Hello Everyone,
A newbie here. I was on the look out for a useful forum for weightloss and came across this site. Everyone seems to be very helpful here, so I decided to join.
I'm 30 years old. My goal is to lose 35 pounds in the next 99 days/nights, hence the username. I started the diet about 10 days ago, though it feels like an eternity. I've even been blogging about it, to stay motivated and hold myself accountable.
The biggest problem so far, has been trying not to eat out every night. I didn't even realize how often I was eating out until I tried not doing it so much. I'm not sure how I got into this habbit, but its proving to be a tough one to break. I do good all day with the diet, but when I get home, my self control disappears and off to the restaurant we go. Also, I workout in the evenings, so by the time I'm done, I'm ravenous and ready to eat anything and everything. I've tried working out in the morning, but have been unable to get myself out of bed in time.
Let me know if you've got any ideas on how to avoid going out for dinner everynight and keep my hunger under control after a workout. Thanks in advance for your help.
Last edited by next99nights; 06-09-2012 at 11:44 AM.
Reason: Update in post #18
Eating out was a challenge for me to stop as well! Especially when it comes to Sushi!! I have a large group of friends who love to get together to simply eat and drink and spend time together. I also found it so much easier to just pick something up on the way home rather then cooking and cleaning and getting things ready for the next day for my daughter and I, but I knew I had to just bite the bullet!! I got a George Foreman grill which I LOVE!! It cooks everything so quickly and drains all the fatty juices away from your food!! I also try to prep what I will be cooking the night before so that when I do get home its quick and easy. When I do eat out, I am now ordering very healthy meals! It kills me at times when everyone else around me is eating delicious french fries but I just tell myself it will all be worth it in the end!! I am spoiling myself now and then. Like tonight I will go for sushi but I will keep away from the fried things as much as I can.
What works for me might not work for you, but this was my experience with it. Best of luck to you!!
Plan out your menu for the week and if you can prepare your meals in advance.
Honestly, I think the answer is planning. If you have a plan, you won't be tempted to go out to eat because you know exactly what you have waiting for you!
I agree with the planning advice. If you know exactly what you are having for dinner, or better yet have already made it and just have to warm it up, you will be able to avoid this issue perhaps.
As a backup plan, have a plan of a healthy option you can order at whatever restaurant(s) you frequent.
Allowing myself to get too hungry PLUS lacking a food plan is what leads me into trouble.
Plan plan plan. Spend time on the weekends preparing grains, protein and veggies for your meals throughout the week. Make casseroles or zip loc bags full of fajita mixes. Have hardboiled eggs handy. Frozen homemade pizzas.
Take the time you would spend blogging and get in the kitchen to plan your meals.
Planning is the key for me too. I cook on weekends or ahead of time whenever I can. My freezer is stocked with homemade freezer meals, but I also know a lot of quick meals that I have ingredients for on-hand most of the time.
Definitely plan and pre-prep so you have something on hand quickly. You might make yourself a reward jar - figure how much money you save staying in vs going out and put the savings aside for a treat for yourself.
Eating out was a challenge for me to stop as well! Especially when it comes to Sushi!! I have a large group of friends who love to get together to simply eat and drink and spend time together. I also found it so much easier to just pick something up on the way home rather then cooking and cleaning and getting things ready for the next day for my daughter and I, but I knew I had to just bite the bullet!! I got a George Foreman grill which I LOVE!! It cooks everything so quickly and drains all the fatty juices away from your food!! I also try to prep what I will be cooking the night before so that when I do get home its quick and easy. When I do eat out, I am now ordering very healthy meals! It kills me at times when everyone else around me is eating delicious french fries but I just tell myself it will all be worth it in the end!! I am spoiling myself now and then. Like tonight I will go for sushi but I will keep away from the fried things as much as I can.
What works for me might not work for you, but this was my experience with it. Best of luck to you!!
Thanks for advice shainasb818. The grill sounds like a good idea, I'll look into it. I'm not sure if its something we can use regularly though. My wife is a vegetarian, and I'd prefer it if we both could eat the same thing at home. So that cuts down on a lot of options when it comes to grilling.
I hear you on ordering healthy meals, when eating out. I've been trying to do that, like ordering a salad etc, but I'm sure even a salad at a restaurant has more calories, sodium etc. compared to what you can make at home.
I thought Sushi was supposed to be healthy though. Why would feel guilty about that?
Another part of planning is planning healthy meals you can order at some of the places you go for dinner. Most of them have a website where you can look up nutrition facts for meals these days.
I also subscribe to "Eat this not that" newsletters - they've definitely shown me a trend of where the best and worst places to get a good meal are. (Red Lobster has some great dinner options, while the dinner choices at the Cheesecake Factory are HORRIFIC across the board.)
Other places offer lower calorie menu selections and just about any place you go will hold sauces, butter and oils, substitute sides, and make other alterations to your meals if you ask them to.
Another email subscription I have is to hungry-girl. Her newsletters show you fantastic recipe swap ideas that can help you to make your own lower calorie versions of popular fast food and sit-down options.
There is a wide world of resources out there available to you... do a bit of research and arm yourself with the knowledge you need to be able to go out (on occasion) and still hit your fitness goals.
Plan out your menu for the week and if you can prepare your meals in advance.
Honestly, I think the answer is planning. If you have a plan, you won't be tempted to go out to eat because you know exactly what you have waiting for you!
I know what you mean. Planning does help. However, sometimes, I can't seem to stick to the plan. Like the other day, I had planned to drink a protein shake after workout. But by the time I got done with the workout, I was ready to eat a horse. A protein shake didn't sound appetizing any longer. I need to figure out a way to never let myself get that hungry to begin with.
I thought Sushi was supposed to be healthy though. Why would feel guilty about that?
Some sushi can be, but even if you just order plain nigiri sushi (fish and rice) it still packs more carbs than you would think; the rice is often made with sugar in it's seasoning mix.
Most people order those delicious rolls that are loaded with fried goodness and fatty mayo based sauces, but even if you choose something less indulgent, it still adds up to a lot of calories. A few pieces of fatty salmon and avocado on some sushi rice is a few hundred calories. I'm not sure who only eats 3-4 pieces, but I certainly don't! I can eat my body weight in sushi...
You can make smart choices and order "healthy items" easily, but at the end of the day your weight is determined by your caloric intake and that is very easy to overdo even when eating sushi.
I agree with the planning advice. If you know exactly what you are having for dinner, or better yet have already made it and just have to warm it up, you will be able to avoid this issue perhaps.
As a backup plan, have a plan of a healthy option you can order at whatever restaurant(s) you frequent.
Allowing myself to get too hungry PLUS lacking a food plan is what leads me into trouble.
I like the backup plan idea. I need to come up with a list of healthy places to eat and healthy options at the places I like. Then I would know what I'll be eating regardless of whether I eat at home or outside. Thanks for the advice LockItUp.
Plan plan plan. Spend time on the weekends preparing grains, protein and veggies for your meals throughout the week. Make casseroles or zip loc bags full of fajita mixes. Have hardboiled eggs handy. Frozen homemade pizzas.
Take the time you would spend blogging and get in the kitchen to plan your meals.
Thanks seagirl. Hardboiled eggs and fajita mixes. Great ideas. That might be just what I need, to keep me from going over the tipping point.
Planning is the key for me too. I cook on weekends or ahead of time whenever I can. My freezer is stocked with homemade freezer meals, but I also know a lot of quick meals that I have ingredients for on-hand most of the time.
I guess part of my problem is that I don't spend much time in the kitchen other than to help cleanup. I see now that'll have to change.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thehappyimp
Definitely plan and pre-prep so you have something on hand quickly. You might make yourself a reward jar - figure how much money you save staying in vs going out and put the savings aside for a treat for yourself.
Reward jar - Nice! I'm not sure if I'll remember to calculate the savings and put it in there, but that does give me an idea of coming up with a reward based system for not eating out. Thanks.
I know what you mean. Planning does help. However, sometimes, I can't seem to stick to the plan. Like the other day, I had planned to drink a protein shake after workout. But by the time I got done with the workout, I was ready to eat a horse. A protein shake didn't sound appetizing any longer. I need to figure out a way to never let myself get that hungry to begin with.
Plan food. Hunger will happen. For me I have never found a plan that both allowed me to lose weight and "never be hungry"
When hungry and tired and weighing between a protein shake and the temptation of a restaurant, a restaurant will ALWAYS beckon to you. Always. Having food at home already prepared where the time and effort I put into it ready helps ALOT
Plan stuff you can look forward to. Plan food that sounds and tastes good. And budget for it. If you have only left enough room in your calorie budget for a protein shake for dinner...yikes! (or was that supposed to be a pre-dinner snack?)
Are you also vegetarian? Is part of the eating out temptation that you want "to eat the same things at home" as your wife but when you go out to eat you "get" to eat meat? If so, get over the need to eat the same at home.
How to stop going out for dinner every night?
