Your weight loss strategy is really put to the test when you are invited to a party where it can feel impossible to avoid overeating. You can’t skip going to the party. Even if you’ve been considering it, you likely shouldn’t.
Don’t Skip the Party
After all, your weight loss can’t cause you to shut yourself out of all social engagements. Remember that you’re not making these lifestyle changes for the short term. This is something you’re doing to put yourself on a healthy track over the long term. This means that you’ll need to develop the skills to avoid overeating even in the face of all the tempting scrumptious foods at a party.
Still, this doesn’t mean it’s necessarily easy. It is up to you to resist the temptation and avoid overeating. Since you are already following a weight loss strategy, a few extra bites here and there won’t affect your routine. However, it is serious eating too much that you have to avoid. This can be tough, but it’s not impossible.
Check Out These Great Tips to Avoid Overeating at a Party
Let’s look at how you can avoid overeating at a party in realistic ways. These are tips you can really use and don’t involve simply depriving yourself, which can only increase the urge to eat too much.
Go for the Items That You Generally Avoid
The trick here is to eat food items which you normally don’t during the average day of your weight loss strategy. After all, you’re at a party. You’re there to have fun and enjoy yourself. This way, you will be able to treat yourself for maintaining a good regimen and enjoy the party as well.
What’s the catch? You have to be sure not to eat too much. According to research, the first few bites that you take are the most appealing. So, if you want to really enjoy the food, just indulge in a few bites. Split larger items with someone else. Instead of taking 3 cookies, take just one. Instead of eating a whole cupcake, cut it in half and share with a friend.
Maintain a Snacking Habit
In most cases you would know about the party at least a week before the date. Don’t starve yourself for even a single day before the party, especially on the day of the party. If you starve yourself, it will increase the likelihood of you eating more. It can seem to make sense to eat very little ahead of the party to save your calorie space for what you’ll eat while you’re there. But if your goal is to avoid overeating, you’ll definitely be working against yourself.
Instead, do the opposite. Eat lots of healthy snacks throughout the day. Make sure they’re very low in calories but high in fiber which fills you up. This way, you will not feel hungry at the party, thus reducing your chances of eating more. You’ll be able to taste a few treats without needing to feel the urge to fill up on them.
Go for Healthy Liquids
Avoid high calorie liquids and drink lots of healthy liquids at the party. Try to fill yourself up on water, flavored water, club soda or even black coffee or tea. The more you stay hydrated, the more you will have a feeling of fullness. Moreover, you’ll avoid all the added calories and sugars in alcohol, juices and pop.
Since your stomach will have the feeling of being full, it will make it considerably easier for you to avoid overeating. You’ll just be treating yourself to a few delicious bites instead of feeling the urge to eat treats as a meal. As soon as you reach the party, drink plenty of water or a similar no- or low-calorie hydrating drink.
Be Polite
One of the worst things you can do is be blunt about your diet when talking to others. If you are offered food at the party and refuse, there is a chance that the host will try to insist that you try it. There are ways to be polite and stick to your efforts avoid overeating.
For instance, you can accept the offered food and only have a couple of bites so you can appreciate it. This is often enough to keep a host happy and it will allow you to stay on track with your diet at the same time. You can also politely refuse with a smile on your face and say that you’re saving room for another favorite item instead. There are many ways to keep everyone happy without feeling forced to consume more than you wanted to.
Work Off the Calories
If you do find that you weren’t able to avoid overeating as much as you wanted to at the party, then accept that the past is the past and apply yourself in full-force as you move forward. This can mean that for the next few days, you’ll place added focus on eating perfectly within the limits of your eating strategy while keeping up your fat burning workouts at the gym.
Don’t go overboard in the hopes of making up for the mountain of extra calories you ate while you were at the party. You’ll only find that you’ll hurt the way you feel, and you’ll harm your relationship with food. Instead, get right back on track, learn from the last party and come up with more strategies to avoid overeating at the next one!