How to Make Healthier Choices When Going Out with Friends
It’s easy to plan a healthy diet and an exercise routine. But what happens when your friends call you for taco Tuesday? And what about happy hour on Thursday? And game night on Saturday? Before you know it, you’ve had more cheat days than weekdays.
When we’re with friends, we tend to let loose and make unhealthy choices… and then we regret them the next day. But you don’t have to choose between seeing your friends and keeping your healthy routine on track.
To celebrate International Friendship Day (yes, that’s a real thing!), we’ve listed a few tips on how you can have fun with friends without abandoning your health goals.
Make Healthy Compromises
Compromise is the key to maintaining friendships. And it might be the key to maintaining your current weight too. Next time your friends want to do something unhealthy, suggest doing something healthy for the first 30 minutes of your hangout.
For example, if you’re planning to go out for cocktails and appetizers on a weekday, you could suggest going for a 30-minute walk in the park beforehand. Just a short 30-minute walk a day is enough to reduce body fat and boost cardiovascular health [1]. Plus, it might lead to less time at the bar and fewer calories consumed.
There are plenty of healthy activities you can suggest to cut into potential unhealthy time, such as:
- Checking out the local farmers market
- Visiting an art gallery or museum
- Biking around the town
- Volunteering at a local soup kitchen
Once you get to the bar or restaurant, you’ll have a lot more to talk about too!
Eat Before Going Out
Every time you go out, you tell yourself you’re just going to have a bite. But a bite quickly becomes a burger and fries and dessert and a third cocktail.
Don’t beat yourself up too much when this happens. When you’re hungry and you’re having a good time, it’s really hard to control your consumption. Your body and mind want to let the good times roll.
If you know you’re going to be in a situation where you may not have a lot of self-control (like, if unlimited chips and salsa are involved), try eating before you go out. If you’re full, it will be a lot easier to avoid snacking.
You might miss tacos on Tuesday, but cheat day on Saturday will feel so much more satisfying.
Take Supplements to Get Your Daily Nutrition
If you’re going to be eating unhealthy food or drinking a bit more than usual with friends, make sure to take your supplements, especially vitamins, minerals and other supplements specific to your health goals and needs. These can help you maintain a baseline of nutrition even if you make some unhealthy choices.
Studies have shown that a lack of essential nutrients slows the metabolism and contributes to weight gain [2]. And of course, there are plenty of other well-known problems that can arise if you’re deficient in a vitamin or mineral.
Some supplements can even help to counter the effects of unhealthy habits. For example, Curcumin may protect the liver from damage caused by alcohol [3]. Vitamin D and Vitamin B12 could boost your energy levels, resulting in more activity which may help keep the weight off if you eat a few too many mozz sticks [4, 5].*
The best way to ensure your diet is complete with essential nutrition is to take liposomal supplements. Liposomal delivery is significantly easier for your body to absorb, so you get way more nutrition with each dose. Plus, they come in liquid form so you can add them to a smoothie or your water bottle, or just enjoy straight from the package.
It’s so easy that you’ll want to tell your friends all about it.
Keep a Going-Out Calendar
How often do you go out with friends? If you don’t know how much fun you’re having, it will be difficult to keep track of your healthy habits too. It’s easy to consume thousands of extra calories a week because we often let time with friends slip by unnoticed.
Dedicate a part of your calendar to recording what you do with friends. Put the dates in beforehand if they’re planned and after if they were spontaneous. Visualizing your time with friends will help you be mindful of your habits and give you more control over your future actions.
For example, you might decide to eat tacos on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month and to eat a salad beforehand on the 1st and 3rd. Or, if you had a spontaneous happy hour on a Wednesday, you might decide to invite friends for a board game on Saturday instead of going to the bar.
Be a Leader in Your Friend Group
How often do you suggest new activities to do with your friends? Are you an active friend or a passive one? If you want to make healthier choices with friends, then it’s time to step up and make those choices happen.
Instead of avoiding certain restaurants or staying home on weekends, why not invite your friends to go camping or hiking? You’d be surprised how much people like to try new things, especially when someone else is willing to take the reins and organize them.
If you want to start a new healthy hobby, your friends will probably want to tag along. After all, they are your friends! They like spending time with you! If you decide to do your own thing, you’re sure to make some new friends along the way. It’s impossible to join a Yoga class or take a photography lesson without someone chatting your ear off.
Whatever you decide to do, remember that your friends have your back. They probably want to make healthy choices just as much as you do. Who knows? This could be the start of a beautiful new chapter of your friendship.
- https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/walking-for-good-health
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26745150/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6852329/#:~:text=We%20found%20that%20curcumin%20protected,I%CE%BAB%CE%B1%E2%80%93NF%2D%CE%BAB%20pathway.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6071442/
- https://simply-slim.com/blog/posts/vitamin-b-weight-loss-correlation/
