After successfully guiding countless clients on their weight loss journeys, we understand the importance of avoiding self-sabotage when dining out. In today’s blog, we are thrilled to share five empowering strategies that will help you stay on track with your weight loss goals while still enjoying dining out experiences. Most importantly, these strategies revolve around mindset shifts that will empower you on your journey.
1. Transform Your Perception of Eating Out
Unfortunately, many of us (including myself) have an unhealthy relationship with dining out. If you’ve struggled with your weight, chances are you associate eating out with oversized portions and feeling uncomfortably full. Our brain forms habits through associations between cues and rewards. In this case, the restaurant serves as the cue, and the dopamine hit from delicious food becomes the reward.
Breaking this cycle requires consciously reshaping the meaning of eating out. The meaning you attach to it holds immense power—it influences your brain chemistry and the state you’re in. Your state encompasses your thoughts, beliefs, and emotions, which then drive your actions and shape your life outcomes.
During the initial stages of a nutrition program, it can be helpful to avoid restaurants for the first month or so. This allows you to establish a healthier association with food before facing the temptations of dining out. Remember, this is a journey of transformation, and you have the power to redefine what eating out means to you.
2. Liberating Yourself from the Clean Plate Syndrome
From a young age, we’ve been conditioned to finish everything on our plates and avoid wasting food. However, portion sizes have dramatically increased in the past two decades (nearly three fold), often packing a day’s worth of calories into a single meal. Overcoming this challenge and resisting the temptation of lingering food requires a simple yet effective strategy: ask your server to pack half of your meal in a to-go box from the start and bring it out only when you’re ready to leave.
By implementing this practice, you not only save yourself from consuming excess calories, but you also prevent the internal dialogue that may lead you to convince yourself it’s okay to eat more than you need. Remember, eating healthy is not restrictive—it’s a liberating choice that aligns with your goals.
3. Eating Healthy Is Not Restrictive
Contrary to common beliefs, you can absolutely enjoy a lean protein and vegetable-based meal when dining out. Yet, our association with eating out often makes us perceive this choice as abnormal or wrong. It’s important to recognize that you’re not a victim when you choose to eat in alignment with your goals. Shifting from feeling bad to feeling good about your positive choices is crucial.
When you dine out and make choices that support your goals, celebrate and reinforce those choices. This positive reinforcement begins to rewire your brain, associating healthy eating with a rewarding experience. Remember, the ultimate goal is not just to eat healthy for weight loss but to become someone who effortlessly embraces a healthy lifestyle.
4. Plan Ahead to Empower Your Choices
One of the most critical steps you can take is to decide what you’ll eat before stepping foot into the restaurant. By reviewing the menu in advance and removing the option to deviate, you prevent the influence of your emotional brain hijacking your rational decision-making process. This proactive approach significantly increases your chances of staying on track.
Entering the restaurant armed with a plan makes it a hundred times easier to resist temptations and stay true to your goals, rather than trying to navigate the force of your emotional brain in the moment.
5. Navigating Temptations: Skip the Extras
Appetizers, bread, chips, salads, and desserts can add a substantial number of calories to your meal, often rivaling or surpassing the calorie count of the main courses. Avoiding these extras allows you to avoid unnecessary cravings and excessive calorie intake.
6. Overcoming Peer Pressure
Remember, your environment plays a crucial role in your success. While it may not be a popular opinion, it’s essential to acknowledge that when you embark on a journey of making healthier choices, some friends, family, and coworkers may unintentionally shame you or discourage your progress. Often, this stems from their fear of losing the bond created through shared unhealthy habits like indulging in food and alcohol.
Understand that their response is a natural attempt to maintain the status quo, to avoid the loss they perceive when you change. To overcome this, your desire for personal transformation must outweigh their desire to keep you as you were.
Ready to make a lasting transformation?
We acknowledge that changing your relationship with eating out and making significant changes in your health and fitness journey can be immensely challenging. That’s precisely why we’ve developed our 12-Week Program. Twelve weeks is the sweet spot for establishing permanent habits.
If you’re ready to embark on a transformative journey towards permanent weight loss, join our program and benefit from the unwavering support of our team. Click here to learn more about this life-changing opportunity.
Remember, you have the power to reshape your relationship with food, conquer overeating, and achieve your weight loss goals. Embrace the freedom to make empowered choices, and you’ll create a positive impact on your health and overall well-being.
