Why Dining Out Can be a Total Pain in the A** Part 2

Originally published in City Girls

As a follow up to yesterday’s anecdote, I’m here today and armed with my top four tips for guiding you into a space of love as you embark on exploring your relationship with food. With pen and fork in hand, let’s dive in.

(1) Order what you will enjoy

Unless you just LOVE the taste of Vodka sodas, order something you will enjoy.  A nice glass of wine or a beer is ideal because there are no added sugars, dyes, or chemicals that you will find in many cocktails.  If you do opt for a cocktail, go for something with high quality, real ingredients.  This will delight your taste buds and your belly.  Enjoy your wine!  Sip it slowly.  Breathe in the aromas.

(2) Check in with yourself

Before you even look at the menu, think about what you want to eat.  Do you want something hot or cold, crunchy or creamy, spicy or sweet?  Get really clear on what it is you want. Then open the menu and choose something that you will really enjoy.  When you eat what your bodies wants, you will actually be satisfied by your meal and won’t feel the need to over-eat or eat everyone else’s food.

(3) Pause

Breathe.  This seems like a simple task, but it is actually really hard.  Take three deep breaths before you start your meal and one deep breath in between each bite.  Do this with your fork down.  Not only will this get you to slow down, which will help you register that you are full, but the more fresh oxygen you put in your system, the more calories you will burn.  You know when you fan a fire, it burns stronger?  It’s the same concept with burning calories.

(4) Listen up!

Fill up on the conversation, not the food.  Sometimes we have a tendency to put so much importance on the food, or to imagine that it is “special” because it’s from a restaurant, that we try to inhale as much of this alleged “special-ness” as we possibly can.  But flipping that mentality on its head and engaging with the people around you instead of what’s on our plate will transform the dining out experience. Know that the real reason you are there is to enjoy the company, not stuff your face with food.

So what’s the result of all this?

You can leave a restaurant feeling like you have more energy than you did when you went in.  You had a wonderful meal paired with even better conversation.  You’re not wasted, you’re not bloated, and you aren’t worried about spending hours on the treadmill tomorrow.

So many of us think that loosening the reins will actually make us gain weight, and go off the deep end, when in fact, it’s the opposite.

For me, it led to a 40 pound weight loss, a much healthier and hotter relationship, deeper friendships, a career I love, coaching women on how to lose weight in a healthy way, and a love for my body that I once abhorred.

Not going to happen to you, you say?  Trust me, I was the last person on earth to think that the life and body I have are possible.  I hope you will give the steps above a shot and report back to City Girls to tell us how you did.