Summer time is in full swing here in VA and that means backyard BBQs. It’s always fun to get together with friends and share delicious food and drinks. But how do you do that when you are trying to lose weight?
Here are five tips to attend a party without losing your weight loss momentum:
Plan your indulgences before you arrive
Not many of us know exactly what will be at a party or BBQ before we arrive but we can all agree of a few staple items that will likely be there: creamy dips, chips, meats, alcohol and desserts. Knowing this helps you. Your best strategy for enjoying yourself and keeping up with your weight loss momentum is to have a plan.
To create your plan, decide what indulgence you want most. There are no wrong or right choices. You will want to keep 80% of your choices fueling your body with fresh fruits, vegetables and lean meats. The other 20% are your indulgences. This gives your body the nutrients it needs while still allowing you to enjoy some of the special items at the party.
Always remember, no matter what you put on your plate, it is important to check in with yourself and whether you’ve had enough to eat. Overeating is always a recipe for weight gain. If you are concerned about eating enough before you’ve made it to your chosen indulgence, eat the indulgence first! This is your weight loss journey and you get to choose.
Remind yourself: This party isn’t your last chance for food
It can feel urgent when you are at a party that has foods that you don’t have often. For instance, you might find candied bacon, deviled eggs or Grandma’s famous brownies at a backyard BBQ and think to yourself that you NEVER get to have these things so you better eat them NOW! It’s easy to fall into scarcity thinking that justifies you eating them right now while you have the opportunity.
But let’s be real. You’re a grown adult. You can make these things yourself, pay for someone else to make them for you, buy them at the store or ask the host if you can take some home with you to eat at a later time. For those of us living in first world countries, there is no food that we can’t pay to have at any given time. Don’t let your brain create an emergency that doesn’t exist just so it can have the food it wants right now.
Create your eating protocol
Eating protocols are a great way to stay on track at special events. They don’t have to be complicated and you certainly don’t have to know the foods that will be available to make one.
Here are some ideas that you could incorporate into your own party protocol:
- Start with a plate of fruits and veggies first.
- Wait one hour after you arrive before getting an alcoholic or non-water drink.
- Go around and talk to everyone at the party first before making a plate to eat.
- Leave empty space on your plate between all foods.
- Limit yourself to one plate, including any sweets.
- Alternate between water and alcohol/non-water beverage.
- Don’t try everything. Ask around what everyone is enjoying and take the top three raved about foods.
- Or try everything. Serve yourself one, small bite of everything. Only go back for more of your favorite item.
- Make sure your plate is half fruits or veggies.
Don’t let your brain try to tell you that you’re being restrictive. Our brains LOVE to throw a fit when it feels like it’s not getting what it wants. Be ready to talk back to your brain and tell it “I’m choosing to enjoy the party this way. I can enjoy myself without having to enjoy every single food here. I want to leave this party feeling proud of myself and my choices. Following my protocol is exactly how I do that.”
Stay hydrated
Staying hydrated is essential during the summer and outdoor events. Water is also an essential part of the weight loss process. Prioritizing water will ensure that you are able to tune into your body’s hunger and satiation cues accurately. Sometimes when our body is needing water, we can mistake that thirst for hunger which leads to overeating. Stay ahead of that by making sure your water cup is always filled up and ready to sip from.
If you are planning to have alcoholic beverages as part of your indulgence, water becomes even MORE important. Alcohol dehydrates you as well as it impairs your judgement. It is a great idea to have an alcohol protocol in place to make sure you enjoy your alcoholic beverages as well as stay hydrated. One of my tried and true alcohol protocols is the 1:1 method. For every alcoholic drink, I drink one glass of water (make sure it’s equal sizes!).
If you struggle with drinking water, check out this blog post on Five tips to drink water when you HATE it
Be compassionate to yourself
Most of my clients struggle with perfectionism. The moment they don’t follow their protocol exactly, they feel like a failure and go face down in chips and desserts because why try anymore?? Being compassionate with yourself means understanding that this is a new skill you are learning. Allowing yourself to make mistakes and still move forward with your weight loss goal will make ALL the difference if you reach your goal weight or not.
You can always make a good choice and start over at any time. It doesn’t matter what bite (or two, three or many more) you just ate. What really matters is what you are willing to do right now. So find something small that you are willing to do that doesn’t take much effort. Maybe you can take a few sips of water, throw out your last bite of food or simply focus on conversations for the rest of the event. You just need something small that is movement in the right direction.
After the event, be sure to find what you did well and what you want to incorporate into the next event you attend. Also, gently hold yourself accountable to where you could have done better and incorporate that into future protocols. You are never messing up if you take the time to learn from it.
Your coach,
Andrea