I've been on Atkins induction for 3 weeks and actually enjoying it. I've lost a nice little chunk so far and want to keep it going. In this time when we've gone to a restaurant I've known ahead of time what place and was able to look at the menu online to figure out the best thing for my diet. Tonight, my husband and I will be dining with a friend of his from out of town, we're "playing it by ear" which I normally dislike. And since I'm dieting, it makes me even more frustrated and anxious. I haven't eaten so far today and now I'm starting to get hungry. I'm worried about filling up too much of my allotted 20g carbs and 1800 calories and be either stuck out, or just saying "oh well" and tucking into a mound of french fries. Ugh. I really don't want this to derail me.
<<I haven't eaten so far today and now I'm starting to get hungry. >>
I would strongly advise against not eating on a day you're planning to go out for dinner. It's hard to summon your willpower when you're ravenous. What I would suggest instead is to make a game plan you can adapt to pretty much any restaurant you go to, such as: one small salad or bowl of soup, plus one main course based on grilled chicken or fish -- and nothing else.
I totally agree with eating before. It's really hard to avoid fresh baked bread, for example, if you're starving when you get there. Instead, have a little bit to eat before you go.
Don't forget, you can ask for substitutions and specifics if you need - you can request a seasoning instead of a sugary glaze on your meat, or double veggies instead of the starchy side.
It wasn't my intention to skip eating until dinner. I was just saying that I hadn't yet eaten and was worried about how much dinner was going to take up, so unsure of what to eat for brunch. I've since had 300 calories and 2g carb.
If you can't look up the menu beforehand, all you can do is make the best choices possible. Choose a meat with a veggie side, or a salad and just make sure the dressing is acceptable.
My in laws and our friends have had us over for dinner a few times since I've started Atkins and what I do is just choose the healthiest thing. Just because you can't preplan or weigh or know how many calories and carbs in advance is not a reason to cheat. I'll tell you one thing, I cheated and it stalled my weight for a whole week. It wasn't worth it, I could have lost more (and I felt sick after with carb-flu)
Do the best with what you can and it will be easier to bounce back when you go back on plan. By doing this I only stalled once after one of these dinners.
I'm also experiencing anxiety about dinner tonight. Not because of the place i'm going to, but i just do not feel strong at all today. I haven't gone off plan, but i've played with the possibility. And dinner out is not going to help things.
Anxiety over dinner out tonight
