Avoiding Social Situations Could Be Detrimental to Your Progress

Life happens.  Things are thrown at us all the time.  It gets crazy and stressful.  We are busier than ever before, and we don't know how to slow down.  There will never be the perfect time to get started with health and fitness or just focus on yourself.  There will always be someone else who needs you.

Learning how to deal with the things that life throws at you is super important as you make this way of living a lifestyle.  If you're not prepared for family parties, going to dinner with friends, birthday parties, and other celebrations, then you will probably be frozen in your tracks.  You won't be sure what move to make next, and it could totally throw you off your game.

We have made food emotional because we typically have food at every party and celebration we could ever imagine.  The people we have connection with is emotional--food just happens to be there.  So don't be sidelined when your best friends ask you to go out and eat after church on Sunday.

Here are a few tips for you when going out or going elsewhere for a meal:

1. Take something you know you can eat that matches your goals.
2. Take some emergency food in your purse.
3. Look at the menu for the restaurant ahead of time.  Go in with a plan!
4. Focus more on the people than the food!

Don't allow the social situations scare you.  Don't become a hermit because you're afraid of what you can and cannot eat.  Learn to work around those situations.  Be prepared.  They will happen.  So plan what you will do now so that you won't be paralyzed when they come up.

I think Melissa Hartwig says it best.  I know that I've mentioned time and time again that her book, Food Freedom Forever, has changed my life.  Here's a little excerpt from it:

"Don't let your reset turn you into a hermit.  You're eating healthy, not battling an infectious disease.  There is no reason you can't continue to socialize, dine out, attend parties and events, and travel during your reset.  It just requires a bit more planning and preparation, and a mind-shift away from thinking these special occasions are about the food.  They're not.  They're about the people you're with, the laughter you'll share, the traditions you'll create, and the stress-moderating effect of in-person social interaction.  So research the menu, pack your emergency food, bring your own side dish, be ready with your order of seltzer water with lime, and get out there during your reset."

Insert [healthy lifestyle] where she says reset.  Make it happen friends.  Don't be afraid to go out and have fun with the people you're with.  It's less about the food and more about the company you're with.    

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