Socially Eating Healthily
For someone trying to create healthier eating habits or lose weight, eating out from home or in social circumstances in general, can initiate mixed feelings. Especially if socialising over food often. Maybe you feel you can’t say no to family and friends? Maybe you find it difficult choosing healthy options?
When changing your lifestyle and you want it to last, it’s important to adopt your new eating habits into all areas of your life, instead of feeling you have to avoid social events or eating out. If we feel we constantly have to compensate healthy eating with something that means a lot to us, our new, healthy habits won’t last for long…
Challenges When Eating Out
There’s lots of elements we can’t control when eating out from home. A portion at the fast-food outlet can easily have a higher energy content (more calories) than if we made it ourselves, even if it looks like a small portion. The food quality also varies greatly; fast-food outlets and restaurants differ vastly in how they prepare food, how far it has travelled, where it’s from and who produced/cultivated it etc.
We usually eat more food when eating together with a group of people. Being the person who resists going for a second or third serving, even though your mother-in-law or colleague keeps telling you to, can also create obstacles for your healthy eating habits. The truth is, most of the people present actually wants to behave just like you and say no. So, it’s likely they’re struggling with the same issues you’re experiencing too.
Eating Out Healthily
When eating out there are bad options to choose, which means there are also healthier choices too. In fact, for some people this area could be where they dare to expand their food horizon, and eat more vegetables because they might feel more insecure in their own kitchen.
Tips when eating out:
Always reflect upon your eating habits outside home; how many times a month do you eat at restaurants etc.?
Where do you usually eat? Restaurant or fast-food chains?
Do you always order the same food?
What is your purpose for eating out?
By looking at your overall diet, how often it happens and how you can make more healthy choices, you can absolutely eat out from home – it’s about incorporating small changes to be a part of your new healthier lifestyle 🙂