I started the South Beach diet about a month ago, but I've been finding it incredibly difficult to deal with going out in the evenings. A lot of my social life takes place in bars and restaurants (meeting people for dinner/drinks/dancing), and I am totally incapable of sticking to any diet plan there, particularly one that restricts alcohol. Any one else have this problem? How do you cope?
Dance A LOT. That'll help you burn some calories There was a thread just a few days ago on low-cal alcoholic drinks you might find some ideas in.... Good luck!
I am on SB too and the thing that I have missed the most is beer!!!!! I have been beer free for about 6 weeks. I am not planning on eliminating beer from my life forever but I am trying to just drink it on "special" occasions like when my friends from undergrad and I get together. Anyway - I still drink, I have been drinking diet coke with rasberry vodka or diet coke with rum. And of course wine. Luckily, I don't drink as much as I used to - I don't think I could have stayed on the diet if I was still in college!!
Good luck!
I am the kind that if I go out I am not ordering "diet" food. I just enjoy my one night out, have a few drinks etc. There's no way you can gain, even a real pound, if you've kind of saved your calories up for the day. Just watch your portions! Maybe do some extra exercise that day or something. If you tend to go out more than once a week, then I don't really know what I would do in that situation. That's usually how I end up gaining. But I have lost all the weight I have lost while still enjoying eating out and drinking every once and a while.
for dinner, get a chicken dish served with veggies or a giant chicken caesar salad (I know when I did SB, I got REALLY sick of caesar salads!)
lots of places have some really good fish dishes now, too--be adventurous!
go someplace with a salad bar (and don't get the pasta salad or chocolate pudding from it!)
drink lower-carb beers (even my father likes Michelob Ultra)
have liquor with Diet Coke (preferably not the flavored liquors, as I would imagine they tend to be sweetened with sugar--go for straight dc and rum or dc and vodka)
drink LOTS of water and/or diet soda while you're out
eat something sensible at home before you leave so you're not starving when you get that menu
I'm on SB, too, but I haven't found it that hard to stick to plan when I go out (except when it comes to dessert-- been trying to cut that out!)
If you're going to dinner, you can have meat and veggies, just not the "side dish"-- so let's say you want to get a steak (get a leaner cut), ask if you sub the baked potato for steamed veggies or a salad.
As for the drink thing, I've never been big into acohol, so I can't help out too much with subsititutes. I mean, if you're going out to hang out with friends and you don't care about getting drunk, it shouldn't be too hard to get one, maybe two drinks, and make them last all night. You could always just get water. Anything in moderation can be fine, it's when you push into excess that it gets to be a problem. I had a friend in colege who exercised religiously every day, but then she'd go out and get wasted 3 or 4 days out of the week and she still ended up packing on a good 15 pounds.
* Try to plan your social life around activity, rather than food. Go skating, mini-golfing...anything to get off your butt.
* Pay attention to portions. Have a garden salad with low-fat dressing, a water-based soup or a fruit salad before you eat your main dish or before you leave the house, and drink a glass of water before you start and after you're finished. Take the time to savor your food and enjoy it, and you'll feel full on less. Don't feel that it's necessary to clean your plate. Only eat until you feel full, instead of stuffed.
* Research dishes before you head to your chosen resturaunt. That way, you will feel confident making food decisions and you can focus more on the conversation and less on trying to figure out what is safe to eat.
* Resturaunt entrees are often big enough for two meals. Before your dish is even brought to your table, ask your server to box half of it to go. Take it home, and have it tomorrow.
* Make leaner choices: steer clear of words like fried, breaded and cream. Choose baked, grilled, and low-fat instead. Get whole-wheat instead of white. Skip dessert, or share one with a friend.
* Limit your drinks and calculate them into your daily calorie intake.
* If you only go out once or twice a month, let it be your 'treat' day, just remember that you can still watch your portions and make healthier choices.
Good luck!
A lot of my friends are body builders or health nuts.
They will go to the bar, but abstain from alcohol. They usually always have a bottle of water going to whole night.
You can still be social, and not drink! IT's all about choices...do you want to drink (get the calories) or abstain and get the body you've always wanted.
I don't know if anyone is interested in creating an "accountability thread" to report to the others how the weekend went diet-wise. I think something like that might help me keep on track. (Apologies if there is already a thread for this).
Love to go out
There was a thread just a few days ago on low-cal alcoholic drinks you might find some ideas in.... Good luck!
