While you might be staying on track with your diet at home, your resolve may be tested when you eat out with friends. In fact, social overeating can do serious harm to your weight-management plans --- even if you're stalwartly committed to your diet the rest of the week. By understanding why you're able to eat less when you're alone, you can recognize triggers that cause you to overeat when in a social setting.
Indulgent Tastes
Think about it: When you eat on your own, you're likely eating home-cooked meals that you've prepared yourself. Because of this, you're able to control the ingredients used and the portions served. When you eat as part of a social activity, you often lose control over those variables. Eating with friends and family is often done in celebration, which can mean indulgent foods and uncontrolled portion sizes that cause you to consume more calories than you'd planned.
Mindful Eating
When you eat on your own, you're able to practice mindful eating: concentrating on each bite and stopping when your full. When with friends or family, you talk and laugh when eating. You might not be paying attention to the foods you put into your mouth and miss the cues from your body to sense satiety and stop eating. Without the ability to think about the food you're eating and how it's helping your body, you're often reduced to picking at appetizers and entrees and overindulging without noticing.
Peer Pressure
When you eat with friends and family members, you're liable to be goaded into eating foods you normally wouldn't. It's human nature to observe what others are doing and follow suit. If everyone at your table is ordering indulgent meals, it can be embarrassing to ask for a salad or grilled vegetables. If you do try to order something healthy, you could be laughed at by your friends. To avoid that ridicule, you might order something high in fat and calories or go for a dessert you wouldn't when eating on your own.
Solutions
Transparency is the best way to continue your good eating habits whether you're on your own or in a social setting. Letting supportive friends and family members know that you're eating more healthfully could help them respect your decision. Suggest healthier options while eating for the benefit of the group or ask a friend to share an entree or dessert with you. When in doubt, bring along a healthy dish so you be sure there's at least one type of food you can nosh on while at social gatherings without undoing all of your progress.
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