[Kaet]

I have a problem with eating poorly/too much when I'm eating with others. For example, today I spent the day out with my best friend, and when it came to lunch, she didn't want to go to any of the places I knew had healthy options for me. So we ended up going to a fast food restaurant, and now I feel guilty for eating french fries. Also, whenever we have a get-together with friends and family, I feel too embarrassed to drink my Slim Fast or eat one of my regular meals, so I end up eating what everyone else is and eating too much? I need advice on how to not do these things.

[MrsJim]

This is where PLANNING comes in Here's how I would handle these situations...

If I was spending the day with someone, I would tell her in advance that you DIDN'T want to eat fast food, but you wanted to eat at a healthy place. If she had a hard time dealing with that, I would try and compromise - if part of the day was going to be spent shopping, I'd make sure we were at a mall with a food court and lots of choices - our local mall has a Burger King, Panda Kitchen, Great Steak & Potato Company (which also sells plain baked potatoes or with cottage cheese and a salad), Sbarro, sushi, cajun, etc.

Since I'm doing Body for Life, once a week I get a planned 'free day' where I can eat what I like - usually it's on Sundays but if there's a special occasion (such as Thanksgiving and Christmas) I PLAN AHEAD and change my Free Day that week to the day of the occasion in question.

I think most folks here know what I think of SlimFast by now Check the label - it's mostly sugar, which is NOT going to help you at all...there are much better products out there that have little or no sugar and WAY more protein...

Bill Phillips says "Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail". Take it from me -- planning is the KEY to success in just about any endeavor!

[Kaet]

Thank you for the reply! I'm going to try your suggestions next time the situation arises. You said that SlimFast is mostly sugar...so what other products are you talking about/would you recommend?

[MrsJim]

I personally stay away from bars...too much sugar in most (if not all) of them...except in an absolute emergency, such as when I'm on a cross-country flight. The two bars I use are Worldwide Pure Protein (S'mores and Blueberry Cheesecake flavors are good) and MetRx Protein Plus.

As far as meal replacement shakes, my favorite is EAS' Myoplex Lite (I DON'T recommend the bars though - again, high in sugar). One serving of Myo Lite has 190 calories, 25g protein (a whey/casien/soy blend) and 17g carbs (only 2g of sugar).

Another brand I recommend is Labrada's Lean Body for Her. The reason I don't buy it is because it only comes in two flavors - Vanilla and chocolate (I love Myoplex Lite's Cappuchino Ice - tastes like a Starbucks Frappuchino ). Nutritional info per serving: 170 calories, 30g protein (again, a whey/casien/soy blend), 10g carbs (1g sugar).

MetRx has just come out with a Lite version of their original MRP (Meal Replacement Powder). I haven't tried it yet but MetRx is a company with a great rep for quality products. According to their website 1 serving (BTW these products are all sold in premeasured packets) has 180 calories, 25g protein, 15g carbs (3g sugar).

I don't recommend buying these products at GNC - you can find the best prices online - I recommend www.netrition.com or www.vitaglo.com . I generally pay in the range of $1.13-1.25 a serving for Myoplex Lite - which I mix with water and ice in my blender.

Please feel free to come visit our BFL/Bodybuilding forum here at 3FC or check out the gang at www.leanandstrong.com! Take care.