If you want to lose weight and keep it off long-term, my recommendation is to *live the lifestyle you want to live long-term* while you’re going through the process of losing weight, so you can develop habits that align with that lifestyle.
Do you want eating at restaurants to be a part of your life? If so, I would continue eating at restaurants (strategically obviously, not just whatever whenever) while you’re going through the process of losing weight, rather than trying to completely stop going out to eat and adding it back in once you’ve reached your weight-loss goal.
Even though your tracking won’t be as accurate and weight loss *might* be a bit slower, in my opinion, it’s well worth it. Outside of the fact that avoiding eating at restaurants for 6+ months is tough (you didn’t have time to cook and need something convenient, you’re traveling and don’t have access to a kitchen, a special event or holiday happens, etc.), being able to go out to eat and stay on track with your health and fitness goals requires a certain set of skills that can only be learned through practice:
- Being able to plan for a meal out and adjust the rest of your day so you can still meet your nutrition goals is a skill.
- Being able to hit the sweet spot between eating lighter during the day so you have more calories to work with when you’re at the restaurant, while at the same time not eating so light that you show up to the restaurant ravenous and end up overeating is a skill.
- Being able to look at a menu, full of all kinds of delicious-looking options, and make selections that 1) sound good and 2) support your goals is a skill.
- Being surrounded by amazing food and not shifting into a “screw it, I’ll just eat whatever I want” mindset is a skill.
- Being able to go out to eat and consume food that you didn’t prepare, that you don’t know the exact nutrition information of, and not feel anxious, is a skill.
- Being able to estimate the protein and calorie content of a meal you didn’t make (this is extremely useful and something you’ll be able to take with you after you’re done tracking) is a skill.
All of these skills are learned through practice. Through actually being in the trenches and doing these things. When you go out to eat you get to use all of the information you’ve learned from the meals you’ve made at home to help guide your decision-making. You get to put what you’ve learned to use.
If your goal is to lose weight and keep it off, think about the lifestyle you want to live long-term and try to live that lifestyle as you go through the process of losing weight. This way when you reach your goal, rather than suddenly changing the lifestyle you’ve been living to lose weight to the lifestyle you actually want to live long-term (which oftentimes don’t line up, which is what leads to regaining weight), you’re already living the way you want to live so the transition from weight loss to maintenance is a smooth and easy one.
(Some of you reading this are currently at the end of a contest prep with a show coming up soon, so this article doesn’t completely apply to your situation right now since you are cutting to a place that is unsustainable and you should gain some weight back after prep. However, the message of this article still applies to your long-term eating habits, the way you eat the majority of your life. This might be an article you come back to and reread after your last show as you transition into your off-season.)
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