it is full, until 20 minutes of actually being full.
7. I drink water or diet soda. I also don’t order juice, most juices contain a lot of additional added sugar and in a restaurant it is hard to control this. I don’t drink alcohol, unless I really want to.
8. Taking a 1 course meal. Or two appetizers, without anything else.
9. If I go to a restaurant where I know the menu, decide what I am going to eat at home. Then there is no decision process during which I maybe lured by the fat monster.
10. When I am browsing over the menu, I focus on what I can have, instead of can’t. I trade off and make decisions. It’s almost like al little puzzle, figuring out the best thing to order for my taste and for my weight. Without feeling neglected. I visualize my end goal of 67 Kgs, is it worth it to eat something bad if it means not reaching that goal? Particularly after all the work I have done?
The strange thing is, I have actually had fun eating out or at other peoples houses. I feel a sense of pride handling things so smart. Not ordering loads of fat, is actually not that big of a sacrifice at all. Because don’t forget, I can trade off with exercise. So nothing is “forbidden.” But seriously I rather eat a bit less, then workout even more then I already do.
What I do need to start prepping for is a stop at certain restaurants where I know sooner or later i will end up with friends or on a road trip. I need to figure out what I should order, and educate myself about amounts of fat and caloric intake, and that balanced with stuff I like on their menu’s. For instance places like McDonalds, or a mexican restaurant, or italian restaurant.
I do hope one day the above will become automatic, instead of forced. I hope that day will come soon.
