We have never been more informed about good nutrition and how food affects our health. The perils of obesity and its associated health problems are continuing to rise but a lot of people continue to lead unhealthy lifestyles. They behave the same way around food that they always have, struggling to break a cycle that they have been caught up in for many years.

Dodging bad food in social situations can be hard at the best of times, especially when there is always someone in the crowd trying to persuade us to perhaps ‘lash out a little’, and eat something unhealthy! Often people justify eating anything that is put in front of them because of the social situation they have found themselves in. They don’t want to appear rude and definitely don’t want to feel ‘left out’. So they eat and drink without discrimination.

Here are some ideas which might help you through these tough situations:

• If you are concerned about the foods you may be faced with you could eat something light before you go, and drink lots of water. You will be less likely to make bad choices if you’re not hungry.
• If appropriate take along a healthy plate of food to share with others. The host may appreciate a hand with the preparations and your healthy options will probably be very welcome.
• When eating out, place everything you are going to eat on your plate at the same time before you start eating. It’s easier to judge how much you’re eating when you measure the portions together.
• Limit your alcohol by drinking water in between each drink. You can cut your intake in half by doing this.
• Its good to occasionally plan a cheat meal so use a social situation as one of those, not an extra one for the week. Planned cheat meals are great. If you are too strict for too long you can set yourself up for some crazy cravings and binge eating. Be sensible though with your cheat meals, particularly with portion sizes. A wedding, Christmas or the Easter break is not a free ticket to put on 3kg!

• If you do slip up and over indulge then just pick yourself up at the next meal. Don’t wait for the next day or the start of the next week.
• It’s common for most people to plan to go totally off the rails. They set themselves up to fail by eating anything they want and stopping they’re usual exercise routine. Stay strong and try and maintain at least 80% of your usual routine.
• Plan or timetable when you will exercise and eat, just like you would with any other appointment. When you allocate time to do something it is more likely to be done.

Remember, you don’t need copious amounts of food and alcohol to enjoy yourself.

© Kylie Pogson 2007

Click Here to Return to Articles