It can be hard to balance having a social life and leading a healthy lifestyle. Going out with your friends for a meal is OK! Don’t think “oh well, I’m going to ruin it today anyway so I’ll just start again tomorrow” and then I use it as an excuse to eat whatever that day or all weekend. I know it can be hard, but having one bad meal won’t do much damage. Eating bad ALL day however will undo some hard work, and then make it harder for you to get back on the bandwagon. So moral of the story, don’t let it all go to waste if you have social plans! Enjoy yourself. But IT IS possible to stay healthy when socializing too. Here are some tips to help for each social situation.
1. Dinner With Friends Or Family
You go out to a nice restaurant and everything sounds delicious. Remember that if you eat really well most of the time, it’s OK to treat yourself and order something you usually wouldn’t. But if you want to be healthy, there are ALWAYS healthy options. Avoid breads and anything deep-fried, and make sure you order something with some protein and vegetables. Also try to stick to one meal only – having an entrée, main and dessert will most definitely mean you will overeat and leave feeling super full.
2. Morning Teas At Work
I don’t know about you, but at my last workplace, we were always having morning teas. There would be a huge supply of cakes, chocolates, etc, which can be really hard to resist when they’re right in front of you.
To prevent bingeing out on all of this type of food, have a healthy snack before the morning tea starts so you don’t feel hungry. And bring something healthy to contribute to the morning tea such as a fruit platter, or carrot sticks with a healthy dip.
3. Nights Out
It’s Friday or Saturday night and you’re out with your friends and everyone is drinking. It’s OK to have a few drinks! The problems with nights out are the drink choices, amount of drinks, and then the food consumed afterwards. Stick to 3 drinks maximum and avoid all drinks that involve sugary soft drinks and juices. Red wine and vodka, lime and soda are better options. Also make sure that you eat before you start drinking, so you’re not starving afterwards and make a pit stop to Maccas on the way home.
4. Weekends Away
It can be easy to fall into the mindset of “I’m going away for the weekend so I’ll just eat bad and start again next week.” An entire weekend of bad food choices is definitely going to set you back and make you feel yuck.
I know it can be hard, but keep active, even if it’s just going for a walk. When you exercise, you’re more likely to make better food choices in the day, so make it a priority. Also try to start the day off right with a healthy breakfast – this will set you up to make healthier choices in the day. If you eat something sugary like pancakes for breakfast, chances are you will then make bad food choices for the rest of the day!
It’s FREE