I went out last night for one of my friend's birthdays - two small beers and a curry. Lovely. Except today I have woken up feeling like I have been run over by a steam roller and like I have ten pounds of red meat in my tummy still waiting to be processed.

Is this the end of going out as I once knew it? I feel so sluggish although I dont feel guilty because it was a nice treat and a good time out.

Has anyone any tips on keeping a life without the consequences?

Take the car then you have a perfect excuse for avoiding alcohol - just have sparkling water instead.

Alternatively, tell, everyone you're on anti-biotics for a problem you'd rather not discuss, so you can't drink.

Was it the beer or the curry that did it?

Either way your stomach is obviously getting used to less and will have to order accordingly and, the hard one, stop when you're full not when the plate is empty (also hard when you're paying for it).

It was the curry - it tasted so nice and I think I just shovelled too much in!

I really want to lose the weight and keep it off and find I am starting to turn down invitations to go out as most seem to involve eating or drinking. Its a shame but I dont yet feel "strong" enough to resist the higher fat / calorie choices because I am not eating those at home and my brain just says "go on its a one-off its a treat you deserve it"!!

I guess I could investigate restaurant menus and find the "best" choice and stick to that. I dont think there is a best choice with curry tho - i dont eat chicken.

You shouldn't turn down invites - you'll recent it and then the diet will be doomed to fail. This is a lifestyle change and going out to eat is part of life, right? So I guess we have to learn to balance the equation. If you're eating out tonight, cut back during the day/do a little more exercise. I find I can't make it until 8/9pm to eat, if I eat out with friends at lunchtime I'll eat something healthy and probably not want anything else for the rest of the day. However if it's in the evening it's tough, very tough. And the later I eat the more bloated I feel - maybe that's how it was for you last night.

That's a really good idea - if you check on www.5pm.co.uk you'll usually find sample menus. If you can sort out beforehand what you're going to choose then it'll be much easier.

With curry it's probably damage limitation - plain boiled rice is the least fattening - avoid naan bread! Anything in a creamy sauce is also taboo so no korma. As you don't eat chicken, prawns or a vegetable dish are better than meat.

Why not suggest to your friends that you try different restaurants for a change?

I am having exactly the same problem, am starting to avoid going out cos on such a roll with the diet, i don't want to sabotage myself, but also dont want to become a friendless diet bore!! Also, i used to be the "friend you could drink n pig out with" and love to party, so i dont want to lose the party persona, but cant do it and maintain weight loss. I was sort of hoping that give me a couple more months of evangelical diet and exercise and I will be able to relax a little, or come to some balance, but for now its hard.
On the eating out front, opt for tandoori king prawn or fish with lots of salad, pub meals- small steak and salad, chinese is harder i think....and pizza is AAGH!! any one got any ideas?
Also down local last night I ended up in a "go on one more gin and tonic wont hurt" situation and felt really coerced in to having 1, which i then left half of cos I didnt really want it - now THAT'S a first!!

And you still enjoyed the evening, right? Well done JJ that's a brilliant.


This is what worries me - the diet becomes all encompassing and inturn I resent it and then give in. We really have to learn that we can still eat out, not beat ourselves afterwards about it and make up for it later on in the week (but not by starving).

The two words that keep cropping up on this site are MODERATION and BAlANCE. Joanne you already did the moderation last night by saying no to more drink so with a bit of balance somewhere in the rest of your week you can still be a great 'friend who can drink n pig out-a-little with'

As always do as I say, don't do as I do!!!!

Hi all

Can I throw in another couple of different angles here. More like a philosophy to adopt.

1) Socialising DOES NOT have to revolve around eating/drinking. Do you HAVE to go out to curry/pub? Giving up eating/drinking out for a while does not mean you can't see friends. Arrange to go bowling, play tennis, the gym or a weekend walk, perhaps with a short stop for a 1/2 pt at nicepub at end or back toi yours for a home made healthy but delicious pot of something.
2) Detatch in your mind 'having fun/being fun' from the trend towards it requiring 'excess' to be fun.
3) Recognise that friends can still be your friends even if YOU CAN control your input (food/drink/choccies etc) and they can't. You may actually start a trend. Maybe lots of your friends/family are in denial about the issues around eating or drinking more than they should. Be the one who starts the ball rolling.
4) JUST SAY " NO..... Thank you. I am happy with this".
5) YOU are the same jolly, happy, fun to be with, intelligent, attractive person without the extra glass of whatever, cake, portion of chips, curry.....) It's WHO you are, NOT what you are that your friends love you for. They may also secrectly like having a freind who is overweight/low esteem/lacking in self control to make them feel better. Stand up for yourself. BELIEVE that that is no longer going to be YOU!!!!
6) FOOD can be tasty and fun bit be healthier. An average curry meal is probably the average woman's TOTAL calorie requirement for the day.
7) Self Control is a virtue NOT a vice (though many want you to think otherwise) SHOW YOU KNOW BETTER. I want to spit every time I hear phrases like 'never trust a thin chef.' It's complete poppycock!
8) Maybe you should GLOAT about NOT having a hangover, NOT feeling bloated after a nice social event BECAUSE you have resisted the normal approach.

Lecture over.

We had a treat day yesterday and ate a huge lunch. We have gotten used to only having soup, so over-stuffed our stomachs and suffered all day for it. Realised that overeating isn't as much fun as we used to think it was!

Going to pub is still difficult, with the pressure to drink alcohol. If I start drinking early in the evening, I just think s0d it I've blown the diet, and end up having crisps as well, so I have started turning up to the pub a bit later than everyone else.If I really want a wine or beer, I don't have one until "last orders".
I find sour drinks last longer than, say, Coke or lemonade, so I drink grapefruit and soda, soda and blackcurrant, or Virgin Mary instead.

I've found that - I have lime and soda. It's the lack of sugar that stops you coming back for more.

I recently had a couple of family birthdays and ate out far more than I usually would. The first thing I noticed was that I got full very quickly and left a lot of the food. I can no longer eat more food than I need, which is no bad thing. The second thing I noticed was that I felt bloated and sluggish the next day which I don't feel was from the quantity that I ate but more the food itself. The diet I have been following is low carb and high protein. My everyday diet works for me and when I introduced something different into my diet my body didn't seem to like it!

I didn't agonise too much before all these meals. I just ate less on those days before and after the heavy meals and made sure I exercised.

Just got back from a family meal at a fab locally run tapas bar so hope I haven't undone all that hard swimming this week I didn't have have any patatas bravas or garlic bread (carbs) only fish and veg, and I couldn't resist the garlic mushrooms. So fingers crossed! As I've really cut down on food now I still feel really full just on that lot. I did go for a cycle (on the flat) for an hour this afternoon so hopefully that'll counteract some of it!!

Jaki

It doesn't have to be "all or nothing".
Have your treats, but balance it out.
Go to the pub, but walk don't taxi.
Have a few drinks, but a lower cal one (or just a tonic instead of gin and tonic - nobody will know). Ditto for food. Knowledge is power: work out the lower calorie options before you get there...eat smaller portions. Give away your naan bread!
Going without will just make you feel deprived - but on the other hand, don't view food as a reward. If you've been "good" all week, don't blow it with pizza and chips all weekend.