Hi,

I am going out to dinner Saturday with a friend to a nice restaurant. I have been agonizing over it because I will be tempted to overeat.

I do not eat seafood. I am thinking of ordering a seafood dish, which I will not enjoy, so I do not overeat. I am also thinking of ordering side dishes I do not care for. If I don't love the food, why will I overeat?

If I really decide to go all out, I should order a drink I don't like. For example, with Long Island Ice Teas, I can easily drink 2, which probably have 1000 calories for 2. If I get a rum and coke, I will definately not enjoy it, and will not be tempted to get a second. Rum & coke will probably have 250 calories each.

Has anyone tried this?

I tend to buy foods that we like and of course, it can be difficult to keep away from them. I should just buy stuff I don't like!! Eating could be a chore that way, rather than recreational eating.

Hehe, that's kind of a neat idea...never thought of it. I wouldn't be able to stomach anything I didn't like, though. When I go to restaurants, I usually just try to cut my portions in half and possibly look up the restaurants nutrition info before I go. That way I know what's lowest in calories/carbs/fats and can order/eat according to that. For instance, when I'd normally have a burger.. which can easily be 800.. I order chicken which is like 210. But I have enough willpower that it's surprising myself, so that could be why it works for me.

I guess this might work as a one off, if you have the willpower.

BUT, and I don't want to sound negative/bossy/etc bout this, but I think it's really sad! I LOVE food and I love to eat (that doesn't have to change coz you want to be slimmer, you just have to adapt!) and deliberately eating foods you don't like all the time?? (well it would be hard for me for a start coz there isn't much I don't like!!)

First of all, you can have both. There are SO many healthy and tasty choices. You just have to educate yourself about what is healthy etc so you can make good choices off the menu THAT YOU WILL ENJOY!!!!

But most importantly, from your point of view, do you honestly think you'll be able to stick to it? In my opinion, unless you have INCREDIBLY strong willpower (in which case you wouldn't be overeating in the first place) you will soon make yourself bored and miserable by forcing yourself to eat foods you hate. And you will end up resenting yourself, and your diet, for 'making' you do that, and then you'll probably slip away from your diet and end up giving up on it.

If I were you I would just order healthy choices, or second option, order what you want (within reason) but make room for it in your calories for the day. Or burn it off with an extra long sesh in the gym the day after!!

Plus the fact that it is widely accepted (not only by the majority of people on this forum but also by pretty much any doctor/nutritionist you will speak to) that there is only one way to loose weight AND KEEP IT OFF, and that is to change your lifestyle FOR GOOD. Yeah, it's harder than faddy diets, but it works which is the difference! So unless you honestly are only going to eat food you don't like for the rest of your life this idea won't work!!

I agree that you should not buy fatty/unhealthy/calorie laden foods, coz if you don't buy it you can't eat it. But I think the alternative is finding healthy food that you love, rather than deliberately choose things you hate!

I hope by the way, that this post has not come across nasty in any way, rather I guess I just wanted to help you, and point out to you the other options, which will make you happier and slimmer!!

Good luck and let me know what you think about what I said

I think its a waste to order and pay for food you're not going to eat. I can't even believe I just read that.

do they have their menu online? look it up, pick something you can have, and get it. If not, see if they have a healthy choice section (most do) and use it. drop in the day before and have a look at the menu, then look up the apporximate caloric values online. or eat half a meal before you and have a side order at the restaruant. or have a cheat night and let yourself have something you normally wouldn't (maybe ask your friend to split a dessert). there are more options to you than wasting food.
fighting the temptation to overeat is all part of this process. gotta face it sometime.

I'm with Kezzy. The idea is not to eat food you hate, but learn to enjoy healthy foods in moderation. I don't think eating foods you don't like will work in the long run, and it is kinda sad and wasteful. Order a small portion of what you really want. Ask the waiter to put half in a togo box before you even eat. Order only one side dish, that you really like. Split dessert. Skip the alcohol altogether and have a glass of water.

Just order things you will enjoy less, not hate. A vodka & tonic, and a lower fat entree. Don't order food you hate, that will only complicate the weight loss process.

Sometimes eating healthy can surprise you.

Each place I go to, I usually had an item that I would always order. When I started eating healthy, I was forced to look into alternatives since what I usually ordered wasn't so great. At this Italian place my husband and I like, I would always get the shrimp fettucine alfredo (heart attack on a plate). Well, I tried this other dish - chicken and spinach in a lighter cream sauce with whole wheat pasta - that I absolutely LOVE!!! Ordinarily, I would have never even tried it, but I am sooooo glad I did.

My point is, sometimes eating healthy gives you the opportunity to try things that you wouldn't otherwise try. So, rather than ordering something you know you don't care for, take the opportunity to try something new that's healthy. You may find a new favorite dish like I did.

I personally am to cheap to spend money on food that I'm not going to enjoy.

Can you look up the menu online so that you can plan what you will eat? And it has been my experience that 'salads' on the menu are higher in calories and fat than an actual entree. I say order what you want but ask the waiter to put half of it in a box to take home.

I agree with everyone else also. It's all about lifestyle change. It's got to be something you can stick to for the rest of your life. I eat out at resturants quite often and never have a problem. You have several options.

-Get "grilled" chicken, a small steak, ect. If it comes with sides then get a salad (dressing on the side) and steamed veggies.

-You can also ask for a box when you order your food and put half of it away right from the get go.

-Try asking if you can get a half an order.... or lunch portions instead.

-If you get a pasta dish... get one with veggies in it and see if you can get less noodles and more veggies.

Hi,

Two days ago I went to a holiday lunch which I did not know about prior. It was in a nice (dreaded) restaurant. My co-worker ordered a trip tip with brocolli. I ordered the same. I do not like brocolli, but I don't hate it. I ate about 1/2 of the brocolli. The tri tip was huge, I ate a small portion and saved the rest, most of which I fed my husband.

I felt good about that lunch. I got something that is not my favorite, but not something I dislike. My food intake was spectacular. It worked well for me. If I'd ordered a filet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes, I would have gobbled the whole thing down and been looking for dessert after. :-)

This web site is spectacular. Thank you all for your support and input. This is a good place to "think things through" with people who are on your side and who understand where we are coming from.

Well done marsto!!

Marsto911- Hi! I could not order something I don't like because I would not want to waste anyone's else's or my own hard earned money. But I know how you feel about it. I would just get something light, like salad without dressing, or a vegetarian dish, or similar. Hope all is well!

Check the nutrition data before ordering

This is so silly, why do people obsess over trying to find tricks like this? Why not just recognize that you have a problem and force yourself to have the mental toughness to eat less of the food that you do like? Order the smaller serving size. Worst case scenario, order a regular/big serving size, and immediately ask for a take-home box. Put half of your food in there and eat the other half. Enjoy it, yet stop when you're finished. Pretty simple.

if it were that simple, corndoggy, there'd be no people in the world with weight problems.

Please have a little respect for your fellow forum members..

thanks