Staying on track: Social Settings
1. Rest Up. Getting enough sleep is critical. Cravings are much worse when you are sleep deprived so hit the sheets and get as much rest as you can.
2. Eat before you go. This will help fill you up and out your cravings at rest. It is not always necessary to bring your food with you. And honestly there is nothing that calls attention to you faster than walking in with your baggie of meat and vegetables. But if your stomach is full things won’t look quite as appetizing.
3. Say No. No is a complete sentence. And truthfully, should be all you have to say but I know, I know, it’s hard (but remember, your abs will be too if you learn how to say no and stand your ground).
4. Change the subject. Everyone loves to talk about themselves. This is a fact. Say no and quickly ask them something about them. If the conversation comes back around to you and why you aren’t eating like a pig and drinking like a siv, very casually say “oh, it’s not that exciting, what about YOU?” Trust me. Always works. Promise.
5. Track your food. I promise, tracking your food works. It is one of those things that works like a charm but nobody does it. Or they do it when they are doing well, and then fall of when things hit the fan. That is the most important time to track what you are up to. I promise it doesn’t take many of these journal entries to fly right.
5 hot dog things
4 mini quesadillas
6 egg nog
4 small cheesecakes 3 brownies 2 Baileys and coffee
6. Choose wisely. Eat what you want. Not what others want for you. Pause and think about not only how it will taste now, but how it will taste later. How will
your stomach feel and how will YOU feel when you are trying to work off the calories? If it’s worth it to you, then by all means ENJOY!
7. Hold onto something. For some strange reason we feel better in social settings when we hold onto something. Nobody needs to know it is a club soda with lemon and lime, an iced tea or a cranberry juice.
8. Sugar Free Mints/Gum. Chewing gum or having a mint in your mouth is a great way to avoid every little treat in sight. Oral and sweet fixation in one.
9. Just one usually doesn’t work. If you are one of “those” people who can eat just one of something and carry on, I applaud you and you can move on to the next tip. But for the rest of us, this can be very tough and probably one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves; “Oh, I’ll have just one.” Sugar is particularly one of those areas where “just one” leads to 101. So don’t kid yourself, we all have those particular treats that don’t let ust just stop at one, so we just can’t start.
10.Lie. I know this doesn’t sound very “holiday” like, and I am probably going to hell for saying it, but you know what, it’s also not very nice to force food or drinks down people's’ mouths either, now is it? So, if you must, and this is seirously your last resort, just lie. “I have to work in the morning,” “I am taking medication,” “I am allergic to that;” whatever you need to say to protect your boundaries. This will get easier in time but for now, do what you gotta do to be successful.