One of the most stressful things is figuring out how to socialize when dieting.
After all, who wants to miss out and be a party pooper because they are ‘on a diet?’
I’ll be the first to tell you it isn’t easy but there are several solutions to this common dilemma.
With proper planning and some tenacity, I promise you can successfully diet and have a perfectly abundant social life.
I have broken this article down into three simple action steps that are a MUST for anyone who needs a little help managing their social life and their diet life.
Socializing & Dieting Step #1: Plan Ahead
This one can’t be overstated!
You must plan ahead if you are going to successfully socialize when dieting!
When you are dieting, you are most likely trying to follow a specific caloric prescription and your primary focus is to hit that calorie range each day in order to create a weekly deficit that translates to fat loss over time.
Now, the most obvious roadblock when socializing is navigating food and drinks.
It’s no surprise that people like to socialize over food and drinks but often that can seem like your biggest enemy when you are trying to stick to your caloric target.
However, if you know that you have X amount of calories to eat for the day, all you need to think about is how to budget your calories like a bank account.
You can’t overspend otherwise you will be in a negative balance.
If you can manage your bank account, I promise you can manage your caloric ‘bank account’ too.
You just need to save calories for when you plan to socialize with your friends.
Let’s look at an example.
Let’s say your target calories are 2000kcal and you just ate breakfast at 9 am.
The meal contained 500kcal and your friend calls you up and invites you to hit the town later that evening for dinner and drinks.
You now have 1500kcal to spend for the day so it’s your job to plan wisely over the next few hours.
Skip the heavy lunch and opt for a snack instead with a lot of protein to hold you over until dinner.
Let’s say you have a 500kcal lunch which leaves you with 1000kcal left to spend on dinner and drinks.
That 1000kcal can go a LONG way if you follow step #2.
Socializing & Dieting Step #2: Choose Wisely
If you want to socialize when dieting, you need to be smart about your food choices.
You have 1000kcal left to eat at dinner with your friend, so your job is to choose those foods wisely which will limit your calories but also allow you to get the most bang for your buck.
If you get yourself a dish with a lot of veggies, you can consume a large volume of food without dipping too hard into your calorie budget.
For example, order the salad but ask for twice the amount of lettuce!
Then, get that salad with some protein source like chicken breast and you will have only spent around 500kcal leaving you room for up to 5 drinks!
However, you need to choose those drinks wisely.
Beer and Wine add up quickly, so stick to the clear spirits and order them with a low-calorie mixer like seltzer water.
A Vodka seltzer with lime will only run you around 100kcal letting you get a couple more if it strikes your fancy!
The whole idea is to make that calorie budget last you throughout the evening.
Socializing & Dieting Step #3: Fall Back on the Plan!
That’s why step #1 is so important if you want to successfully socialize when dieting.
Expect that you will run into social situations. It is going to happen.
That’s why if you have your plan in place, you know exactly what to do – even if it comes up unexpectedly.
Pre-plan which foods will be your best option at the social gathering and then also have a fallback option if the place you are eating, doesn’t have your ideal diet choices.
Trust me there is ALWAYS a fallback, you just need to use some critical thinking.
I’d recommend writing out several options so that when your friend calls you up, you can just pull out your sheet and quickly generate some ideas of low-calorie food and drink options.
Ask where you are going ahead of time and look at the menu.
Google is your friend.
Even if you mess up the first few times you go out to socialize, it’s no big deal. The best way to learn is through trial and error.
You will learn how to budget your calories as you get EXPOSURE doing it!
It seems daunting at first, but just give it a few chances!
You’ll be a pro at budgeting in no time.
What’s Next?
After reading this article and you want to learn more about diet, exercise, and weight loss – check out these articles!
Who is Jakob Roze?
Jakob Roze is a Strength and Conditioning Coach and founder of RozeFit. His practice centers around empathic communication and relationship building. With an emphasis on pain free, functional movement patterns and strength training, Jakob Roze assesses each individual’s needs and prescribes exercise modalities appropriately in order to facilitate long term gains in strength and health. He draws from evidence based approaches and applies the knowledge in a personalized fashion to facilitate body and lifestyle transformation amongst his clients.
