"I can order takeout and not feel gross the next day?"
Not only can you, but I encourage you to as a part of the process of healing your relationship with food and your body. Look, most of us get takeout at least occasionally. And it's not a problem ... unless we tell ourselves that it is.
You don't need to go all out. There will be other meals. There will be other takeout meals, too. So don't let your toddler brain tell you that if you're gonna order out, you might as well make it a double with a chocolate shake and enough leftover for tomorrow. It's just not that special.
Don't stress over calories. Sure, calories matter but when you turn your brain or phone into a calorie calculator, you'll find you start doing things like skipping the healthy fat or halving the protein -- all in the name of saving calories. But then what happens? You spike your blood sugar and never fully turn off your hunger. What goes up must come down, so your blood sugar crashes and you feel like absolute garbage (and hungry) as you comb through the pantry looking for more food after what feels like only minutes later. What I'm trying to say is, you'll likely end up consuming even more calories when you throw off your food balance to, ironically, save calories.
As per usual, you'll want to think about protein, fat, and fiber. And actually, probably just protein and fiber. There are little-to-no take out options that won't have more fat hidden than you realize. Fat and carbs are pretty much a guarantee with take out, even when it's not so obvious (sugar in all kinds of sauces and dressings, breading, oil-and-butter laden everything...).
Frequency matters. Do you get takeout once a year? Then just order whatever the heck you want and enjoy it! But if it's once a month or once a week, it's just another meal. Let's not sugarcoat it. No reason to see it as an all-out occasion worthy of tripping up how you feel or your goals.
Start with protein. Protein will help to fill you up and keep you satiated for longer. Be able to identify your protein source and build your meal around that. Vegans / vegetarian? If you're not ordering tofu or eggs, your protein source is probably actually a carb source that happens to have a decent amount of protein too (like lentils or beans). That's fine! But keep that in mind as you make your other choices. You already have a serving (or a few) of carbs right inside your protein source.
Be generous with the fiber. Best bet? Eat lots of veggies! This can mean getting a side salad, steamed veggies, roasted veggies, or a stir fry. These also help you to feel satisfied and will blunt your blood sugar spike. Perfecto!
Assume there's plenty of fat. When you're home, make sure you're getting enough fat in each meal. Fat is important and without enough, our hormones will be imbalanced, our skin will look dull, we will feel hungry often, and our blood sugar will be victim to bigger spikes and crashes. But as I mentioned above, fat is hidden in nearly EVERYthing in takeout. So this is a good time to make sure you're not adding too much extra by loading up on sauces, dressings, or fried foods just b/c it's there.
Be weary of carbs. Just like fat, carbs are hidden out of sight in most takeout options. Flour as a thickening agent, sugar in various forms, breadcrumbs, etc. are added into dishes that you'd never even dream of. If you really want something carb-heavy, go for it, but consider making a trade off. Order your burger and have just half the bun. Or have the bun but no fries. Or get your burrito, but skip the rice. Have a slice of pizza, but pass on the garlic knots this time.... and the 3 extra slices. Get the salad with chickpeas, but ask for no croutons. Ya feel me? Moderation. Unless this is the one and only time you're getting take out for the whole year, it's not actually a special occasion no matter how much your fun partying self wants it to be.
But the most important thing to keep in mind is that NONE OF THIS should feel like deprivation. You're a grown a** person. No one is telling you that you can't have something. If you skip it, it's because YOU decided that something else was more important to you in that moment. Maybe you don't want feel like cr*p tomorrow or bloated during sexy time tonight. Maybe you get takeout once a week and you understand that at that frequency, not having a strategy will possibly prevent you from reaching your goals that you're working so hard towards.
Oh, and also ... whatever you decide today can change next time. How freeing, right? You can have half the bun and no fries this time and also get to have the whole bun AND fries at some point in the future if you want to. Sometimes, just knowing nothing is permanent and that you're not on a "diet" can be enough to remove the unreasonable allure around these types of food. Sure, they taste good. But they are not so damn special that you should be losing your sanity over them! (Except Mexican. Mexican is really that good).
Hope you find these helpful!
XO,
Tara
P.S. If you haven't yet registered for my free, no pitch webinar, Mend Your Metabolism, that I'll be hosting on May 11th at 8 PM Eastern, sign up now! Spots are limited (my software has a max capacity number) and at the time I'm writing this, we're already 2/3 full!
I'll be discussing the problem with dieting, cravings, the things you think are healthy but are actually derailing you, and my top (specific) tips for boosting your metabolism right now.
No calorie counting.
No list of foods to avoid.
No B.S.
It'll be fun + laid back, so come expecting 'a chat with a friend' language and not 'stiff speaker language' (aka put your kiddos to bed first 'cause my passionate words might come out).
If you can't make it live but would like to receive the replay, you still need to register. Those are the folks who will be receiving the replay.
I'll see you there?