You know, Sally calls and asks you to join her for dinner in 30 minutes. You don’t want to say “no”, because you haven’t seem her forever, but in the back of your mind this is a sabotage to your diet! Or maybe a few friends are heading out to the mall and call to see if you need anything. “We’ll be there in 15 minutes!” It is noon, so you know they are going to stop somewhere to eat and again, is the diet going to be on hold once more?
So what is a girl to do? Here are a few Trim-Tactics that can help you in these situations…
One thing I like to do is my research. I go on-line to the “usual” restaurants my friends and family eat at and I research the choices. I ALWAYS order the same nutritious meal no matter what. I have it in my head before I even get to the establishment that “x”, “y”, and “z” is what I am going to order. True, some of my friends scoff and try to derail my best intentions, but nothing tastes as good as skinny feels!
At work, I bring my own food. No vending machines. No picking something up. No ordering out. I prepare and pack my food the night before and don’t even think twice about not bringing it. I like to bag everything into serving sizes. I bag carrots, grape tomatoes, broccoli, melon, strawberries, almonds…basically everything. If someone brings in food, I just grab my carrots and watch everyone else.
The waiting game is one Trim-Tactic that can also be useful. If you really want something to eat and don’t mind doing the extra exercise, then wait five minutes. If you wait five minutes and you still really want the food item, then indulge. Just eat half the portion and really enjoy each morsel. The waiting game can really help with buffet style eating, because the food never looks as good after everyone has gotten what they wanted and the food has been sitting a while. And speaking of buffet-style, only get three small portions/items and go sit down to eat. If you are still hungry enough to get anything more, do the same thing, three small portions/items. And for goodness sake, use the smallest plate possible.
Do all of your shopping early in the day and after you have had a nutritious an filling breakfast. Stick to your list and don’t take detours. If your girlfriends are planning a trip, make sure they know you are only available from say 8 am to 10 am, because you have an “appointment”. Or better yet, invite them to workout with you, or take a walk after you shop. Maybe then, no one will want to fill up with a large lunch. Maybe suggest getting your nails or toes done instead of stopping for something to eat. Better yet, invite them in for fruit and tea before you go so you can spend some quality time catching up.
The local coffee shop is one of my biggest pitfalls! I love the fresh bread, pastries, perk-me-up fancy coffee concoctions! My only Trim-Tactic for this is to BYOB, Bring-Your-Own-Brew. Even if you use fancy creamers, you still will be getting less than half the calories. Another tip is to only go with your uber healthy friend who ONLY orders skinny lattes to afford you some much needed peer pressure to follow suit. Now, don’t forget, there is always the five minute rule and the waiting game for you to give yourself the chance to “just say no”.
These Trim-Tactics all share a common bond…have a plan and stick to it! Write your plans down on 3″ X 5″ cards if you must until they become more of a habit. Don’t beat yourself up too bad when you have a slip in diet judgment. Just get back on the ride, Sister!
Amuse Creative Studio 
Amy,Wowie! You are way ahead of me on the tactics to avoid letting anyone derail your healthy eating plans! I'm very impressed! I learned a few tricks from you – thanks! The only other thing I can add, is that I learned that I can order food and box up half of it right away "to go". Then it's two meals – much better! Hugs!
LikeLike
I just have to say that I love your blog! I hope you don't mind a peek or two once in a while! I love your dedication that you have in your life to your Country, your Family and scrapbooking of course! 🙂 You do great work and are a wonderful creative inspiration! I don't get to paper craft as much as I'd like with 3 kiddos but when I escape on my retreat weekends I go searching for fresh ideas and images from others! So thanks! 🙂
LikeLike