It seems like food is everywhere when a person is trying to lose weight. Today I came to the local library to write this post – - the library that doesn’t allow food or drinks – - and what did I see on every table? A full color flier advertising an ice cream social next week at said library with a picture of a luscious looking strawberry sundae! Ugh! Even when I go where I think there will be no food to tempt me I’m wrong! (Okay, it wasn’t actual food but the picture certainly looked good enough to eat!)
I completely understand why a lot of people say it’s harder to lose weight in the summer. Yeah, you skinny people might think that’s crazy because of all the great fruits and veggies that are abundant in the summer but that means nothing when a fat person (me for instance) has food issues.
In the last 7 days I had an anniversary party (dinner out), birthday party (birthday cake), Father’s day celebration for father in law (dinner at their house), Father’s day celebration for my husband and my Dad (my house where I made sure salad was on the menu), and a movie night with my daughter (of course she had to buy popcorn with butter that I couldn’t resist digging my hand into several times).
If you weren’t counting that was 5 social occasions in the last 7 days that all revolved around food and the summer party season is just gearing up!
The good news is that I managed to lose 2 pounds this past week despite all the food that seemed to beckon and call out my name constantly.
My old strategy for losing weight during the height of the summer party season was to avoid going to those parties as much as possible. That strategy completely stunk! While the rest of my family was at the party enjoying themselves I was home feeling sorry for myself. I always did one of two things: went to bed and felt sorry for myself and then overate the next day because I was super hungry; or opened the pantry 5 minutes after my family left for the party and fed my sorrow with lots of junk food.
Can you guess how well those strategies worked? Yeah, my bathroom scale will tell you they were stupid strategies.
That’s not to say I have everything figured out. My weight loss has significantly slowed since the the weather got nicer and the endless parties started. But, I’m still losing weight. And I think I have some pretty good strategies figured out.
Here’s my top 9 strategies for losing weight while still going out and attending parties. And, no, none of these strategies involve taping my mouth shut and not eating! That’s not any fun at all.
1) Drink lots of water, before and during the party. There are lots of times I think I’m hungry but what I really am is thirsty. That hot weather is dehydrating. Take your own water if you have to. I do and I flavor it with those on the go sugar free drink mixes so I don’t feel deprived. I get teased for bringing my own and not thinking what’s offered at the party is “good enough,” but I’m a big girl (right now both literally and figuratively) and I can handle the teasing. So drink up!
2) Offer to bring food. At last week’s birthday party I offered to bring a dessert. I made a lower calorie carrot cake (I’ll get the recipe posted soon) and that’s what I ate. I got to enjoy dessert instead of sitting at the table pouting while everyone else was eating cake. I followed the same strategy at my in-laws house for their Father’s Day celebration. I took a salad and ate lots of it, having just a little of the higher calories foods.
3) Stay Away From the Alcohol, or limit it. I’m one of those people that after I have a couple of drinks, the munchies hit and I want to eat everything in sight – and usually do. So I avoid alcohol at parties, most of the time. Sometimes I’ll indulge but only if there’s MGD 64 around cuz it’s only 1 point a bottle and obviously pretty low in alcohol content so I stay in better control.
4) Plan Ahead. If I know I’m going to be going out to eat at a restaurant I always go online to see if they have a menu posted. Then I plan what I’m going to order. If they don’t have a menu available I still try to plan what I’m going to have in general. For example if we’re going to a restaurant that specializes in burgers I plan on having a burger without calorie dense sauces and cheese. I usually have fries, but I make sure I have weekly points saved so I can indulge. Otherwise a small portion of steak with a baked potato or grilled fish and veggies are my standbys. Avoid most restaurant salads. They are often the highest calorie items on the menu cuz they usually have breaded and deep fried chicken plus they tons of high calorie dressing (they gotta make them taste good, right?).
5) Eat Before You Go. It sounds stupid to eat before you go somewhere where you know you’re going to eat, but it helps me avoid overeating. I’ll eat a whole grain mini bagel with peanut butter, a piece of string cheese, yogurt, or some raw veggies before I go so I’m not ravenous when I get to the party. That way I can control myself much better.
6) Eat The Fresh Stuff. If the party you’re at has fruit platters and veggie trays, eat a plateful of that before anything else to help fill you up. If there are cocktail shrimp, eat those to your heart’s content as well cuz they are low in calories. Then head over to the high calorie foods and desserts. I always do this now. It really helps me stay in control because I’m not crazed with hunger by the time I get to that yummy high calorie stuff.
7) Save Calories/Points For The Parties. I follow Weight Watchters which is a points based system. If you’re not familiar with it, the plan has daily points plus 35 weekly points that can be used as desired. Those weekly points are what I save for parties. Sometimes though, there’s so many parties in a week, like my last 7 days for example, that those 35 extra points don’t stretch very far. That’s when I employ strategy number 8.
Up Your Exercise. If you know you have lots of parties and social gatherings coming up, increase your activity. Work out longer and harder at the gym. Take extra walks, longer bike rides, do more laps in the pool, etc. Exercise helps build muscle and increase your metabolism which burns more calories. Last week I went for a 25 mile bike ride one day and a 2 hour walk another as a buffer against all the “party food.”
9) Stay Away From the Buffet and the Kitchen. At my family parties there’s always a dessert table and the kitchen is a favorite gathering place for the girls. I eat my meal as far away from the dessert table as possible and I now help with cleanup (I’m the dish washer) rather than the prep so that I don’t pop all those extra “tasting” bites of food in my mouth while I’m helping to get it ready.
Following these strategies is helping me to continue to lose weight and to get out the summer “unable to lose in summer rut” I was in. I’m not saying it makes it easy. It’s still hard but it doesn’t seem impossible when I implement these strategies. Getting this weight off may be the hardest thing I ever do but I’m determined to do it and it’s definitely worth the effort.
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